I’ve just always been that way since I was a kid. It’s not something I’ve ever practiced besides reading a lot throughout my life. But while I read faster than average, I bet I have average to below average retention.

Novels like detective stories or whatever, I just want to follow the plot and enjoy it — I really don’t care if I can remember it at all when I’m done. One benefit of this is that there are some books I’ll revisit every few years and really re-enjoy. Then there’s some books where I’ll be like “this sounds good” and then 1/2-way into it I realize I read it a decade ago.

For non-fiction books (particularly those I want to learn from) I make myself go slower and rely on highlights and notes to improve retention.