It may sound obvious, but you will retain more information if you actively pay attention to what you are reading. This means you should read in a quiet place with minimal distractions. Avoid reading in bed right before sleeping, so you have plenty of energy to devote to your reading task. Make sure there is plenty of light, so you don't strain your eyes. Turn off music with lyrics or distracting rhythms. Schedule an appropriate time to read, so you are not pressured to get through the text without fully internalizing the information.
As you read, try to visualize the characters and settings from the text in your mind's eye. Use some of your own memories that are reminiscent of the text to create visual connections to what you are reading. If you have trouble visualizing the text at first, take a few moments to actually create a simple drawing of the story's details. This will help you to become more fully engaged in what you are reading, which will increase retention.
When you approach any new book or article, take a few moments to go over the table of contents, read the headline, or skim the first few lines. Then, stop for a second and consider what it is you hope to learn or take away from the text. When you approach literature with a general purpose for reading it, you are more likely to find and extract key pieces of information that answer the questions or concerns you brought to the text.
Read portions of your text out loud to family members, classmates, or yourself. This allows you to set a steady and consistent rhythm to your reading. Further, reading aloud helps you to recognize high-frequency words that you may struggle to pronounce or comprehend. When you read out loud, you can receive immediate correction on pronunciation and ask for a definition for any words you may not comprehend.
Get in the habit of predicting what may happen next as you read any story or article. This helps you to actively engage the text and it also gives you an emotional stake in what you are reading. In addition, if you consistently err in your predictions, it may signal an underlying misunderstanding of the information you are trying to absorb. As soon as you recognize this error, you can re-read portions of text or look up difficult words, ideas or concepts to clarify the content and meaning of what you are reading.