How to Read a Book

Mortimer J. Adler & Charles Van Doren

Four Levels of Reading

Level 1

Elementary

What does the sentence say?

Basic literacy. Recognizing words, understanding grammar.
Level 2

Inspectional

What is this book about?

  • Read title, preface, table of contents
  • Check index, look up key passages
  • Read first and last chapters
  • Skim, reading paragraph openers
  • Time limit: minutes to hours, never days
Level 3

Analytical

What is the book saying in detail?

  • Classify the book by kind and subject
  • State the book's unity in one sentence
  • Outline the major parts and their organization
  • Define the author's problems
  • Come to terms with key words
  • Grasp the author's propositions
  • Find the basic arguments
  • Determine what was solved and what wasn't
Level 4

Syntopical

What do multiple books say about this?

  • Build a bibliography through inspection
  • Inspect all books for relevance
  • Find relevant passages across books
  • Establish common vocabulary across authors
  • Define the shared questions
  • Analyze by ordering questions and answers
  • Remember: books serve you, not vice versa

How to Mark a Book

—
Underline major points (sparingly)
|
Vertical line in margin for important passages
★
Star or asterisk for most crucial statements
1 2 3
Numbers to sequence points in an argument
○
Circle key words or phrases
?
Questions and reactions in margins
→ p.47
Cross-references to related passages

Reading Different Types of Books

Practical
What does the author want me to do? Is it sound advice?
Imaginative
Don't resist. Read quickly first, experience the whole. Analyze later.
History
What's the thesis? What sources? Read multiple historians on same events.
Science
Focus on problems being solved. Follow arguments despite technical details.
Philosophy
What questions are asked? What assumptions made? Is reasoning valid?
Social Science
Most difficult. Mix of practical and theoretical. Requires syntopical reading.

Rules of Analytical Reading

1
Classify the book by kind and subject matter
2
State the unity in a single sentence or short paragraph
3
Outline major parts and show their organization
4
Define the problems the author tried to solve
5
Come to terms: interpret key words
6
Grasp propositions in important sentences
7
Know the arguments in connected sentences
8
Determine which problems were solved
9
Don't criticize until you fully understand
10
When you disagree, do so reasonably
11
Respect difference between knowledge and opinion

The Four Essential Questions

  1. What is the book about as a whole?
  2. What is being said in detail, and how?
  3. Is the book true, in whole or part?
  4. What of it? Why does this matter?

If you can't answer these clearly, you haven't read the book—you've only passed your eyes over it.