The 12 Days of Books – Day 6

“Reading well, which means reading actively, is thus not only good in itself, nor is it merely a means to advancement in our work or career. It also serves to keep our minds alive and growing.” – p. 336

The sixth book of Christmas is How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading by Mortimer J. Adler & Charles Van Doren.

This book is arguably more complicated than any of the other books we are featuring for the 12 Days of Books. This book is not a primer to teach you the alphabet or grammar, it is about reading to retain and understand and critique.

Adler and Ven Doren describe four levels of reading:

1. Elementary Reading
2. Inspectional Reading
3. Analytical Reading
4. Syntopical Reading

While the authors discuss all four, most of the book is spent focused on level three.

Rules for Analytical Reading:

The First Stage of Analytical Reading: Rules for Finding What a Book is About

1. Classify the book according to kind and subject matter.
2. State what the whole book is about with the utmost brevity.
3. Enumerate its major parts in their order and relation, and outline these parts as you have outlined the whole.
4. Define the problem or Problems the author has tried to solve.

The Second Stage of Analytical Reading: Rules for Interpreting a Book’s Contents

1. Come to terms with the author by interpreting his key words.
2. Grasp the author’s leading propositions by dealing with his most important sentences
3. Know the author’s arguments, by finding them in, or constructing them out of, sequences of sentences.
4. 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.

The Third State of Analytical Reading: Rules for Criticizing a Book as a Communication of Knowledge

1. Do not begin criticism until you have completed your outline and your interpretation of the book. (Do not say you agree, disagree, or suspend judgment until you can say “I understand.”)
2. Do not disagree disputatiously or contentiously.
3. Demonstrate that you recognize the difference between knowledge and mere personal opinion by presenting good reasons for any critical judgment you make.
4. Show wherein the author is uninformed.
5. Show wherein the author is misinformed.
6. Show wherein the author is illogical.
7. Show wherein the author’s analysis or account is incomplete.

Adler and Van Doren offer sage advice in this book. They encourage readers to read a book, absorb it, understand it, question it, critique it, talk about it. The authors spend a lot of time talking about interacting with an author, marking up a book. They also spend a lot of time talking about distractions.

When I was reading the book, I kept wondering what Adler and Van Doren would think of the internet. How to Read a Book was written in 1940 and published in 1972. What would their advice be for readers today?

The authors make the argument that, “Any good argument can be put into a nutshell.” If they were writing this book in 2016 (especially in 2016), I think they would reevaluate that opinion. While a good argument can be summarized, I don’t believe that it can necessarily be put into a nutshell. In fact, I believe our desperate need for sound bites has gotten us where we are today – a culture filled with readers who consume the “nutshell” without understanding the bigger argument.

Here are a few passages that illustrate this point:

“The activity of reading does not stop with the work of understanding what a book says. It must be completed by the work of criticism, the work of judging. The undemanding reader fails to satisfy this requirement, probably even more than he fails to analyze and interpret. He not only makes no effort to understand; he also dismisses a book simply by putting it aside and forgetting it. Worse than faintly praising it, he damns it by giving it no critical consideration whatever.” – p. 137 & 138

“The reader who does not distinguish between the reasoned statement of knowledge and the flat expression of opinion is not reading to learn.” – p. 148

“Most people think that winning the argument is what matters, not learning the truth.” – p. 145

A reader MUST take a position, and that position must be informed.

If you are serious about becoming an analytical reader, a reader who consumes material better, this book is for you.

Be warned: If you decide to read this book in public, be prepared for snide comments about reading a book that teaches you how to read. Be prepared for strange looks when you try to explain that it’s a book that shows how to better comprehend what you read an analyze arguments. Trust me, I speak from experience.

Live, Love, Learn,

Candice & The Write Teacher(s)

p.s. – be sure to catch some Cbristmas cheer at Feinstein’s/54 Below tomorrow, December 7th at 7PM! The Ugly Christmas Sweater Soiree is a blast for all – tickets are available here.