How can I read for understanding?

How can I read for understanding?
English is my second language and whenever I read english I find myself reading but not understanding, or understanding but missing the main point. Is there any method I can follow to understand the meaning better?

It's all about context.

Get to know words better by exposing yourself to usage of words in different contexts.
Work on getting better at framing whatever you're reading in a context. You don't have to make up your mind about what something is, just try get better at discerning where the author is coming from.

General knowledge is also helpful here. There are tons of references in text and lots of 'missing the main point' comes from not getting exactly what the author is referring to.

Also beware there can definitely be writing that is just dense or pretentious drivel.
As you get a better nack for sniffing out context you also get better at skimming past pointless autism the writer has shat on the page to move on to where they start making sense again.
Of course as you get better you may find some of that drivel was just you being a pleb who couldn't appreciate the author's autism enough. Well, that's part of why people might read stuff more than once.

So just practice and keep it up, if you get tired out reading some stuff I say just skip it and maybe revisit it later. It's ok if something is beyond your scope - even the most well read Veeky Forumsfags are capable of struggling with unfamiliar contexts.

Take your time, do close reading, re-read the text until you're either satisfied or annoyed. I say if a book just isn't making sense after all your effort it may simply be too difficult for you at the moment. Give it a rest, read some easier stuff and then go back to it later.

I've personally had to take a break from reading the Bible because of experiencing similar fatigue. I'll go back to it when I can muster the energy to give a fuck.

>bible fatigue
Can't be read like a novel, canit?

lol nope
The style is inconsistent, going from epic to fairytale to an autistic dump of Jewish family trees. Weird omissions, confusing character motivations, definitely way too many characters.

I remember some parts were pretty good but forget which ones exactly - the stories have a way of melting together with how much reference there is between each of them.

Definitely not like a novel in that you don't get "couldn't put it down" moments yet at the same time you can easily lose track of the story when you do put it down.

I got more familiar to English reading popular young adult fiction (like Hunger Games). Plot is easy to follow and it is written in simple language.

>It's all about context.
Oh, spare me with this meme, user. Very few english words can be smelt from context insofar as MANY others can fill the meaning gap just as better or as the right answer or even better.
There's also the shitton of superfluous adjectives.

Read more

gotta start with childrens literature which has simpler words, like tom sawyer, huckleberry finn, treasure island, jules verne books, grimms fairy tales.

hi Iustin

You're reading stuff that's too difficult. Read something easier, and make sure you understand everything fully.