What is the best way to study a chess book

I have a lot of books, but I'm not sure of how you study them. Any ideas?

study them with your chess set

Assume that the book is full of mistakes. Then try to find them.

Go through the main lines first and avoid the variations.  Some books will provide text concerning the purpose behind some of the moves.

Go through the main line again and cover up the moves you would be playing as white and or black to see if you understand the purpose of the moves and can pick the next move.

Finally, set up a second board and follow the main line.......when you get to a variation that the author discussed, play it through on an alternate board.......then return to the original position and continue until the next variation is presented.  This should give you an idea of the game, what potential moves were considered and a basis for why certain moves were chosen over others.

 I'm still working on it, but the most effective method for me for sure:

Enter game & variations into Chessbase (or SCID). 

Try to memorize the game and all variations. No, I never get to the point where I can recall the game flawlessly, but it I can even recall 75% of the moves and variations/refutations, I've learned a lot. 

Repeat the recall later on to reinforce long-term memory.

This process helps me much more than solving more tactical problems - if I had enough time to review/study more games, I'd have a constantly upward trajectory in my rating here, as is the case when I have a block of time to start doing this.

In contrast, my rating tends to go nowhere when I just drill more tactical problems. Doesn't mean I'm some tactical wizard, just means that the impact of my nontactical weaknesses in my game far exceed the tactical deficiencies.

I also highly recommend trying to buy books from Everyman chess if you like computer work (Fritz/SCID/CB) as they sell books in .pgn format so you don't need to waste any time entering moves. It's a huge timesaver.  

this thread is relevant to my interests.

there is no best way, they are all good

1.First get a cup of coffee  

2.Find a peaceful place to sit with your chess board and your BOOK. 

3. pick an opening. 

4. Go through moves and try to understand from all angles.

5.Finally play that opening with an opponent for at least few months if      not an year. 

6.Once you mastered the opening switch to new opening. .

7.Repeat the steps above. 

NOTE: 1.Enjoy the game and don't criticize people or yourself. 

           2. Don't play bullet or blitz while you are studying the game.

                              THE END  

Use Chessbase and download the MegaDatabase which has more than 6 million games

for books of annotated games, I try to find the pgn online. Then I play through the game in scid vs pc making my own annotations. Finally I go through the book's annotations to see what I missed.

i have a technique: it's just to try and guess the move that will be played and emorize the entire game

Excellent question!; I write out the game in a note book without playing attention to comments; I play through the game, maybe several times and record my thoughts; I play through the game reading the comments given in the book; finally I write out the game with my thoughts and the thoughts of the book combined in my note book; takes about 2-3 hours/game; it took me a month to get through Chernev's "Logical chess" - and now I can't find my note book!!!

Yes, I have my own technique, but I want to know if there is a better way. By the way, my blitz rating in FIDE is 2070. :)

3 years later.  Did you solve the case of the missing notebook?

we shall never know

The best way to study a book is to process the material ACTIVELY.

Don’t simply skim the variations. Play them out on a board.

because playing on a regular sized board is clumsy(you have to reach out to move pieces, it is easy to knock over pieces, etc ), I recommend getting a small magnetic set.

I have used a small magnetic set as an analysis board for many years. It is easy to hold the book with one hand, have the set on my lap and move pieces with the other hand. Since the pieces are small and magnetic, I can reset the position in seconds.

I think playing out the variations on a tournament-sized set is cumbersome. Since it takes longer to reset the position, it discourages people from actually playing through the lines. They then just start skimming through the variations and the learning becomes passive and less effective.

Take your time with the book. Study it slowly and deeply rather than rushing through the pages. Chess improvement comes from fully grasping the concepts, not from finishing the book quickly.