I suggest you use mind mapping more. There is no reason why you would have trouble with technical books unless you have a poor purpose. A poor purpose is one that says "I want to be familiar with ...[subject]' To be familiar with a subject means to know of it's existence. Once you have that you're familiar and therefore done for your purpose.
If you activate a book then it stands to reason you want a level of knowledge on the subject. What you need to know what is that knowledge. How will you use it? When where or why will you use it. If you know that you know your purpose and will know when you're done.
Don't rush textbooks either. Some technical books require 100 hours of traditional reading to get the level of knowledge needed to pass certain subjects. Therefore you need to expect to spend more time with them than non-technical books. Rapid read after applying a few activation layers. Set a timer and know your purpose. That's how you become an active reader.
A passive reader won't take control of their reading and won't stop reading because they don't know if they are there yet.
Alex
