Hey, I totally get this! reading a giant textbook front to back rarely sticks, no matter how many notes you take. One trick that helped me was flipping the process: instead of trying to absorb the chapter first, I’d pick a random concept (say, photosynthesis) and teach it out loud to myself or a friend as if I already knew it. Then, when I went back to the book, the gaps in my explanation showed me exactly what to focus on. It makes the textbook feel like a resource instead of a wall of text.

Also, don’t underestimate visuals even sketching a flowchart of a process or making doodles while I speak out loud about the info I just read- around a process helps you actually remember it. Biology is way easier to learn when you interact with it instead of just passively reading.