Reading once, reading twice....

One of the things my professors told me during undergrad was to always re-read, to go back to texts and to really let material digest.
In my head I was thinking,
"Re-read? I barely had time to finish this 400 page book! I still have three or four other classes to read for...man."
But they were all right. And most of the times, I went back and re-read. Each time I employed that strategy it helped me. Sometimes a text is so dense or so rich with new vocabulary that it's really nice to go back, to see if the conclusions or thoughts that I had made were accurate. Ultimately after the second read through I wanted to ask myself these questions:
#1--Were my original thoughts on track? Can I use the text to prove my argument or opinions?
#2--What did I miss? What were some points, themes, or threads that I had missed the first time?
#3--Am I still a little confused with the material? If so, see a Professor...
#4--How can I take this new information along with the old, and incorporate it into what I already know?

So while reading a text the second time around is time consuming, remember that it's time well-spent. The second time around is when you will probably see the lightbulb go off in your brain, and that's certainly not wasted time...