Book Review
Reviewer: Muhammad Nadeem
Book: How to read a Book
Author: Mortimer J. Adler & Charles Van Doren
Pages: n/a
Publisher: n/a
Price: n/a
Book: How to read a Book
Author: Mortimer J. Adler & Charles Van Doren
Pages: n/a
Publisher: n/a
Price: n/a
Genre: Non-fiction
Language: English
This book is all about “the art of reading”. This is a rule book for readers. It was first published in 1940. Andremained a best seller for one full year. After, 30 years, in 1970 Mortimer J. Adler along with his student, Charles Van Doren revised and updated it.
There were many reasons, which the author expresses, about the need for writing this book. The effects of TV and Radio on reading habits was one of the important reason. Emergence trends of joining Speed Reading Courses was another. Another reason was James Mursell’s research article “The Failure of Schools”.
The author was a student of a course in which they had to read “100 Great Books”. After completing the course and topping the exams Adler was chosen to teach a group, the same course. When he started teaching he realized that he was not able to teach his students effectively. Later, he realised that he has not read “the 100 books” the way they should be read. This, among the many, was the main reason for writing this book.
This book is divided into four parts. Part first deals with “the dimensions of reading” part second is “Analytical reading” part three is “ approaches to different kinds of reading matter” part fourth is “the ultimate goals of reading”.
This books claims that “Activity is the essence of good reading” and by activity he suggests doing the things while reading that keeps you awake and attentive. These activities include; asking questions, making notes, underling and highlighting the text et cetera.
The author also discusses what the goals of reading should be. He calls a book an absent teacher. To whom you can ask questions and then yourself answer.
This book is lucid, but at times it discuss some aspects in a philosophical tone which makes the discourse a bit harder to carry on with. This book argues that reading well, which means reading actively, is a means of advancement in our work and career.
By going through this book one realises that reading is a divine art which should be excelled in order to get most of what we read. This book also suggests that one should also read the books he thinks are difficult to understand. By reading those books and facing the challenges and difficult ideas ones brain also evolves dramatically.
If you’ll read what others are reading you’ll think what others are thinking. So, to think differently, what is most important is not to read what others are not read but to the same stuff but differently. As Shiv Khera says, “Winners do not do different things, they do things differently.”
There are some 11 basic rules one has to apply while reading to understand the book more accurate. Among those rules are:
01:- YOU MUST KNOW WHAT KNID OF BOOK YOU’RE READING, AND YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS AS EARLY IN THE PROCESS AS POSSIBLE, PREFERABLY YOU BEGIN TO READ.
02:-STATE THE UNITY OF THE WHOLE BOOK IN A SINGLE SENTENCE, AT MOST, A FEW SENTENCES (A SHORT PARAGRAPH)
05:- FIND THE IMPORTANT WORDS AND THROUGH THEM COME TO COMMON TERMS WITH THE AUTHOR.
09:- YOU MUST BE ABLE TO SAY WITH REASONABLE CERTAINITY, “I UNDERSTAND” BEFORE YOU CAN SAY ONE OF THE FOLLOWING THINGS, “I AGREE,” OR, “I DISAGREE” OR “I SUSPEND JUDGEMENT”.
This book, all in all is a very insightful read on ‘the art of reading a book’. I’ll recommended this to everyone interesting in getting more understating from the books.
There were many reasons, which the author expresses, about the need for writing this book. The effects of TV and Radio on reading habits was one of the important reason. Emergence trends of joining Speed Reading Courses was another. Another reason was James Mursell’s research article “The Failure of Schools”.
This book is all about “the art of reading”. This is a rule book for readers.
The author was a student of a course in which they had to read “100 Great Books”. After completing the course and topping the exams Adler was chosen to teach a group, the same course. When he started teaching he realized that he was not able to teach his students effectively. Later, he realised that he has not read “the 100 books” the way they should be read. This, among the many, was the main reason for writing this book.
This book is divided into four parts. Part first deals with “the dimensions of reading” part second is “Analytical reading” part three is “ approaches to different kinds of reading matter” part fourth is “the ultimate goals of reading”.
This books claims that “Activity is the essence of good reading” and by activity he suggests doing the things while reading that keeps you awake and attentive. These activities include; asking questions, making notes, underling and highlighting the text et cetera.
By going through this book one realises that reading is a divine art which should be excelled in order to get most of what we read. This book also suggests that one should also read the books he thinks are difficult to understand.
The author also discusses what the goals of reading should be. He calls a book an absent teacher. To whom you can ask questions and then yourself answer.
This book is lucid, but at times it discuss some aspects in a philosophical tone which makes the discourse a bit harder to carry on with. This book argues that reading well, which means reading actively, is a means of advancement in our work and career.
By going through this book one realises that reading is a divine art which should be excelled in order to get most of what we read. This book also suggests that one should also read the books he thinks are difficult to understand. By reading those books and facing the challenges and difficult ideas ones brain also evolves dramatically.
If you’ll read what others are reading you’ll think what others are thinking. So, to think differently, what is most important is not to read what others are not read but to the same stuff but differently. As Shiv Khera says, “Winners do not do different things, they do things differently.”
There are some 11 basic rules one has to apply while reading to understand the book more accurate. Among those rules are:
01:- YOU MUST KNOW WHAT KNID OF BOOK YOU’RE READING, AND YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS AS EARLY IN THE PROCESS AS POSSIBLE, PREFERABLY YOU BEGIN TO READ.
02:-STATE THE UNITY OF THE WHOLE BOOK IN A SINGLE SENTENCE, AT MOST, A FEW SENTENCES (A SHORT PARAGRAPH)
05:- FIND THE IMPORTANT WORDS AND THROUGH THEM COME TO COMMON TERMS WITH THE AUTHOR.
09:- YOU MUST BE ABLE TO SAY WITH REASONABLE CERTAINITY, “I UNDERSTAND” BEFORE YOU CAN SAY ONE OF THE FOLLOWING THINGS, “I AGREE,” OR, “I DISAGREE” OR “I SUSPEND JUDGEMENT”.
This book, all in all is a very insightful read on ‘the art of reading a book’. I’ll recommended this to everyone interesting in getting more understating from the books.
About the Reviewer:
A bibliophile, Muhammad Nadeem
is a writer, poet and an artist. Author is having MFA in Creative
Writing and currently pursuing PG in Media Studies from University of
Kashmir.
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