What are some tips for being a more efficient reader (for academic purposes)?

I’m a first semester senior and I’m getting to the point of my academic career where I just don’t have time to read everything, especially larger texts (my professors seem to want to assign longer texts as I progress through the program).<br><br>I’m pretty good at getting through the material without taking notes on it, but I’m interested in hearing any efficient reading strategies that you have. I’ve heard of skimming for the “main ideas” but I’m not sure if that’s an effective strategy for me personally.<br><br>I’m also curious to hear people’s thoughts on being an auditory learner vs. visual learner. I’m an English major so writing and reading are kind of my life’s blood. However, because I’m an English major, I find that I retain a lot of the information I *hear* in lectures (especially lectures that include a lot of discussion), sometimes more than what I read in a text. I’ve always thought of myself as a visual learner, but after giving it some more thought I’m not so sure. What are people’s thoughts on this?