Release year: 1972

Authors: Mortimer J. Adler & Charles Van Doren

Review

Here is a book I’ve had on my radar for quite some time. Ever since that magical moment in July 2022 when I “learned how to read a book” by getting through Team Topologies and The DevOps Handbook , I was suspecting that there was a better, more robust way to get at the essential content of a book. Because in our modern age there hasn’t been a subject that hasn’t been written about, I naively searched for a book titled “How to Read a Book” on Amazon and immediately landed on a result. Not only was there a real book exactly titled “How to Read a Book”, it was one dating all the way back to 1940 (I read its second edition, dated 1972). Thousands of glowing reviews seemed to indicate that this was an enduring classic.

Ignorance is bliss. Was I ready to find out what this book was truly about? To tell the truth, not really! Since reading Team Topologies, I read 85 books before finally learning How to Read a Book. I even wrote my very own book in the meantime, Overcoming Learning Anxiety (which you should definitely check out, by the way). I wanted to put my method out there in the world before getting influenced by the works of the great. How far was my method from theirs?

Some elements are similar, and some are pretty different. I focus on how to physically mark the book. Here, the authors focus on how to mentally digest the book. They don’t care if you suplex your book as you read it. However, I was quite happy when they mentioned that “Marking a book is literally an expression of your differences or your agreements with the author. It is the highest respect you can pay him.” That is something I 100% agree with.

I can already feel how reading this book will influence my future reads. It has made me more interested in analyzing fiction, among other things. It also allowed me to rethink what I’m currently building with this list of reviews. In a way, I am figuring out how to do analytical and syntopical reading. I think this is the beginning of the deepening of my latest favorite hobby, namely reading and writing.

One thing I particularly enjoyed about How to Read a Book is how it lays down very clear rules to follow when reading, which I have reproduced under this review. (There is no way I can memorize all of this by heart!) In particular, the authors instruct that the analytical reader must always attempt to answer four questions about whatever book they are reading. I will attempt to answer these questions for the first time here, and I will add this to my review template for future books:

What is the book about as a whole?

This is a book about how to read a book. It instructs the reader about the different levels (depths) of reading and what goals the reader should strive for when reading different types of books (theoretical, practical, fiction, history, poetry, philosophy, etc.)

What is being said in detail, and how?

The book goes in little detail about the first level of reading (elementary reading), and goes in much more detail about the other levels, namely inspectional reading, analytical reading, and syntopical reading. Each level of reading is clearly defined. All levels come with their own specific terms and sets of rules to follow for doing them “correctly.”

Is the book true, in whole or part?

As far as I know, the book rings very true. Based on the amount of reading I have dong prior to picking up this book, I must say that I was quite amazed how the authors managed to put words on the things I was attempting to do without realizing them.

For example, when the expression “coming to terms with the author” appeared, I had an “aha!” moment. Indeed, each author uses a vocabulary specifically tied to their subject matter. Some terms used by one author might be different than how other authors use them. We cannot claim to understand a book if we cannot use the terms from the author unambiguously.

The big takeaway of the book are the rules for each level of reading. I cannot tell if they are true (is there a single optimal way to read a book, really?), but they are certainly more refined than the system I previously came up with. As I am currently answering one of the questions that this book claims each analytical reader should answer for any book they read, I certainly feel that this is a tremendous way to organize my thoughts as a reader. (Wow, this sentence felt strange to write!)

If I could identify one part of the book that might be lacking by today’s standards, it is the chapter about “external aids”, i.e. encyclopedias and dictionaries. Today thanks to the internet and A.I., our relationship with external aids have been transformed compared to when this edition was written in 1972. However, the core ideas stays the same: The reader should do every effort they can to resolve a question they come up with before resorting to using external aid. That is what will allow them to elevate their reasoning powers and is, in the end, the reason why we should attempt to read difficult, classic works.

What of it?

I expect this book to stay with me for a long time, and I will surely reference it in the future when I discuss with people “how to read books properly.” I expect to revisit its rules a few times and find ways to incorporate them into my reading habits. For example, these questions I am currently answering will definitely get added to my review templates going forward.

While this is a much more technical read than my own Overcoming Learning Anxiety, it is an essential read for a reader looking to propel their understanding ability to the next level.

In conclusion

I think this book is just as fresh today as it once when it first came out, if not more. Growing up, I don’t recall anyone telling me how to actually analyse a book. If so, it surely went completely above my head. Reading as a hobby seems to be on the decline, and thus to me books like this one are crucial to make sure that we humans don’t lose our capacity to analyse and make sense of complex works. Each human has to learn philosophy, wisdom and science from scratch. Let’s make sure we don’t lose our ability to learn from absent teachers (books), as they now compete with applications leeching for our precious attention.

Reading books changed my life, because it unlocked a drawer in my head, a drawer filled with reasons to care for myself and those around me. The only reason my readings were so impactful is because I was intent on learning how to read right. With this book, I believe the authors perfectly encapsulated a timeless lesson on how to learn autonomously. Even though I have now read close to a hundred non-fiction books, this book allowed me to get a fresh perspective on the goal of analyzing a book. I can only give it the highest rating. Of all the books I have read yet, this is the one I most wish I could have had the skill to write. It is simply impeccable.

Félix rating:
👍👍

Rules of reading

The four rules of analytical reading for finding what a book is about

Classify the book according to kind and subject matter.
State what the whole 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.

Rules for interpreting a book’s content

Come to terms with an author by interpreting his key words.
Grasp the author’s leading propositions by dealing with his most important sentences.
Know the author’s arguments by finding/constructing them in/from sequences of sentences.
Determine which of his problems the author has solved, and which he has not; and of the latter, decide which the author knew he had failed to solve.

For finding if the propositions in the book are true, and what to make of them

General maxims of intellectual etiquette

Don’t begin criticism until you have completed your outline and interpretation of the book. You must understand before you can agree, disagree, or suspend judgement.
Do not disagree disputatiously or contentiously.
Demonstrate that you recognize the different between knowledge and mere personal opinion by presenting good reasons for any critical judgement you make.

Special criteria for points of criticism

Show wherein the author is uninformed
Show wherein the author is misinformed
Show wherein the author is illogical
Show wherein the author’s analysis or account is incomplete

⭐ Star Quotes

Preface

(p. x) (Blaise Pascal): “When we read too fast or too slowly, we understand nothing.”

Part One: The Dimensions of Reading

Chapter 1: The Activity and Art of Reading

(p. 6) A piece of writing can be received more or less completely. The amount the reader “catches” will usually depend on the amount of activity he puts into the process, as well as upon the skill with which he executes the different mental acts involved.
(p. 9) Learning means understanding more, not remembering more information that has the same degree of intelligibility as other information you already possess.
(p. 10) Any book that can be read for understanding or information can probably be read for entertainment as well. But it is not true that every book that can be read for entertainment can also be read for understanding.
(p. 10) Enlightenment is achieved only when, in addition to knowing what an author says, you know what he means and why he says it.

Chapter 2: The Levels of Reading

(p. 16) The goal a reader seeks (entertainment, information, understand) determines the way he reads.

Chapter 3: The First Level of Reading: Elementary Reading

Chapter 4: The Second Level of Reading: Inspectional Reading

(p. 36) In tackling a difficult book for the first time, read it through without ever stopping to look up or ponder the things you don’t understand right away. Pay attention to what you can understand and don’t be stopped by what you cannot immediately grasp.
(p. 37) Understanding half of a really tough book is much better than not understanding it at all.
(p. 43) Great speed in reading is a dubious achievement; it is of value only if what you have to read is not really worth reading.

Chapter 5: How to Be a Demanding Reader

(p. 46) Ask questions while you read – questions that you yourself must try to answer in the course of reading:
- What is the book about as a whole?
- What are the main ideas, assertions, and arguments that constitute the author’s particular message?
- Is the book true, in whole or in part? (Knowing the author’s mind is not enough)
- What is the book’s significance? What else follows? What is further implied or suggested?
(p. 47) ⭐ The undemanding reader asks no questions and gets no answers.
(p. 49) ⭐ Full ownership of a book only comes when you have made it a part of yourself, and the best way to make yourself a part of it (which comes to the same thing) is by writing in it.
(p. 49) ⭐ The person who says he knows what he thinks but cannot express it usually does not know what he thinks.
(p. 49) ⭐ Marking a book is literally an expression of your differences or your agreements with the author. It is the highest respect you can pay him.

Part Two: The Third Level of Reading: Analytical Reading

Chapter 6: Pigeonholing a Book

(p. 65) Intelligent action depends on knowledge.
(p. 66) To make knowledge practical we must convert it into rules of operation. This can be summarized in the distinction between knowing that and knowing how.
(p. 73) A narrative is a narrative, whether it be fact or fiction. The historian must write poetically, which means he must obey the rules for telling a good story.
(p. 74) The philosopher usually finds it easier to teach students who have not been previously taught by his colleagues, whereas the scientist prefers the student whom his colleagues have already prepared.

Chapter 7: X-Raying a Book

(p. 90) ⭐ The reader tries to uncover the skeleton that the book conceals. The author starts with the skeleton and tries to cover it up.

Chapter 8: Coming to Terms With an Author

(p. 97) ⭐ Where there is unresolved ambiguity in communication, there is no communication, or at best communication must be incomplete.
(p. 98) It can be argued that the best poetry is that which is the most richly ambiguous.

Chapter 9: Determining an Author’s Message

(p. 123) ⭐ An essential part of reading is to be perplexed and know it. If you never ask yourself any questions about the meaning of a passage, you cannot expect the book to give you any insight you do not already possess.
(p. 126) ⭐ If you cannot get away at all from the author’s words, it shows that only words have passed from him to you, not thought or knowledge.
(p. 127) ⭐ If you cannot do anything at all to exemplify or illustrate a proposition, either imaginatively or by reference to actual experiences, you should suspect that you do not know what is being said.
(p. 135) Ask, which of the problems that the author tried to solve did he succeed in solving? In the course of solving these, did he raise any new ones?

Chapter 10: Criticizing a Book Fairly

(p. 140) [The author] has done what he could to make [his readers] his equal. He deserves that they act like his peers, that they engage in conversation with him, that they talk back.
(p. 140) No one is really teachable who does not freely exercise his power of independent judgement. […] The most teachable reader is the most critical.
(p. 141) To regard anyone except yourself as responsible for your judgement is to be a slave, not a free man.
(p. 143) ⭐ ⭐ To agree without understanding is inane. To disagree without understanding is impudent.
(p. 147) ⭐ Disagreement is futile agitation unless it is undertaken with the hope that it may lead to the resolution of an issue.
(p. 148) ⭐ No one who looks upon disagreement as an occasion for teaching another should forget that it is also an occasion for being taught.

Chapter 11: Agreeing or Disagreeing With an Author

(p. 160) ⭐ If you have not been able to show that the author is uninformed, misinformed, or illogical on relevant matters, you simply cannot disagree. You must agree. (There is a difference between not liking the conclusions of an author and disagreeing.)
(p. 166) ⭐ A person who has read widely but not well deserves to be pitied rather than praised.
(p. 167) In the natural course of events, a good student frequently becomes a teacher, and so, too, a good reader becomes an author.

Chapter 12: Aids to Reading

Aids to reading refer external help books, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias.

(p. 169) ⭐ It is best to do all that you can by yourself before seeking outside help; for if you act consistently on this principle, you will find that you need less and less outside help.

Part Three: Approaches to Different Kinds of Reading Matter

Chapter 13: How to Read Practical Books

(p. 193) A theoretical book can solve its own problems. But a practical problem can only be solved by action itself.
(p. 201) Agreement with a practical book implies action on your part. If you are convinced or persuaded by the author that the ends he proposes are worthy and that the means he recommends are likely to achieve those ends, then it is hard to see how you can refuse to act in the way the author wishes you to.

Chapter 14: How to Read Imaginative Literature

(p. 205) Don’t try to resist the effect that a work of imaginative literature has on you. When reading a story, we must allow it to move us, we must let it do whatever work it wants to do on us.

Chapter 15: Suggestions for Reading Stories, Plays, and Poems

(p. 216) Sometimes a story is a better way of getting a point across – be it a political, economic, or moral point – than an expository work making the same point.
(p. 217) (E.B. White) “A despot doesn’t fear eloquent writers preaching freedom – he fears a drunken poet who may crack a joke that will take hold.”

Chapter 16: How to Read History

(p. 241) Read a history not only to learn what really happened at a particular time and place in the past, but also to learn the way men act in all times and places, especially now.
(p. 243) With the world as small and dangerous as it has become, it would be a good idea for all of us to start reading history better.

Chapter 17: How to Read Science and Mathematics

(p. 258) Scientific objectivity is not the absence of initial bias. It is attained by the frank confession of it.

Chapter 18: How to Read Philosophy

(p. 270) ⭐ Adults do not lose the curiosity that seems to be a native human trait, but their curiosity deteriorates in quality. They want to know whether something is so, not why.
(p. 271) ⭐ Be childishly simple in your questions, and maturely wise in your replies.
(p. 287) Aristotle said, Happiness is the quality of a whole life.
(p. 288) Once you have found an author’s controlling principles, you will want to decide whether he adheres to them throughout his work.

Chapter 19: How to Read Social Science

Part Four: The Ultimate Goals of Reading

Chapter 20: The Fourth Level of Reading: Syntopical Reading

(p. 324) A summary of how to perform syntopical reading
(p. 339) You will not improve as a reader if all you read are books that are well within your capacity.
(p. 339) Reading for information does not stretch your mind more than reading for amusement.
(p. 345) There is no limit to the amount of growth and development that the mind can sustain.
(p. 346) When we cease to grow, we begin to die.

Appendix A: A Recommended Reading List

(p. 348) The primary aim is to read well, not widely.
(p. 349) Recommended reading list

Appendix B: Exercises and Tests at the Four Levels of Reading

(p. 406) Speed is never important in syntopical reading.

(Read 97) How to Read a Book