Note: This is a summary of the book ‘How To Read A Book’ and not an article on ‘how to read a book summary’.
It is safe to say that if you’re here, you can obviously read (well, unless you’re listening to the audio).
Regardless, there is a bit more to reading a book and reading a book to actually extract information.
Reading is easy when you’re interested in the book, however, there is a way to get a lot more from the books you read.
- Simon & Schuster
- Condition : Good
- Easy to read text
- Adler, Mortimer J. (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 426 Pages – 08/15/1972 (Publication Date) – Touchstone (Publisher)
The three main lessons from the book are:
- Learn some basic reading rules to make it easier
- The difference between elementary, inspectional and analytical reading
- Use syntopical reading to apply your knowledge to understand multiple books on the same topic
Lesson One: Learn some basic reading rules to make it easier
There is nothing quite like curling up with a good book. However, we may not always be so lucky, there are times where we have to read either quickly, or we need to read something we don’t find overly interesting. Sometimes you just need to extract some information as quickly as possible and start implementing.
It is crazy to tackle all of these situations the same way. So, it is important to remember that reading a book is like playing a game of catch.
When you’re playing a game of catch, both the thrower and catcher are active participants. The same mindset is needed when you’re reading a book.
You can’t just sit there and expect the knowledge to flow to you like magic.
As a reader, you’ve actually got to try and catch what the author is throwing.
Lesson Two: The difference between elementary, inspectional and analytical reading
There are three main levels of reading which we reach throughout our lives.
- Elementary Reading: This is the bare bones of reading. Elementary reading is the act of looking at a sheet of paper, seeing symbols and letter then being able to comprehend them into sentences and words.
- Inspectional Reading: Once your knowledge of basic comprehension is there, you can start inspectional reading, where you answer questions like ‘what is this book about?’ and observe the topics of the book in quick time. We use this kind of reading to figure out if a particular type of book is worth reading. A lot of book summaries are classified as inspectional reading.
- Analytical Reading: This is where you start to look into an author’s aim and the book’s themes. Analytical reading is where we chew the meat of the book’s bones. You can look into the type of text the book is and how you can use the author’s techniques and symbols to extract further meaning.
Lesson Three: Use syntopical reading to apply your knowledge to understand multiple books on the same topic
The ultimate level of reading is syntopical reading.
Syntopical reading is where you read a range of books on a particular topic and take away your own understandings.
The pinnacle of language is to use another person’s thoughts and ideas to help construct your own.
The difference between analytical reading and syntopical reading is that when you’re using analytical reading, you’re analyzing a book as opposed to looking at analyzing an entire topic with syntopical reading.
My Personal Takeaway
Now, I am a trained English teacher, so I may take a few different things away from this book than most will.
However, I love how matter-of-fact the book explains what is an incredibly difficult concept.
When you think about it, written language is incredible. We look at a range of lines and dots which our brain transfers to those into words, which we transfer into thoughts and emotions.
Put it into action
Ask yourself how you read particular books and if you can ask more questions.
- What is the author trying to say?
- Why would they use this particular anecdote?
- Do their ideas flow logically?
You should consider buying this book if…
If you’re visiting a site like this, then you are obviously a fan of business books and extracting vital information from a range of literature. So you are the ideal market for this book.
a Swedish university student, marketing professional, and life-long learner. Here at BookSummaryClub I summarize my favorite non-fiction books into easily digested posts. Hope you like what you’re reading!
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