Nobel Prize Winner Eric Kandel writes about this very topic in his book about memory. Its a very good book and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the mind sciences.
Was reading Eric Kandel's In Search of Memory. It's a really engaging book. It is also surprisingly humble, and Kandel never misses an opportunity to credit the work of his predecessors & colleagues.
https://www.amazon.com/Search-Memory-Emergence-Science-Mind/dp/0393329372
Here's a vidoe link to a documentary on Kandel's work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr5d_C4rltk
Kandel's "in Search of Memory" is a great read and explains how memory seems to work in the context of his life and research (he won the Nobel Prize for his work): http://www.amazon.com/In-Search-Memory-Emergence-Science/dp/0393329372
If you want to get more into understanding the circuitry, I always recommend the Bear/Connors/Paradiso textbook for anyone who wants to learn more about neuroscience topics but doesn't have much background on the subject. They're very good writers and present information very clearly. If you're looking to find it cheap I would get a used 2nd or 3rd edition, but this is the newest (fourth): http://www.amazon.com/Neuroscience-Exploring-Mark-Bear-PhD/dp/0781778174/