One way to do this is to approach reading as a conversation between you and the author. You are a participant in a dialogue. This requires you to think about and respond to what you read. As Adler and Van Doren point out, active reading requires effort. Give yourself credit for your efforts.
Active reading is a learnable skill that improves with practice.
As with any valuable skill, patience and persistence pays off. Top of Page Vary your reading speed By varying your reading speed, you can cover material more efficiently and with better comprehension. Because you have already skimmed the material, you already have a general idea of the structure and content of what you are reading. You have also narrowed down your topic, so you have a good idea of what you are looking for. It is not necessary to read a source from start to finish.