Think of the last book or long piece you started. How did you end up with that one?

I had a specific question and went looking for something that would answer it

It was on a running list of things I'd decided I needed to learn

It was just in front of me — a feed, a shelf, a bestseller table

Before opening a non-fiction book, how often do you write down what you want out of it?

Almost always — a question or two, in writing

Often, though usually only in my head

Occasionally, for the more serious ones

Never — I just start at page one

You're sixty pages in and the book clearly isn't useful. What actually happens?

I stop, and note in one line why it didn't work

I skim the remaining chapter headings, then stop

I keep going out of obligation, more and more slowly

It joins the pile of half-read books and I feel vaguely guilty

In a typical 30-minute reading session, how many times do you pick up your phone?

Zero — it's off, or in another room

I couldn't count — I read in the gaps between notifications

When did you last read for 45 minutes without switching to something else?

Within the last couple of weeks

I can think of one in the last few months

I'm not sure I've done that this year

Where and when does most of your reading actually happen?

A protected slot I've set aside, same place most days

Most evenings before bed, fairly reliably

Commutes and waiting rooms — whenever a gap appears

Scattered — wherever I am, whenever I remember

What does your copy of a book look like once you've finished it?

Marked up, with my own words in the margins and on the endpapers

Highlighted, with a few notes of my own

Some highlights, nothing written

Exactly as it looked when I got it

An author makes a claim you're not sure about. What do you usually do?

Stop and write down what would have to be true for it to hold

Push back mentally and read on watching for the evidence

Register that I'm sceptical and carry on

Take it as given — they wrote the book, after all

How often do you stop mid-chapter and put what you just read into your own words?

Deliberately, at the end of most chapters

Sometimes, when the material is hard

Rarely — only once I notice I've lost the thread

Never; I read straight through to the end

Pick a non-fiction book you finished about a year ago. What can you produce right now?

Its core argument, how it was built, and where I disagreed

The main argument and two or three supporting points

The general topic, plus a feeling about whether it was good

The title — and that I enjoyed it

What happens to your notes and highlights after you close the book?

They go somewhere I actually revisit, and I have reread them

They're saved somewhere organised, though I rarely go back

They stay in the book or the app, untouched

In the last three months, how often has something you read changed what you actually did?

Several times — I can name the change and roughly when I made it

It's shifted how I think, but nothing changed in practice

Which of these is closest to you?

I read for my job and almost none of it is translating into anything

I'm studying for something specific — an exam, a qualification, a role

I read a lot for pleasure and want more of it to stick

I'm trying to rebuild a reading habit from close to zero

I coach, teach or run a book club — I'm assessing this for other people

How Much of What You Read Do You Actually Keep? The Reading Effectiveness Scorecard

You finish books. The question is whether anything survives the last page.

This 12-question scorecard measures reading the way it actually works — not speed, not volume. You get a score out of 100 and a four-part radar across Selection & Intent, Focus & Conditions, Active Engagement and Retention & Use.

Every question asks what you last did, not how you'd describe yourself. Takes under 5 minutes.

A short final page asks who you are and what you'd change. It doesn't affect your score — it's there so a reading or learning coach reading your report knows where to start.

A desk with annotated books, sticky notes and highlighters