First, the mechanics: I'm reviewing entire books that I haven't read before; I have a Python script that will split up a text file and produce a CSV file for Anki to import. New cards are set to come up in the original order, but reviews follow Anki's scheduling algorithm. Because I only have 1-2 new cards per book per day, the effect is similar to having several bookmarks: One is the most current, the second trails the first by a week, and the third by a month, etc.

A "normal" length book, like a genre fiction or popular science book, generally produces about 1000 cards like the one above. At a pace of 1 new card per day, that's about a three year commitment. It's a lot easier to have more books going than to increase the pace on any single book; the brain likes variety. I've got about 20 books going at once, which is around an hour of reading every day, including both reviews and new material. Overall, that works out to an average pace of 1 "standard" book every two months.

As for why, it started as an experiment to fix several problems I was having at the same time: My preexisting Anki deck was running dry, but still contained items that I wanted to keep reviewing; I needed a source of low-effort cards to keep the review habit going. I also had a long list of books that I should read someday but that day never seemed to be getting any closer; I decided to force the issue.

And finally, I had been unable to figure out how to make flashcards for literature at all. What series of questions / prompts can you write that captures the essence of something like this:

  It is an ancient Mariner,
  And he stoppeth one of three.
  'By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
  Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?

  The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide,
  And I am next of kin;
  The guests are met, the feast is set:
  May'st hear the merry din.'

  He holds him with his skinny hand,
  'There was a ship,' quoth he.
  'Hold off! unhand me, grey-beard loon!'
  Eftsoons his hand dropt he.

  He holds him with his glittering eye—
  The Wedding-Guest stood still,
  And listens like a three years' child:
  The Mariner hath his will.

  The Wedding-Guest sat on a stone:
  He cannot choose but hear;
  And thus spake on that ancient man,
  The bright-eyed Mariner.

  (...)

Short of memorizing the poem word for word, it's hard to imagine any set of prompts that would adequately capture this: The events are almost incidental compared to the cadence and sound of the words. Or, using the Bleak House passage from above: If this gentleman becomes a recurring character in the book, I'm bound to learn more about his personality as the story progresses. If he exhibits some small behavior in this scene that foreshadows his character development later, how am I to notice it? If I have simply noted that he and Esther first meet on this trip and never revisit the actual text, I'll not have the opportunity to make that connection.