#currently I'm reading two different biographies on hannibal and my notes are a combination of marking down interesting information

[brother-emperors]

Weird question maybe but genuinely how do you manage to read so much and actually Retain Information?

honestly it depends, some stuff slides right off my brain like water on a smooth rock, but history has been an intense area of interest for me since I was about six (american revolution babyyyyy, back when I lived in new england I used to spend my weekends going to reenactments and museums) and if something piques my interest, then everything related to that thing will forcibly take up space in my brain against my will. I did not care about the roman economy until crassus took over my life, and now there's about a century of roman history where I'm fascinated by the economy.

it's also extremely difficult for me to to keep focused on a singular train of thought (read about Caesar's march on Rome, immediately jumped to a book about the Siege of Florence, then jumped back to Trebonius and siege warfare), so when I read a book or start researching something, I have an open notebook near by and I'll jot notes/thoughts/whatever else down in it because I remember information with more clarity if I write it down by hand, especially because I struggle to retain information I read on a screen (I also don't remember notes I take on a laptop or on my phone, it's gotta be on paper) and when I'm done reading, I'll summarize the interesting parts down for my future self