[joncameron]

"...long writing was necessary only where quick contextualisation was impossible"

Adler and Doren's "How to Read a Book" covers quick contextualization; there were techniques and ideas about this starting in the early 70s, most of which is still very relevant and I've found very useful in my own reading life.

[kranner]

That book is anything but quick.

Here's a summary of the book I found more useful than the book itself: http://www.oxfordtutorials.com/How%20to%20Read%20a%20Book%20...