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Summary: The Art of Reading 101
Review: The first time I ever saw this book was my first year in college where it was required reading . . . unfortunately, I pretty much tossed it aside after looking at the "embarrasing" title, which screamed: "Hey look, I'm illiterate!" Years after I graduated (and had sold my copy) I came across it again sitting face up in a used book-shop, staring me in the face as if to say: "We've unfinished business, you and me!". So, I decided to give it a second chance. It's now thoroughly underlined, highlighted, and thumbed through. I continue to use the reading list in the appendix as a lifetime must-read list. This is one of those books that really should be required reading in college, and perhaps high-school (but I doubt most high school students would bother with it). The fraction that I did originally read in college stayed with me all these years, and brought me back to the complete book. I won't go into detail of how the book works (other reviewers have done that), but will say that if you follow Adler & Van Doren's suggestions for active, passionate reading you'll find yourself enjoying books more than ever. And, in my case, enjoying the act of reading for the first time in my life. Since first reading "How to Read a Book" some years ago, I've rarely been without reading material that I was enthusiastic about, and continue to use the suggestions in this "guide to intelligent reading" at various times to remind myself of such things as the difference between reading for information vs. understanding; or when and how to read long novels quickly and with immersion and not get lost or bogged down without taking forever to finish, if at all. This guide is filled with information and recommendations which most of us probably think we already know, but since the subject of reading itself isn't usually well taught, becomes a classic, and vital handbook for any serious reader.
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Summary: Help!
Review: I never could bring mice elf to finish this book. Does anyone know if there are cliff notes?
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Summary: Must Reading!
Review: A young Army Officer who operated a tiny used book store just outside Fort Hood (Texas) handed me this book when I was waiting to be discharged from the army. What more can you say for a book than: 'it changed the course of my life'? It did.
How many intellectually oriented books remain in print for sixty years? Not many. "How to Read a Book" insured I would not be restricted to the shallow fare our University's spoon out and I learned not give up on reading the Western Canon, which most university students today do. They flee from the classics, after one course. I did not. I knew something my teachers did not tell me. I knew from "How to Read a Book": 1) do not get side tracked looking up strange words or reading the commentary on the bottom of the pages. Do that and know nothing from the first reading, except frustration. Just read the story, treatise of book through. You will be surprised how much you comprehend; 2) No one masters a classic from one reading. For a decent grasp, figure on three readings; 3) The only books truly worth reading are books that are over your head.
"How to Read..." is not what many people conclude from the title. It is not a 'how to read manual.' It is a how to approach and comprehend different kinds of books. Adler's primary aim is to introduce people to learning by reading the Western Canon (The Great Books), which academics have all but expelled from school. "How to Read" could have been titled 'What Your Teachers Forgot to Teach You' or 'What Your Teachers Could Not Teach You. Adler points out (he wrote his book in the 1940s, concerned at how gullible people were to war propaganda) that few professors know how to read a book. Several years later, an Adler collegue published a journal article titled: "How to Read an Essay"
"How To Read..." gave me confidence to believe what I thought I discovered when I read academic reviews. It seemed that half the reviewers did not bother to read the book they "reviewed" and others seemed to criticize the book that was not written (Adler warns readers about this). I also found true Adler's advice that many students are turned off forever to writers such as Shakespeare because their teacher did not tell them to not worry about mastering a play or Great Book on first reading. Many students walk away mistakenenly conviced some have what it takes to read great books, others do not. (Today, many higher mathematics teachers convey to students that one either does or does not have what it takes to master mathematics. Like any other subject, the average person can master it. Mathematics is a language, a language smaller & more consistent than English. Genius just learns fast and can go further.) Just read. Do not get side tracked reading annotations, lengthy introductions, expert notes, or looking up words. Just read the story or essay. You will be surprised by what you do understand by the time you finish the work.
Adler teaches you that the book that is most worth reading is the book that is over your head. You must understand that a great book must be read at least three times. Just read the story the first time. If you wish, look up words and read commentary and notes the second or third time. Each time you read a Great Book you get more out of it. Annotations, commentaries, teachers rob you of the greatist gift of a great book, self-discovery.
Before you decide not to buy "How to Read a Book" pick up a copy and look it over. All libraries have a copy. It is a classic. If you are interesting in learning, you will want your own copy!
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Summary: Read this book - at least twice!
Review: I read the original version of this book which was first published in 1940. I was so enamored with the book that upon finishing the 1940 version (which I had obtained from the library), I went out and bought the updated edition and read that! The updated edition (published in 1970) is even better than the original. The material is more logically organized and topics such as speed reading which were absent from the original edition are now discussed. I cannot recommend this book strongly enough. If you are an avid reader you will learn how to get so much more out of your reading than what you get already. And, perhaps most importantly, you'll get the courage and confidence to tackle a more difficult yet more rewarding class of books. Read this book before you read anything else!
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Summary: Scary are the Educated Who Don't Think They Need this Book
Review: I'll never forget when someone (who was smart, experienced and a responsible adult) smirked and wisecrack upon seeing "How to Read a Book" on my bookshelf. That self-satisfied tone or irony summed up the current situation in education more than a 1000 words ever could.
Adler and Van Doren's work will stand the test of time, while post-modern fads comming from deconstructionism will fade.
It forever altered my reading habits for the better. As many great reads, it's great to read every few years to take stock and IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING.
I thought I knew what I knew about reading before reading this book, but I really didn't know what I didn't know. But now that I know what I don't know, READING IS EVEN MORE FUN AND CHALLENGING THAN BEFORE.
I had to laugh at a recent childish essay in the Sunday New York Times Magazine warning readers that there was too much excitement about reading at book fairs. SO TYPICAL OF THE LIBERAL MEDIA.
While the deconstructionists served tenured radicals such as feminists, critical legal theorists, radical homosexuals, radical environmentalists, and race and ethnic studies hustlers, Adler and Van Doren serve (WHAT A CONCEPT!!!) THE NORMAL READER.
Tenured radicals will barely acknowledge the existence of "How to Read a Book". As usual, such bufoons can only sneer.
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Summary: A critical guide for reading comprehension skills
Review: If you've ever finished a book and walked away thinking, "what?" this book's for you. It's a recommended part of the ninth grade curriculum for the Well Trained Mind. This book is best used BEFORE you start your great books list that you know you've been thinking you ought to start reading.
How to Read a Book will tell you it's OK to write in the margins of your books. It will tell you about rereading passages for clarity and then for argument.
You come away from this book thinking, "ok, your title didn't have to be quite so snooty, but I think I get it now." You'll be amazed that you ever retained any information when you read books before.
It's a good read, too.
One of the authors is the guy from Quiz Show.
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Summary: Random Ratings
Review: This is a great book, and a important and influential book, in that it makes your experience with other books so much more complete.
I just wanted to comment on a few of the reviews I've read that point to the seemingly contradictory nature of the title, i.e., "How can you read a book titled 'How to read...' if you can't read, and if you can read, why do you need it?" These reviewers apparently review books without ever having cracked the covers, because if they had, they'd realize how strange their statement was.
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Summary: Very helpful, title notwithstanding
Review: My kids had a good laugh when they saw me reading this book. After all, I am reading all the time (even if I haven't written a review in almost a year!). But I'm about to go back to school--specifically seminary--and the powers that be recommended we read this book. Some of this was a little dry, and some of it dated (how, for example, should we read the information we gather on the Internet?), but I still find it helpful information as I get ready to plunge into the depths of theology. Some of which, I should point out, is pretty thick reading, indeed. I especially appreciate the advice of just plugging my way through the book once, then going back again. I appreciate the questions I should ask myself of the book I am reading. It helps me to get more out of the book, and it is helping me retain more of what I am reading. Someday, my kids will read this book, and I will have the last laugh!
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Summary: The Classic Guide to Critical Thinking Skills for Everyone
Review: This classic book teaches practical steps in critical reading and thinking skills. Bacon said that some books are meant to be merely tasted while others should be swallowed whole; this is one of the latter. It teaches basic steps in analyzing the text, seeing how the parts relate to the whole and each other, how to find the structure, the main ideas, the support of those ideas, how to evaluate what is being said, and rules of procedure when agreeing or disagreeing with an author. There is a lot here that reminds one of SQ3R, the old study technique to boost reading comprehension, but this book is much more thorough. Adler and Van Doren also give keys to reading actively/critically in different fields of knowledge--it's
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Summary: My conversion from being widely-read to well-read
Review: I am an engineer by training, and since I have been out of grad school for a few years now, I enjoy reading books in order to occupy my mind. However, I was what Adler and Van Doren would call a "widely-read" person, which is to say that I should have been pitied rather than respected. This book really changed my perception of reading from being a casual hobby to a lifelong process of self-education, and so I am currently undergoing my conversion to being a well-read reader, or a person who reads for understanding not just information. Others might scoff at my literary ignorance, but I was really impressed by Adler and Van Doren's suggestion that the Great Books should be read chronologically, in order to take part in this "Great Conversation" that has been going on since man learned how to write. Previously, I had regarded the Great Books as so many individual stars in a literary universe, with absolutely no rhyme or reason on where to begin reading. However, now, I am approaching these classics in a more disciplined way by following a chronological reading list, and this has added a dimension of understanding to my reading that I really had not encountered before. Adler and Van Doren say a lot in this book that I agree with, and previous reviewers have done a good job of summarizing the levels of reading, and the activities associated with them. However, I felt that the authors' suggestions for reading fiction were a bit vague and insufficient. For example, Adler and Van Doren say that the "truth" of a work of fiction is determined by its beauty to the reader, and the reader should be able to point out in the book the source of this beauty. Such a suggestion leaves a lot of things left unsaid and I felt that the authors could have commented a little more on how the reader could go about analyzing imaginative literature. Nevertheless, this book is a classic. If you consider yourself a serious reader, but have never been formally instructed in how to engage books, then I highly, wholeheartedly, and absolutely recommend that you read this book.
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