This guide dives into how to read a book using the classical framework provided by Mortimer Adler. By the time you finish reading, you’ll have a framework for reading at different levels that you can apply right away. As part of our series on reading, we’ll explore the following books:
How We Learn To Read
A lot of people confuse knowing the name of something with understanding
- Anything easily digested is reading for information
- You’re likely to parrot an opinion that isn’t yours as if you had done the work
- Learning something insightful requires mental work
Analytical Reading
Be thorough
- Classify the book according to kind and subject matter
- State what the book is about with the utmost brevity
- Enumerate its major parts in their order and relation, and outline these parts as you have outlined the whole
- Define the problem or problems the author is trying to solve
Syntopical Reading
This involves reading many books on the same subject and comparing and contrasting ideas, vocabulary, and arguments
- The goal is to understand the subject and develop a deep fluency
- There are five steps to syntopical reading: Finding the Relevant Passages
- Bringing the Author to Terms
- Getting the Questions Clear
- Defining the Issues
- Analyzing the Discussion
How You Read Matches Why You’re Reading
The goal of reading determines how you read.
- While many people are proficient in reading for information and entertainment, few improve their ability to read for knowledge.
- Before we can improve our reading skills, we need to understand the differences in the reading levels.
Becoming a Demanding Reader
Ask yourself these four questions: what is this book about, what is being said in detail, and how?
Inspectional Reading
This is meant to be a quick check of the book by reading the preface, table of contents, etc.
- Systematic skimming helps you reach to a decision point: Does this book deserve more attention? If not, put it down. Superficial reading is when you just read – don’t ponder, just read.
