How to Read a Book: Summary Review
This is a summary review of How to Read a Book containing key details about the book.
What is How to Read a Book About?
"How to Read a Book" by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren is a classic guide to critical reading and literary analysis, offering a comprehensive overview of the different levels of reading and providing practical techniques and strategies for reading more effectively and deeply.
With more than half a million paperback copies in print and now in this stunning hardcover keepsake edition, How to Read a Book is the classic and definitive guide to reading comprehension for students of literature, scholars across disciplines, and anyone who just loves to read.
Summary Points & Takeaways from How to Read a Book
Some key summary points and takeaways from the book include:
* The book covers different types of reading such as skimming, inspectional reading, analytical reading, and syntopical reading.
* The book suggests that before reading a book, one should determine the author's purpose and audience, and the book's structure.
* The book also covers the importance of active reading and how to take notes and summarize the content of the book.
* The book also provides tips on how to read different types of books such as fiction, poetry, drama, history, and science.
* It suggests that the best way to read a book is to read it more than once and at different levels, each time gaining a deeper understanding of the author's message and ideas.
* Overall, the book is a comprehensive guide on how to read a book, providing readers with the tools to read critically and thoughtfully, and to get the most out of the books they read.
Who is the author of How to Read a Book?
Charles Lincoln Van Doren was an American writer and editor who was involved in a television quiz show scandal in the 1950s. In 1959 he testified before the U.S. Congress that he had been given the correct answers by the producers of the NBC quiz show Twenty-One.
Mortimer Jerome Adler was an American philosopher, educator, encyclopedist, and popular author. As a philosopher he worked within the Aristotelian and Thomistic traditions.
How to Read a Book Summary Notes
How to Read a Book: Unlocking the Power of Active Reading
Reading is not a passive activity; it requires effort and active engagement to fully comprehend and extract information from a text. In order to become an effective reader, one must understand and practice basic reading rules. Reading is akin to a ball game, where the reader is the catcher and the author is the one throwing the ball. To excel at reading, one must learn and practice the skills involved, just like becoming a skilled catcher in a game.
The first step towards becoming a good reader is to understand that reading is an active task. It is not enough to passively read through a text, but rather one must make an effort to understand what the author is trying to convey. This requires active engagement with the text, critically analyzing and interpreting the information presented.
Another important aspect of effective reading is mastering different levels of reading, ranging from superficial to analytical. Superficial reading involves skimming through a text to get a general idea of the content, while analytical reading involves delving deeper into the text, critically evaluating the arguments, and extracting valuable information.
To become a proficient reader, one must also develop the habit of actively selecting and organizing information from the text. This involves identifying the main ideas, distinguishing between facts and opinions, and critically evaluating the evidence presented by the author.
Furthermore, being an effective reader also requires active questioning and challenging of the text. This involves questioning the author's assumptions, evaluating the validity of the arguments, and forming one's own opinions based on critical analysis.
How to Read a Book: Mastering Elementary Reading for Deeper Understanding
One of the key ideas is that elementary reading, the stage where readers can decipher and comprehend words and sentences, is essential for understanding the content and meaning of a text. Just like in our early days at school when we learned to read seemingly simple sentences like "The cat sat on the mat," this foundational skill sets the stage for effective reading comprehension.
Elementary reading involves linking symbols on a page to sounds and forming words and sentences. For example, when children first learn to read, they learn that the letters "c," "a," and "t" together sound like "cat," and how this word connects to other words to form a sentence like "The cat sat on the mat." This basic understanding allows them to grasp the basic content of the sentences and make sense of the text.
However, this seemingly obvious skill is crucial for understanding all texts well, even beyond the early stages of reading. Without a solid foundation in elementary reading, readers may struggle to move beyond the surface level of a text or grasp its basic meaning. Imagine trying to read a book about cats without knowing the meaning of the word "cat" - it would be incomprehensible.
Therefore, when analyzing a text, it is essential to ensure a solid understanding of all the basic concepts from the very beginning. Mastering elementary reading enables readers to comprehend words and sentences, which forms the foundation for deeper understanding of a text's content, meaning, and message. It is the fundamental building block for effective reading comprehension and unlocks the ability to engage with texts at a higher level of analysis and interpretation.
So, whether you are a beginner reader or an experienced reader, never underestimate the importance of mastering elementary reading. It is the essential skill that lays the groundwork for unlocking the full potential of any text and gaining a deeper understanding of its message and meaning.
How to Read a Book: Unlocking the Basics through Inspectional Reading
One of the main themes here is the importance of inspectional reading, a technique that allows readers to quickly assess and absorb the basics of a book in a limited amount of time. Inspectional reading helps answer the questions "What is this book about?" and "What kind of book is this?" before committing to reading it in detail, thereby saving time and effort.
The book emphasizes that inspectional reading is a crucial step in the reading process as it helps readers decide whether a book is worth their time and attention. By skim-reading the title page, table of contents, and editor's blurb, and then selectively going through chapters and paragraphs, readers can quickly ascertain if the book is relevant to their interests and needs.
If readers determine that the book is indeed what they are looking for, they can proceed to read the entire book superficially on the first pass. This means ignoring finer details and unfamiliar words, without getting bogged down by looking up every unknown term or checking footnotes. This approach prevents readers from losing the pleasure of reading and getting discouraged, especially when tackling complex texts like Shakespeare, where constant reference to footnotes can be overwhelming.
By gaining a general understanding of the entire book first, readers are better equipped to navigate the trickier parts when they read through it again in more detail. Inspectional reading serves as a foundation for effective reading comprehension and sets the stage for deeper engagement with The book in subsequent readings.
Analytical Reading
Analytical reading is a crucial step in truly understanding a book. It involves delving deeper into the content and structure of the text, much like chewing and digesting the contents of a book. The first step in analytical reading is to classify the book based on its superficial properties such as its language and title, which can give you a general idea of what to expect. For example, a book with modal words like "should" or "ought to" may indicate a practical or self-help book, while a book with a historical title like "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" is likely a history book.
Once you have classified the book, it's time to focus on The book itself. This involves identifying the plot and noting how different themes relate to the whole. Summarizing the story in a few short sentences and outlining the main events can help you grasp the overall storyline and structure of the book. It's like taking an x-ray of the book, examining its "bones" - the plot, and then looking at its "flesh" - the structure and subplots.
Understanding the main aim of the book and how its themes connect with one another is essential in analytical reading. For example, if you know that the book is theoretical, you can expect the argumentation to be abstract, whereas a how-to book may offer more practical advice. By identifying the main themes and subplots, you can gain a deeper understanding of how the book is organized and how its ideas are developed.
Analytical reading allows you to go beyond surface-level understanding and truly engage with the content of the book. It helps you uncover the underlying structure and themes, which can lead to a more insightful and meaningful reading experience. By analyzing the plot, structure, and themes of the book, you can develop a more comprehensive understanding of its message and appreciate its nuances.
Understand the Author
Understanding the author is crucial in analyzing the quality of the material being presented in a book. An author is essentially a seller of ideas, and in order to effectively judge their work, it is important to grasp their basic vocabulary and argumentation. One way to achieve this is by pinpointing the key concepts or terms central to the text.
Start by identifying the key words or terms, which are often marked with underlines or in bold in textbooks. The author may also provide definitions for these terms early on in the text. Once you have identified the key words, it is essential to understand their meaning in the context of the surrounding words and the overall context of the book.
After gaining a clear understanding of the key words, the next step is to identify the author's propositions, which are the answers to questions, declarations of knowledge, or opinions that convey the main messages of the argument. These propositions can typically be found in the key sentences of The book and will contain notable terms.
While there are no set rules to identify propositions, it is up to the reader to grasp the structure of the argument and identify the key points being made by the author. A helpful exercise is to rephrase these key sentences in your own words to ensure a thorough understanding of the author's message.
Once the propositions have been identified, it is important to examine how they are connected with one another and organized. Are they logically linked? Does one proposition follow from another? Does the author present their main argument first and then provide examples, or vice versa? Understanding the structure of the author's argument will help clarify the overall message being conveyed.
Evaluating Significance and Logic
One of the main themes in this book is the importance of evaluating the significance and logic of a book after understanding the ideas presented by the author. Evaluating the significance involves asking critical questions such as "Is it true?" or "What of it?" in order to assess the validity of the author's arguments. This requires a balanced and fair approach to criticism, avoiding emotional biases or disagreements purely based on personal beliefs.
One aspect of evaluating significance is to consider the author's knowledge and information. If the author is uninformed or misinformed about certain aspects, it is fair to criticize their arguments based on these grounds. For example, The book mentions Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" and how it would be fair to critique his ignorance of genetics and mechanisms of inheritance which were discovered after he wrote the book.
Another important aspect of evaluating a book is to assess its logical coherence. This involves identifying any contradictions or inconsistencies in the author's arguments. If an author contradicts their own statements or presents incomplete arguments, it is reasonable to question the validity of their overall message. The book cites an example from Thomas Hobbes's "Elements of Law" where the author initially states that bodies of matter have no qualities, but later contradicts himself by stating that men have qualities and are bodies of matter.
The book emphasizes the need for readers to critically evaluate the significance and logic of a book in order to form a well-informed opinion. It highlights the importance of avoiding emotional biases and being fair in criticism, while also being attentive to contradictions, inconsistencies, and incomplete arguments. By following these principles, readers can assess the quality of the content and make informed judgments about the author's message.
Syntopical Reading: A Top-Level Technique for Writing Essays
When it comes to writing an essay for a class, relying on just one book may not be enough. Instead, students are expected to use multiple sources to build a well-researched and well-rounded argument. This is where the top-level technique of syntopical reading comes in.
Syntopical reading involves reading two or more books on the same topic during the same time period. This technique requires the reader to identify the topic they want to write about and select relevant passages from each book. It is achieved through the use of both inspectional and analytical reading.
Inspectional reading involves identifying appropriate books for the essay by looking at the titles, covers, and indices of different books. This can help narrow down the selection of books that will be relevant for the topic at hand. Analytical reading, on the other hand, requires a more thorough approach in order to gain a deeper understanding of the ideas presented in each book.
The main difference between syntopical reading and using individual inspectional and analytical reading techniques by themselves is that with syntopical reading, the topic being investigated is the focus, rather than any individual book. This approach allows the reader to form a complete picture of the topic and gain a deeper understanding of different perspectives on the issue.
While the goal of analytical reading is to gain a complete understanding of the book, the goal of syntopical reading is to gain a complete understanding of the topic. This means that when using syntopical reading, it is not necessary to read the entire book, but rather focus on relevant passages that contribute to the reader's understanding of the topic.
Adapting Reading Rules for Different Genres
Reading a book is not a one-size-fits-all task. The key to effectively reading a book is to adapt your approach to the specific genre and book you're reading. The rules for one type of book may not apply to another, so it's important to use common sense when reading. For instance, in novels, the "So what?" question may not be relevant as there may not always be a universal moral for every reader. In philosophy texts, on the other hand, you can expect a sequence of propositions and arguments.
Additionally, it's important to remember that reading other texts can help you understand the book you're currently reading. Understanding the background of an author can help you better grasp their ideas. For example, to fully appreciate the American Constitution, it's important to be familiar with the works of Enlightenment philosophers like Montesquieu and Rousseau.
Sometimes, even with adaptation and external help, a book may still be difficult to understand. In these cases, seeking external help such as from a teacher, friend, or online community may be beneficial.
By adapting your reading rules to different genres and seeking external help when necessary, you can enhance your understanding of any book you read.
Book Details
- Print length: 426 pages
- Genre: Nonfiction, Self Help, Education
What is a good quote from How to Read a Book?
Top Quote: “True freedom is impossible without a mind made free by discipline.” (Meaning) - How to Read a Book Quotes, Mortimer J. Adler and Charles van Doren
What do critics say?
Here's what one of the prominent reviewers had to say about the book: "It shows concretely how the serious work of proper reading may be accomplished and how much it may yield in the way of instruction and delight." — The New Yorker
* The editor of this summary review made every effort to maintain information accuracy, including any published quotes, chapters, or takeaways. If you're interested in furthering your personal development, I invite you to check out my list of favorite personal development books page. On this page, you'll find a curated list of books that have personally impacted my life, each with a summary and key lessons.
Chief Editor
Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
