how to study chess books ?

Memorizing is a very regular topic around here. Roughly, I think the two common positions are:

(1) Memorization should have no role in one's chess study.

(2) Memorizing should have little role in one's chess study.

To some degree, I think disagreements have been the result of different conceptions of what is meant by memorizing, but, in any event, I think that there has been much general sympathy with this sentiment, expressed nearly a century ago:

"... Memory is too valuable to be stocked with trifles. Of my fifty-seven years I have applied at least thirty to forgetting most of what I had learned or read, and since I succeeded in this I have acquired a certain ease and cheer which I should never again like to be without. If need be, I can increase my skill in Chess, if need be I can do that of which I have no idea at present. I have stored little in my memory, but I can apply that little, and it is of good use in many and varied emergencies. I keep it in order, but resist every attempt to increase its dead weight. ..." — Emanuel Lasker, Lasker’s Manual of Chess

If you are having trouble trying to decide what to remember or learn from a chess book, I would say that the best guess is that you are spending time on a book that is not intended for your level.

"... Just because a book contains lots of information that you don’t know, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be extremely helpful in making you better at this point in your chess development. ..." - Dan Heisman (2001)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626180930/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman06.pdf
"... The books that are most highly thought of are not necessarily the most useful. Go with those that you find to be readable. ..." - GM Nigel Davies (2010)
"... If it’s instruction, you look for an author that addresses players at your level (buying something that’s too advanced won’t help you at all). This means that a classic book that is revered by many people might not be useful for you. ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (2015)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-best-chess-books-ever

Some people will tell you that you are probably not working hard enough on the book's material and I suppose that might be the problem, but it could also be that it is simply not a realistic expectation for you to learn much from the particular book at this time. Another common problem is that chess learning does not go well unless study is combined with frequent slow games.

"... In order to maximize the benefits of [theory and practice], these two should be approached in a balanced manner. ... Play as many slow games (60 5 or preferably slower) as possible, ... The other side of improvement is theory. ... This can be reading books, taking lessons, watching videos, doing problems on software, etc. ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2002)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627084053/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman19.pdf

Here are some possibilities that I often mention for people just beginning chess reading:
Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson (2012)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090402/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review874.pdf
http://dev.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/Simple-Attacking-Plans-77p3731.htm
Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev (1957)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104437/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/logichess.pdf
The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Irving Chernev (1965)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/
Winning Chess by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld (1948)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093415/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review919.pdf
Back to Basics: Tactics by Dan Heisman (2007)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708233537/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review585.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-back-to-basics-tactics
Discovering Chess Openings by GM John Emms (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014)
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/openings-for-amateurs/
https://www.mongoosepress.com/catalog/excerpts/openings_amateurs.pdf
Chess Endgames for Kids by Karsten Müller (2015)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/chess-endgames-for-kids/
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Chess_Endgames_for_Kids.pdf
A Guide to Chess Improvement by Dan Heisman (2010)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708105628/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review781.pdf
Studying Chess Made Easy by Andrew Soltis (2009)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090448/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review750.pdf
Seirawan stuff:
http://seagaard.dk/review/eng/bo_beginner/ev_winning_chess.asp?KATID=BO&ID=BO-Beginner

http://www.nystar.com/tamarkin/review1.htm

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf

https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-winning-chess-endings
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708092617/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review560.pdf

Well, it sort of depends a little on which book. I use books myself, mostly, and usually each book begins with an intro with how the author designed it to be used. Don't skip the intro, read through it and you'll get a better idea of how to use it.

More than anything, try to understand the principles and ideas being taught. If there is an example game, you don't need to memorise it as much as understand what sort of positions arise out of this or that opening, or how to approach an endgame position, etc. 

Books have not helped me so far. I have a couple and all the lines and moves turn to blah blah bah after a while. I usually get my board out and watch and pause a video or watch a game with an opening I'm trying to learn. When I get a little sharper into it, I think books will become more apart of my training. 

A book that you enjoy, its half the battle. 

well I have learn alot from books and still learning. so it depends upon which kind of book you have like if you have any opening book.just play that opening when you lose in that opening.. open that line of opening in which you lose in book and study it..in this way you don't have to memorise variations.if you have any other book than opening(like modern chess strategy) than you don't have to read according to content table just pick any topic in book according to your mood and start understanding it. the point is you shouldn't memorise,if you can't understand any point of author or you think he didn't mention it post it in forum here.

Many opening books are something of a compromise between explanation and reference material.
"The way I suggest you study this book is to play through the main games once, relatively quickly, and then start playing the variation in actual games. Playing an opening in real games is of vital importance - without this kind of live practice it is impossible to get a 'feel' for the kind of game it leads to. There is time enough later for involvement with the details, after playing your games it is good to look up the line." - GM Nigel Davies (2005)

It is initially very tempting to try to learn the entire contents of an opening book before attempting to play the opening, but that does not work very well.

"... I feel that the main reasons to buy an opening book are to give a good overview of the opening, and to explain general plans and ideas. ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)
"... If the book contains illustrative games, it is worth playing these over first ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)
"... the average player only needs to know a limited amount about the openings he plays. Providing he understands the main aims of the opening, a few typical plans and a handful of basic variations, that is enough. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)

In a typical opening book, much of the material is there for the sort of use that GM Nigel Davies mentioned - looking up as much of a recently completed game as one can find and trying to see if the book has any suggested improvements.

"... Review each of your games, identifying opening (and other) mistakes with the goal of not repeatedly making the same mistake. ... It is especially critical not to continually fall into opening traps – or even lines that result in difficult positions ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2007)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627062646/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman81.pdf

Some opening books are almost entirely reference material for advanced players.

"... Once you identify an opening you really like and wish to learn in more depth, then should you pick up a book on a particular opening or variation. Start with ones that explain the opening variations and are not just meant for advanced players. ..." - Dan Heisman (2001)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140626180930/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman06.pdf

"... For inexperienced players, I think the model that bases opening discussions on more or less complete games that are fully annotated, though with a main focus on the opening and early middlegame, is the ideal. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2010)
"... Everyman Chess has started a new series aimed at those who want to understand the basics of an opening, i.e., the not-yet-so-strong players. ... I imagine [there] will be a long series based on the premise of bringing the basic ideas of an opening to the reader through plenty of introductory text, game annotations, hints, plans and much more. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2002)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627055734/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen38.pdf

Before undertaking to learn a specific opening, it might be a good idea to read about opening play in general.

"... For beginning players, [Discovering Chess Openings by GN John Emms] will offer an opportunity to start out on the right foot and really get a feel for what is happening on the board. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
Two other introductions to openings are Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014)
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/openings-for-amateurs/
https://www.mongoosepress.com/catalog/excerpts/openings_amateurs.pdf
and Winning Chess Openings by GM Yasser Seirawan (~1999).
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf

When reading such books, keep in mind that the main purpose is to get some idea about how one thinks about choosing a move. A secondary purpose is to provide information to help the reader decide on openings the reader would like to try.

"... Overall, I would advise most players to stick to a fairly limited range of openings, and not to worry about learning too much by heart. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)
"... A typical way of choosing an opening repertoire is to copy the openings used by a player one admires. ... However, what is good at world-championship level is not always the best choice at lower levels of play, and it is often a good idea to choose a 'model' who is nearer your own playing strength. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)

If this sort of thing happens a lot, I would say that there is a good chance that one should try a different book.

"... The books that are most highly thought of are not necessarily the most useful. Go with those that you find to be readable. ..." - GM Nigel Davies (2010)
"... If it’s instruction, you look for an author that addresses players at your level (buying something that’s too advanced won’t help you at all). This means that a classic book that is revered by many people might not be useful for you. ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (2015)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-best-chess-books-ever

Example of a book that would be a not-so-good choice for many: "The second edition of DVORETSKY’S ANALYTICAL MANUAL by Mark Dvoretsky is must reading for any ambitious player rated over 2200. ..." - IM John Donaldson (2013)

http://www.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/Dvoretskys-Analytical-Manual-2nd-edition-77p3828.htm

at key positions in your chess books, you should pause and really scrutinize the position, thinking -- going forward is what the book suggests as best play is what I would do.    go over the sequence of moves several times until you feel, yes, this is how I would play it.

A lot of chess is feeling comfortable in many different positions.    The higher your level, the more positions you understand !

It is not about memorising what is in the book. That won't help you much. What you should be doing is trying to understand what is in the book. 

I would argue that someone who is rated 1000 does not understand chess as well as someone who is rated 2000. The higher rated player may have a better memory and may be better at calculating variations. However, the higher rated player has such a stronger understanding of chess that if the two were to play the result would be in little doubt after as few as 10 moves. 

Try to understand what the book is trying to say.

There is not universal agreement on this extreme, but there is perhaps wide agreement that many should not spend a lot of time on this sort of thing. If one does do some opening reading, it might be a good idea to choose a book of this sort:

"... For beginning players, [Discovering Chess Openings by GN John Emms] will offer an opportunity to start out on the right foot and really get a feel for what is happening on the board. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf

"... Everyman Chess has started a new series aimed at those who want to understand the basics of an opening, i.e., the not-yet-so-strong players. ... I imagine [there] will be a long series based on the premise of bringing the basic ideas of an opening to the reader through plenty of introductory text, game annotations, hints, plans and much more. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2002)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627055734/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen38.pdf 

Kinda Spongey sure takes up a lot of space, without a lot of people saying thank you!  I wonder if he should be banned from forums just for confusing people and spamming.   I don't think he is here to contribute anything valuable or relevant to his audience, just a troll, he is probably laughing maniacally as he copy and pastes paragraph after paragraph of repetitive unapproachable nonsense.  and like I said, not one person has ever shown gratitude for his endless links and posts to hundreds of different articles, quotes, and books.  

I recommend everyone block kindaspongey as he is a pure troll, and probably has not even read one of the books he constantly spams links to and quotes from.  We live in an age of over-information, and information saturation, in which there is far too much information to any person to tackle, and this clown only exacerbates the problem (must be intentional) 

Some observations that, although lacking the wisdom of expertise, have been true for my love-hate relationship with book study:  

-In most cases is very hard to know when a book is "too tough" based on your frustrations, because the best learning takes place when you push your limits.

-If you aspire to learn a topic, even if you buy a book that is over your head, you will still understand some parts, and you can keep the rest as a goal to keep you motivated and humble.

-When working with a really tough book that you keep forgetting parts of, you can push yourself by thinking that your opponents would have to struggle even more than you to win games.

And of course, everything depends on your motivation for playing this game.

IMHO.....IMHO....

ChopelChess wrote: "... the best learning takes place when you push your limits. ..."

Is it possible to go too far with that sort of thinking? For example, if one is a 1365 player, would it make sense to work on a book that is "for any ambitious player rated over 2200"? I agree that it can be "very hard to know when a book is 'too tough'", but it seems to me that it is nevertheless of value to consider the possibility. One can ask about a specific book here and consider reviews.

thanks

Don't read the books upside down.  You'll learn slower.

Can this thread really be a legitimate question after you've been on the site for fully 4+ years??