I'd like to add that this concept is not just for natural languages. Say you read your first Shakespeare or Nietzsche or any book where your wish to learn and understand the content trumps the plot. Cramming the perspective (historical, philosophical, ...) should help massively in the pursuit of knowledge.

Should, because I've never tried it, but wish I could. Something like Kindle + Audible + augmented learning would be my dream. I always get my additional info from deep-diving Wiki and the internet, but that's obviously not as deep as a good set of notes, or a teacher should get me. There's an undeveloped space between the layman and the scholarly level.

In high school there was this old-school paper database resource I really liked that gave you this perspective for all the great novels. It didn't help you directly with your book report, but it helped find the words, themes and directions to report about. I even remember one: the 'vatersuche'-motif, which is a literary concept where a young man is looking for knowledge about his father via his actions that make the plot. It's so obscure, I can't even google it right now. That, or I don't know the proper translation, which proves the point.