How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading
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- Create Date：2021-04-18 13:56:32
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Mortimer J. Adler
- ISBN：0671212095
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Summary
How to Read a Book， originally published in 1940， has become a rare phenomenon， a living classic。 It is the best and most successful guide to reading comprehension for the general reader。 And now it has been completely rewritten and updated。
You are told about the various levels of reading and how to achieve them – from elementary reading， through systematic skimming and inspectional reading， to speed reading， you learn how to pigeonhole a book， X-ray it， extract the author's message， criticize。 You are taught the different reading techniques for reading practical books， imaginative literature， plays， poetry， history， science and mathematics， philosophy and social science。
Finally， the authors offer a recommended reading list and supply reading tests whereby you can measure your own progress in reading skills， comprehension and speed。
This is a more recently published edition of ISBN 9780671212094。 An earlier edition with the same ISBN can be found here。
Reviews
John
，
Practical
Ferio
，
Me ha gustado mucho pero， tras leerlo y hacerlo mío （en terminología de los autores）， siento pudor por hacer esta reseña por si no lo hubiera entendido bien。 Esta sensación permanecerá conmigo el resto de mi existencia: gracias， Conocimiento。A pesar de su publicación original en 1940， no ha perdido vigencia en sus proposiciones。 Empieza explicando cómo la socialización de la lectura se convierte en información en nuestras mentes， y continúa proponiendo un método para que los mejores libros nos t Me ha gustado mucho pero， tras leerlo y hacerlo mío （en terminología de los autores）， siento pudor por hacer esta reseña por si no lo hubiera entendido bien。 Esta sensación permanecerá conmigo el resto de mi existencia: gracias， Conocimiento。A pesar de su publicación original en 1940， no ha perdido vigencia en sus proposiciones。 Empieza explicando cómo la socialización de la lectura se convierte en información en nuestras mentes， y continúa proponiendo un método para que los mejores libros nos transformen en el mejor sentido de la palabra cultura （para el resto de libros recomienda la lectura habitual）。El método puede llegar a hacerse pesado si se aplica a todo libro al que nos enfrentemos pero， al construirse unas propuestas sobre las anteriores， pueden usarse solo sus partes más sencillas si no queremos alcanzar las más elevadas cotas de sabiduría。 En general， podría resumirse en analizar las diferentes partes de una obra de mayor a menor， hacerse unas preguntas generales sobre el propósito del autor， decidir si lo ha conseguido y， finalmente y si el tema es de interés， compararlo con otras obras similares para ver si alcanzan las mismas conclusiones。Sin embargo， las propuestas de los autores tienen limitaciones desde la óptica globalizada actual: se enrocan de forma reconocida en el canon tradicional occidental porque el oriental les es desconocido y， aún así， lo califican casi de alienígena y lo desdeñan por su complejidad a pesar de defender que solo creceremos como personas si nos enfrentamos a cosas que nos queden grandes。 Por otra parte， proponen un corpus inmenso， ya conocido por todo el mundo， tras repetir a lo largo de la obra que es preferible leer menos libros varias veces de forma sosegada que muchos libros una sola vez de forma acelerada。 Lo entiendo， pero es posible que los términos medios funcionen mejor en esta cuestión。Además， se proponen cuestiones que， a pesar de su justificación por la fecha de publicación original y el avance de las disciplinas， resultan muy chocantes。 La más curiosa es su defensa a ultranza de la Historia como género más cercano a la ficción que al conocimiento del mundo real; no dudo que， en aquella época， quizá el estudio de las fuentes fuera menos sistémico y estuviera más cercano a las visiones románticas propuestas por los recientes descubrimientos arqueológicos alrededor del globo （por no hablar de que estaban en mitad de la 2ª Guerra Mundial）， pero esta propuesta sería indefendible hoy en cualquier sociedad histórica o universidad。Aún así， si obviamos estas arrugas ocasionadas por el tiempo， es el mejor manual sobre cómo aproximarse a la lectura de libros que he leído hasta ahora。 Con razón es el clásico indiscutible。 。。。more
Seth
，
Great book to remind the reader how to read。
Rabi Narayan
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A difficult and patient read。
Cynthia Sun
，
A very inspiring and self-coherent book but not so practical。 A little bit sanctifying the reading of classics， especially philosophical ones。 The tips are not as practical as the authors intended to and they made reading a dauting endeavor， though sometimes that is the truth。 Not very helpful for academic reading or writing。First， you need to know this book was published in 1940s。 So you migh not like the serious and condecending tone of this book。 You might want to check these two video of Ali A very inspiring and self-coherent book but not so practical。 A little bit sanctifying the reading of classics， especially philosophical ones。 The tips are not as practical as the authors intended to and they made reading a dauting endeavor， though sometimes that is the truth。 Not very helpful for academic reading or writing。First， you need to know this book was published in 1940s。 So you migh not like the serious and condecending tone of this book。 You might want to check these two video of Ali Abdaal instead—they are equally inspiring（maybe even more inspiring if you haven't made reading one of your habits） and more practical。Ali Abdaal:1。 How I Read 100 Books a Year[https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=8tKuv。。。2。 How I remember everything I read[https://www。youtube。com/watch？v=Ajoxk。。。I read this book in simplyfied Chinese， so the best I can do is to guess some work choosing of the author， the advice or tips may not come exactly as the book do。🖋️Summery in 3 sentencesI cannot summerize this book in three sentences so I summerize it in four parts。The three purposes of reading: 1） For being entertained; 2） For gaining information; 3） To improve one's comprehension。If your intension is the last one， namely to improve your comprehension （the more self-engaging they are the better the effect of reading。 ）， one has to: 1） choose books beyond one's comprehension and 2） actively engaging onself in the whole reading process by a） being a reader with self-requirement and b） using the four level of reading。 To be a reader with self-requirement， one has to keep the following four basic questions running in the backstage and to be able to answer them when they claim that they "has read the book"。1。 In general， what this book is talking about？2。 What did the author say about anything （namely， what this book is talking about） and how did the author developed his argument3。 Does thie book make sense？ Completely or partially？4。 Does the book has anything to do with me？ （How does it change me）？To use the four levels of reading—elementary， inspectional， analytical and syntopical—one has to 1。 Elementary: know the language2。 Inspectional-two steps: 1。 skim - Purpose: to know whether this book should I return to， reading it more throughly - How: title， preface， table of content， appendix， the last 2-3 pages or conclusion 2。 read it not in depth - Purpose: read it fast from cover to cover - How: don't stop to think， use finger pointer to read faster， don't stop for anything that catches your attention especially when read an author not of your time， take notes on the pages3。 Analytical Phase 1—basic question #1 - categorize the book by type and theme - use briefest and least sentenses to tell what is book is talking about - use order and logic to write down the book's main parts and subparts for each parts later - identify the question posed by the author or the problem the author is trying to tackle Phase 2-basic question #2 - clarify the key words or terms used by the author to reach a common ground - grasp the propositions of the author from the most important sentences - identify the arguments， restrcuture them to figure out the statement of the author - clarify these three kind of questions/problems: those the author has solved， those the author has not yet solved and those the author believes that cannot be solved by himself Phase 3-basic question #3 - Ettiquette of wistom: unless you have gone through Phase 1&2， you should withhold your comments; don't be competitive; make sure you can tell knowledge and personal opionion - Espects to criticize the author: insufficiently informed， misinformed， illogical， imconplete in analysis and reasoning4。 Syntopical 1。 Preparation Stage—identify the range of your study - Design an experimental-stage book list， by asking help from experts， libarians and indexes - go through this list of books quickly， decide which of them are relevant to your them and have clear concept regarding your theme 2。 Reading Stage—syntopical reading - skimming through all the books you deemed relevant in Preperation Stage， locate the most relevant chapters - creat a system of neutral terminologies/vocabularies， reach consensus with the authors - establish a neutral centre statement， list a series of questions which， whether directly or indirectly， were addressed by all authors - identify the major and secondary topics， list different opinions from authors beside these topics - analyse these discussions - ideally， keep the diaglogues or discussions as distant and subjective as possible。 to achieve this goal， quote a paragraph from the author when interpreting his or her opinion on this topicThese four level each transcend the earlier one， with the earlier one as the precondition。💦Does this book make sense？What I like about this book is that， it say something that I have in my head but cannot put that out。 In this digital age where reading a book is replaced by going through social media and everyone is entertaining oneself to death， one has to read more "old-schooled" and to know why one has to sit down and read a book。 I like the analogy of becoming a better reader and mastering an art。 The comment of art is also thought-provoking—it is not just about whimsical originality and cathing the flashes of creativity， it is equally （for beginers， even more importantly） about sucessfully nurturing habits and following regulations and practicing till its one can do it unconsciously。I also find the persuation of the autors is sucessful。 By identifying different level of reading， the authors also support their theory of "Pyramid of Books" which states that more than 99% of books in western books simply for enternatining oneself and gaining informatoin， in other words， are helpless if the reader intend to improve his or her capability of learning， to learn how to read and to learn how to live。 At the top of the pyramid of books， stands this type: the reader will find the book seem to growing with the reader when one re-read it。 Thus， to read these less than 0。1% of books， please be serious and active。 ## 💬How does the book change me/Does the book has anything to do with me？Personally speaking， I find myself in conflict regarding how to comment on this book。 On one hand， it is inspiring: it encouages you to read those daunting classics of Western civilization and be a serious and active reader。 By firstly clarify one's purpose of reading， one can actually read and know how much effor one wants to put into this specific reading experience。 On the other hand， it sanctify reading too much for an average reader to read seriously by proposing such a complicated methodology。 If you are a student who wants to improve your adademic reading or writing， I suggest you go straight to your libarian for training instead of reading this book。 If you want to read more and make what you read stick， I suggest you watch the two video posted ahead。 I have to admit that I am somehow tough on this book， perhaps because I have sky-high expectation for this book which as been recommended to me as a must-read classic。 I， along with others， should be reminded that this book is written in the 1940s and thus can set a reasonable expectation for what I can get from this book。One last thing to mention， I love the lonely island test at the end of this book—you are just allow to bring ten books for you to read for the rest of your life on an island without anyother human beings。 As a big bookworm， I began with naively believe that my list will eadily suppass ten。 As it turned out， I only came up with three: Symposium， Phaedo and Hamlet。 I do not like the result but I have to admit the authors are at least right about one thing—that， we are not as much different as a banished-to-island guy than we believe; that， we share the same challenge of such a person， namely to find our inner resource and have a better life as a person。 。。。more
Márcio Ricardo
，
Fundamental para quem quer aprender a ler melhor， especialmente livros expositivos。 Perfeito pra quem quer iniciar uma vida de estudos。
Andre Filho
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The best of the best on critical thought and mindset while reading what's worth to be read。 A must read to anyone who takes seriously the intellectual life。 The best of the best on critical thought and mindset while reading what's worth to be read。 A must read to anyone who takes seriously the intellectual life。 。。。more
Laura
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O carte despre teoria cititului。 Asa cum chirurgia inlatura magia vindecarii prin credinta， aceasta carte mi-a spulberat definitiv convingerea ca o carte se citeste in functie de dispozitia momentului。 As putea afirma ca am avut parte de o teorie a chibritului care m-a facut sa recunosc ca nu sunt un cititor profesionist， Ma voi autodepasi utilizand informatiile dobandite？ Timpul va decide。
Luis González
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“Because language is imperfect as a medium for conveying knowledge， it also functions as an obstacle to communication。 The rules of interpretive reading are directed to overcoming that obstacle。 We can expect a good writer to do his best to reach us through the barrier language inevitably sets up， but we cannot expect him to do the job all by himself。 We must meet him halfway。 We， as readers， must try to tunnel through from our side of the barrier。 The likelihood of a meeting of minds through la “Because language is imperfect as a medium for conveying knowledge， it also functions as an obstacle to communication。 The rules of interpretive reading are directed to overcoming that obstacle。 We can expect a good writer to do his best to reach us through the barrier language inevitably sets up， but we cannot expect him to do the job all by himself。 We must meet him halfway。 We， as readers， must try to tunnel through from our side of the barrier。 The likelihood of a meeting of minds through language depends on the willingness of both reader and writer to work together。 Just as teaching will not avail unless there is a reciprocal activity of being taught， so no author， regardless of his skill in writing， can achieve communication without a reciprocal skill on the part of readers。 If that were not so， the diverse skills of writing and reading would not bring minds together， however much effort was expended， any more than the men who tunnel through from opposite sides of a mountain would ever meet unless they made their calculations according to the same principles of engineering。” 。。。more
Eric
，
How To Read A Book is one of the grand old men of books on learning strategies， and from that angle it delivered。Mortimer Adler's goal when he put together the first edition of this book in 1940 was nothing less than equipping the reader with the tools for a self-guided liberal education， and to that end， Adler and co-author of the revised version Charles Van Doren lay out a method for using a nonfiction text as an absentee teacher。 Their ideal is engaging with a book not just for information bu How To Read A Book is one of the grand old men of books on learning strategies， and from that angle it delivered。Mortimer Adler's goal when he put together the first edition of this book in 1940 was nothing less than equipping the reader with the tools for a self-guided liberal education， and to that end， Adler and co-author of the revised version Charles Van Doren lay out a method for using a nonfiction text as an absentee teacher。 Their ideal is engaging with a book not just for information but for understanding， so their main focus is on the steps necessary to taking a deep dive into something that's a little bit above your current level， then raising yourself up to its level through the process。 In that respect， How To Read A Book sits comfortably in the "learning to learn" tradition that's gaining speed in modern times， especially when we get to syntopical reading， Adler's ultimate level of self-guided discovery。The closest thing I have to a big beef is that the writing's a little bit on the dry side。 Part of me chalked that up to reading a 50 year-old book updating what's now an 80 year-old book， which could explain the the old-school classroom mustiness that comes with it。 Maybe more importantly， though， the version currently in print is an "updating， recasting， and rewriting" of that original text。 Some of the other reviews inspired me to have a quick look at one of the pre-1972 editions， and now I suspect that the text that got to me first became a little fussier in the process of revision， and that while expanding a number of topics that previously got short treatment arguably makes things more comprehensive and systematic， we lost a number of good human touches in the process。 For instance， the first line of the current chapter 1 goes like this: "This is a book for readers and for those who wish to become readers。" The original chapter 1 opens with "This is a book for readers who cannot read。" You have to admit， that's a different spirit to kick things off。 I still think what I ended up with was worth the effort， but it might take some effort to get the worth。As long as I'm throwing out warnings， you should also be aware that the book， at least in its current form， doesn't spend a lot of time on the reading "imaginative works"。 When they do get around to the section about stories， novels， plays and poetry （and it does take a long time to get to that point）， the advice is pretty basic， concentrating more on maintaining the immersiveness of the experience and the general idea that you should finish a story before you pass judgment on it。 Themes and symbolism don't figure into it at all。 If that's the main thing you're looking for， try Thomas Foster's How to Read Literature Like a Professor instead。 。。。more
Dayman Novaes
，
Somewhat a dense book。 It focuses a lot on side-subjects to assure the reader understood his arguments; which is really great for beginners to learn new things， but kind of unnecessary for a more experienced reader。 But I think this characteristic serves its purpose to be a "touchstone book"。 Somewhat a dense book。 It focuses a lot on side-subjects to assure the reader understood his arguments; which is really great for beginners to learn new things， but kind of unnecessary for a more experienced reader。 But I think this characteristic serves its purpose to be a "touchstone book"。 。。。more
Amit
，
I won't rate this book， yet at the same I do recommend it。 I absolutely loved the parts that were relevant to me。 But I was not interested in a few others。 It would not be fair to rate the whole book either based on just those parts that I benefited out of or those that I didn't read at all。But I recommend it to all -- there's something in this for everyone。 Just go through the TOC and see what interests you。 I won't rate this book， yet at the same I do recommend it。 I absolutely loved the parts that were relevant to me。 But I was not interested in a few others。 It would not be fair to rate the whole book either based on just those parts that I benefited out of or those that I didn't read at all。But I recommend it to all -- there's something in this for everyone。 Just go through the TOC and see what interests you。 。。。more
Georgi Boychev
，
Adler aims to teach basic research skills （skim quickly， then read， then analyze; try to reconstruct the author's arguments; suspend judgment until you're certain you understand what the author is talking about; watch out for the use of language when comparing the ideas of different authors on a subject） and spends an inordinate amount of time bemoaning the apparently appalling quality of US education in his day， all because he asked his students questions on the passions according to St。 Aquina Adler aims to teach basic research skills （skim quickly， then read， then analyze; try to reconstruct the author's arguments; suspend judgment until you're certain you understand what the author is talking about; watch out for the use of language when comparing the ideas of different authors on a subject） and spends an inordinate amount of time bemoaning the apparently appalling quality of US education in his day， all because he asked his students questions on the passions according to St。 Aquinas and while they knew what the text said， they couldn't quite make anything of it， connect it to their own experience as well as modern psychological conceptions of emotion。The tragedy （or irony， depending on where you stand） being that from the get-go Adler wants to prioritize the reading of the classics and chastise reading or listening to secondary sources - such as the lecturer （himself） who is reduced to the role of a mere "reader's digest" for students who haven't been taught how to read and critically interpret texts for themselves。 But the value of a good teacher is precisely in making explicit what is contained in the text not merely as word meanings and logical propositions （about which Adler is correct - every person of average intelligence can teach themselves to break down texts into their component parts， analyze them and see how they relate to each other）， but as living conceptions of life， human subjectivity， nature， society， passion， God， history， meaning， thought， and so on。 This is where a good teacher is supposed to provoke discussion， illuminate what is obscure， bring to life what are merely dead letters from dead men。 I sympathize with the frustrated student who could not understand what Adler was asking them when he wanted them to elaborate on why love is the first of the passions: the student had done their part in reading the dead letter of the text and was waiting for the other side， the teacher， for their input; but the relationship between them was one-sided as the teacher in question was solely interested in relating to the object of their fetish， the book， and not to the interaction with the living student。 This unnecessary fetishization of primary over secondary sources， "self-taught" learning over formal education， "discoverers" of original ideas over "reader's digests" who lecture on what has already been written by someone else - this leaves a bad taste in my mouth and makes this book into a rather turgid manual of how to come to a text already with a baggage of various preconceptions on what great writers do and do not， and how "good readers" are supposed to read。 It invites precisely the kind of pedantry and scholasticism that Adler wants to chastise as superficial: it is all to easy to provoke a kind of superficial reading where because one is unwilling to accept anyone else as having anything to say about a text that is not already available in the text， one misses the forest for the trees， reduces the text to a bunch of formal statements， pronounces them true or false， and moves on to the next book having learned nothing but what one already knows。 The actual analytical tools offered here are in themselves not bad， the problem is rather that to any person who has had access to some kind of education beyond high school， those how-tos should be well obvious and tedious to go through， especially after the author has spent an inordinate amount of time trying to convince you that you do not in fact know how to properly read。 It should go without saying that there is little value in the mechanical reading and cherry-picking of facts and that to really understand a book involves actively engaging with it， following the arguments presented， paying attention to the terminology and how it is used， and so on， last but not least - being able to somehow articulate what the damn thing is about and contextualize it rather than merely quoting the author。Therefore part of the book is pompous self-defeating pretense， and part of it is self-help advice which like most self-help is common sense that you need to stop reading about and start putting into actual practice。 The book will therefore be useful only to those who need someone to motivate them to do what they already know they should do， the people seeking a mentor figure to spark their interest in the classics。 Other than that， you should be fine without it。 。。。more
Tony Dib
，
Taking into consideration that it was first published 80 years ago， this book isn't bad at all。 However， most of the proposed reading techniques and methods are somewhat basic and obvious and offer nothing the general reader in our time doesn't already know or apply。 Taking into consideration that it was first published 80 years ago， this book isn't bad at all。 However， most of the proposed reading techniques and methods are somewhat basic and obvious and offer nothing the general reader in our time doesn't already know or apply。 。。。more
Fabián Sanhueza
，
Hay capítulos que podrían ser mucho más cortos y aún mantener su esencia。 El autor se escapa mucho del hilo conductor。
Madhavgmk
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All the information could be found on the internet 。 The length of the book is long and it could generally be fit under 100 pages 。 Not a worthy read 。
Claire
，
This read contains some great stategies， tips and ideas on how to tackle difficult and inaccessible books。 I've already started to use the inspectional reading tactics more readily as a way to get a flavour of some of the tougher non-fiction reads I've got sitting on the bookshelf。 So there are some handy take-aways。There is a significant downside to the book though - it's overlong and the tone is snobby and in some places properly unpleasant。 I felt like I was being given a lesson by a scary gr This read contains some great stategies， tips and ideas on how to tackle difficult and inaccessible books。 I've already started to use the inspectional reading tactics more readily as a way to get a flavour of some of the tougher non-fiction reads I've got sitting on the bookshelf。 So there are some handy take-aways。There is a significant downside to the book though - it's overlong and the tone is snobby and in some places properly unpleasant。 I felt like I was being given a lesson by a scary grandad who has no joy for anything in life except to feel superior to other people。 So that's less fun。 Generally I like to read for entertainment and relaxation， so much of this book's techniques are not enormously applicable。 The upshot from the writers is that "intelligent" reading is difficult， takes a long time and requires a lot of input from you。 The benefits from putting in the effort are， I'm sure， very positive。 But ultimately I'm not sure I want to study a book like it's a university project unless it's something I'm really keen to understand and digest。 I didn't read the whole thing from cover to cover and instead was able to dip in and out of the relevant sections I was interested in。 It will be a good book for reference in the future - if I ever get round to finally reading Darwin's Origin of Species or something equally as famous and hard， I will probably go back to this book for a refresher。 。。。more
Shauna
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Probably my favorite book of all time。 So meta！
David
，
Es un libro que difícilmente leería completo， porque se explaya innecesariamente en asuntos secundarios。Tiene a su favor que es modular， lo que hace fácil detectar los pasajes de interés。 Además， las ideas principales suelen aparecer destacadas visualmente y los párrafos están delimitados temáticamente muy bien， lo que permite prescindir de la verborrea con agilidad。Los capítulos dedicados a narrativa， poesía y dramaturgia son muy flojos， se limitan a unas orientaciones generales que no resultan Es un libro que difícilmente leería completo， porque se explaya innecesariamente en asuntos secundarios。Tiene a su favor que es modular， lo que hace fácil detectar los pasajes de interés。 Además， las ideas principales suelen aparecer destacadas visualmente y los párrafos están delimitados temáticamente muy bien， lo que permite prescindir de la verborrea con agilidad。Los capítulos dedicados a narrativa， poesía y dramaturgia son muy flojos， se limitan a unas orientaciones generales que no resultan muy enriquecedores para mí， que leo con frecuencia este tipo de textos。 Sin embargo， creo que el libro puede resultar novedoso o educativo para personas que apenas incursionan en la lectura con fines más allá del entretenimiento。 Destaca preguntas fundamentales para una lectura reflexiva， las cuales no mencionaré porque ya aparecen en numerosas reseñas。 Para leerlo， sugiero seguir lo que el mismo libro dice: inspeccionarlo， leer los textos destacados， y， luego， sólo luego， decidir qué fragmentos vale la penar explorar en profundidad。 。。。more
Soroush
，
قالب کتاب خیلی خیلی شبیه کتابای خودشناسی و کتابایی که بهتون یاد میدن یه شبه پولدار شوید هست دور از انصاف هست که بگم قرار نیست مطلبی با خوندن کتاب نصیبتون بشه، قطعا میشه ولی یه سری نکات منفی ای وجود داره راجب این کتاب که دوس دارم بهشون اشاره کنم : اولین نکته اینه که بینهایت از آرایه " تکرار " استفاده شده و شما ممکنه یه جمله رو توی یه بخش از کتاب بار ها و بارها بخونین و این برای من ناخوشایند بود ولی خب ممکنه بعضی ها بپسندن دومین نکته اینکه اگر بخشی از کتاب بخواد راجب موضوعی صحبت کنه و مثلا توصیه د قالب کتاب خیلی خیلی شبیه کتابای خودشناسی و کتابایی که بهتون یاد میدن یه شبه پولدار شوید هست دور از انصاف هست که بگم قرار نیست مطلبی با خوندن کتاب نصیبتون بشه، قطعا میشه ولی یه سری نکات منفی ای وجود داره راجب این کتاب که دوس دارم بهشون اشاره کنم : اولین نکته اینه که بینهایت از آرایه " تکرار " استفاده شده و شما ممکنه یه جمله رو توی یه بخش از کتاب بار ها و بارها بخونین و این برای من ناخوشایند بود ولی خب ممکنه بعضی ها بپسندن دومین نکته اینکه اگر بخشی از کتاب بخواد راجب موضوعی صحبت کنه و مثلا توصیه داشته باشه، خیلی خیلی مقدمه چینی میکنه و یک عالمه مطلب رو بیان میکنه و در نهایت یه جمله یا توصیه ای که انقدر قابل فهم هست که حتی بدون مقدمه چینی بشه گفت و مخاطب هم بفهمه، بیان کرد。سومین نکته ای که به نظرم اومد این بود که وقتی متن رو میخونید متوجه میشید که کتاب قدیمی هست و خب این کتاب بازنویسی شدس و مربوط به نسخهی سال ۱۹۷۱ هستشاشتباهات ویراستاری رو میشه مشاهده کرد داخل کتاب ترجمه خوبی هست ولی نمیتونم بگم عالیهدلیل اینکه ۲ میدم با توجه به تمام برداشت های من از کتاب و توضیحاتی که دادم اینه که درونمایه مطالب مفید این کتاب رو عملا توی ۲۰ صفحه یا حتی کمتر میشه کتاب کرد و نیازی به ۴۲۱ صفحه واقعا نبودبه نظرم بابت وقت و هزینه ای که صرف میکنید قرار نیست اونقدر چیزی دریافت کنید 。。。more
Setayesh Davallu
，
Amazing
Jason
，
This is a great book。 I've started and stopped this book at least twice before。 I'm glad that I came back to it。 This is an important book because he gives some basic rules to break down how to read books。 But these rules are not the strictly followed for all books and the authors do a great job to acknowledge this。 This is a great book。 I've started and stopped this book at least twice before。 I'm glad that I came back to it。 This is an important book because he gives some basic rules to break down how to read books。 But these rules are not the strictly followed for all books and the authors do a great job to acknowledge this。 。。。more
D。 A。 Majid
，
Banyak hal yg ingin kupelajari， buku merupakan media sumber informasi yg biasanya mengajarkan sesuatu dgn detail， maka dari itu membaca adalah kegiatan yg penting bagiku。 Aku tertarik dgn buku ini karena ingin mendapatkan petunjuk bagaimana membaca buku yg efektif sehingga isi buku mudah untuk dipahami， diserap， dan diingat。 Beberapa artikel dan video di internet yg membahas tentang kegiatan membaca juga merekomendasikan buku ini。 Setelah kucek di Goodreads ratingnya tdk buruk， jd kuputuskan unt Banyak hal yg ingin kupelajari， buku merupakan media sumber informasi yg biasanya mengajarkan sesuatu dgn detail， maka dari itu membaca adalah kegiatan yg penting bagiku。 Aku tertarik dgn buku ini karena ingin mendapatkan petunjuk bagaimana membaca buku yg efektif sehingga isi buku mudah untuk dipahami， diserap， dan diingat。 Beberapa artikel dan video di internet yg membahas tentang kegiatan membaca juga merekomendasikan buku ini。 Setelah kucek di Goodreads ratingnya tdk buruk， jd kuputuskan untuk membeli buku ini。 Pengetahuan yg kudapat dari buku ini bisa menjadi pondasiku dlm membaca buku-buku lain。---Penulis buku ini， Mortimer Adler， selain seorang penulis， ia juga cukup dikenal sebagai seorang filsuf， pendidik， dan konsultan bidang pendidikan。 Ia menuliskan buku tebal yg mengajarkan cara membaca ini dgn maksud agar para pembaca bisa meningkatkan keterampilan membaca dan kualitas dlm berpikir。 Dengan begitu diharapkan selain mampu memahami informasi yg didapatkan secara mendalam， diharapkan jg para pembaca tdk lagi ikut-ikutan atau sekadar menolak tanpa alasan ketika dihadapkan suatu gagasan， fenomena， dan persoalan。---Seni membaca adalah keterampilan menangkap pemahaman sebaik mungkin dari berbagai tulisan， dan pembaca yg baik adalah pembaca yg mampu menuntut lebih dari dirinya sendiri dan bacaan yg dibaca。 Banyaknya ide/poin penting yg bisa pembaca tangkap tergantung dari keaktifan dlm membaca， oleh karena itu membaca secara aktif sangat diperlukan terlebih jika kegiatan membaca dilakukan tdk sebatas untuk mendapatkan informasi atau hiburan， tetapi agar pembaca tercerahkan dan pemahaman pembaca meningkat setara atau setidaknya mendekati pemahaman penulis。Membaca memiliki level-level yg perlu dipahami agar peningkatan keterampilan membaca secara efektif bisa terjadi:1。 Membaca dasar - cukup mempelajari dasar-dasar membaca dan menjadi tdk lagi buta huruf。2。 Membaca inspeksional - sekilas membaca bagian-bagian penting dari buku untuk mengetahui semua hal yg bisa dipelajari dari permukaan saja dan kemudian memutuskan apakah buku tsb perlu dibaca lebih dalam。3。 Membaca analitis - terdiri dari tiga tahap yaitu membuat garis besar， menginterpretasi， dan mengkritik。 Semua tahapan itu bertujuan untuk mendapatkan pemahaman mendalam dari buku yg dirasa bernilai。 Beberapa pertanyaan penting perihal struktur kesatuan， kesepahaman dan rincian detail， kebenaran， serta seberapa pentingnya isi buku， perlu diajukan untuk menuntut buku yg dibaca， tentunya disesuaikan secara fleksibel dan adaptif dgn nilai pengetahuan dlm setiap jenis buku。4。 Membaca sintopikal - membaca banyak buku， bukan hanya satu， dgn tujuan untuk memetakan subjek/topik atau membuat pendekatan pd suatu masalah dari berbagai area。Membaca dgn baik， yg berarti membaca secara aktif， bukan hanya berguna dlm membaca， ia jg bukan sekadar cara meningkat dlm pekerjaan atau karier kita。 Ia jg berfungsi menjaga pikiran tetap hidup dan bertumbuh。Penulis sudah merampungkan tugasnya， semua kembali kepada pembaca。 Jika pembaca setuju dgn tujuan yg disampaikan dan cara-cara yg direkomendasikan， maka pembaca sebaiknya perlu berusaha membaca sesuai dgn cara-cara yg diterangkan。---（+） Analogi-analogi yg mudah dimengerti dan membantu memberi gambaran apa yg penulis coba sampaikan。（+） Struktur buku ini teratur dan bagian-bagiannya saling bergantung， terkadang penulis menghubungkan bagian yg dijelaskan dgn bagian lainnya yg ada dlm buku。 Ini cukup membantu pembaca untuk melihat kesatuan isi buku。（+） Buku ini tdk hanya menyatakan berbagai aturan membaca， tapi jg prinsip-prinsip teoretis yg mendasari setiap aturan praktis。 Jadi， pembaca tdk sebatas mengikuti suatu aturan， tapi jg mengetahui mengapa perlu melakukan aturan itu。 Buku ini membuatku sadar bahwa dlm kehidupan， prinsip atau penjelasan dari segala aturan itu merupakan hal penting， itu jg bisa membuat diri lebih yakin untuk mau mengikuti atau tdk mengikuti suatu saran/aturan。（+） Penulis tetap menganggap bahwa aturan yg disampaikannya bukanlah suatu kemutlakan absolut yg pembaca harus ikuti。 Penulis tetap memberikan ruang kepada pembaca untuk menyetujui dan memilih mengikuti panduan yg disampaikannya atau memilih tidak。---Buku ini diperuntukkan bagi siapapun yg ingin menuntut dirinya agar bisa membaca dgn baik， khususnya membaca buku ekspositori baik itu teoretis atau praktis untuk meningkatkan pemahaman。 Buku ini kurang cocok bagi pembaca yg biasa membaca buku untuk mencari hiburan， lagipula pembahasan dlm buku ini sama sekali tdk menghibur。--- 。。。more
Unkwiam
，
This is more how to study than how to read a book。 The rules it gives are good， but tend to go beyond what I normally need。 Still they can be useful to someone at high school to get the basis of how studying a book
Howlett
，
前年看的，先从别人的书摘看起再读完全书。书海浩瀚、人生苦短，即使只钻营自己感兴趣及有需求的知识也依然前途漫漫，因此“磨刀不误砍柴工”这句话在现代社会更加具有实用性。感谢本书，尤其是这其中的“不求甚解”快速了解某领域的读书法，让我获益良多。
Liam
，
1。5 years reading this heady tome！ Mortimer Adler’s masterpiece on reading non-fiction was a massive eye opener for me。 I realized very early on， that I was indeed the type of reader he was criticizing！Adler’s tour de force contains two halves。 The first half is a treatment on passive and sloppy modern reading and readers （modern referring to the 1940s）。 If this half had any relevance when it was written， it’s only that much more relevant now。 This half of the book was potent to be sure - but Ad 1。5 years reading this heady tome！ Mortimer Adler’s masterpiece on reading non-fiction was a massive eye opener for me。 I realized very early on， that I was indeed the type of reader he was criticizing！Adler’s tour de force contains two halves。 The first half is a treatment on passive and sloppy modern reading and readers （modern referring to the 1940s）。 If this half had any relevance when it was written， it’s only that much more relevant now。 This half of the book was potent to be sure - but Adler won me over very early on in his argument。 So， because I was already ‘all in，’ this half of the book was a bit of a slog for me。 It made very good and relevant points to be sure - I was less invested in them however because I didn’t need any more convincing。 In all honesty， if you just want to get help reading， you could skip this half of the book。The second half of How to Read a Book is really where the book shines。 Adler’s practical steps in reading are a laser precision tool for grasping， understanding， and interacting with ideas set to pen & ink。 The book is phenomenal！ Before diving in to this book， I would have found the title somewhat laughable。 ‘How to read a book？！ You just read the words！’ Now I’m amazed as to just how much I’ve been missing！ While I won’t be going through Adler’s whole process for everything I read - （maybe not even most of the things I read） - I will be approaching a select few of my reading projects for a very careful strategic read。 Adler has absolutely sold me on the practice。 I’m now eagerly looking forward to using his rules of reading on some future reading projects！The last few chapters are devoted to which books to spend time in。 Adler gives the readers a full detailed reading list - one that will take near a lifetime to complete！ He has sold me on this as well - and I’ve decided to read the ‘Great Books’ alongside a world history as I go through it。 I’m excited to dive in to this world of classics using Adler’s method！ What a helpful and eye opening read！ （And look for the original text version of the book！ Beware of the modern reprint with updated ‘modernized’ language。 I tried dabbling in the modernized language ebook version for a chapter here and there while I read the bulk of the book in the 1966 hardcover version at home。 The updated version sounds nothing like Adler - and changes the entire tone of the book！ It also may have been abridged - although I didn’t investigate further to find out。 Over all， the modernized version just seemed to make its points much more vaguely - making the points more softly， and the book much more difficult to absorb。） 。。。more
Omima Khaled
，
الكتاب يضع قواعد للقراءة الناجحة التي تتعدّى حدود الكلمات المجردة إلى ما وراءها من مفاهيم وأفكار。الأشياء المفيدة في الكتاب كانت شرح مستويات القراءة الأربعة وكيفية الاستفادة من كل مستوى إلى أقصى حد بالإضافة إلى بعض النصائح لقراءة أنواع مختلفة من الكتب مثل الكتب العلمية والكتب العملية والكتب التاريخية والدينية والكتب الروائية أيضاً لكن الكتاب يتحدث بشكل أساسي عن الكتب الغير روائية بأنواعها 。كان كتاباً ثقيلاً بكل ما تحمله الكلمة من معنى。 الكتاب قديم ولذا قد يجد القارئ بعض الأشياء مسلّم بها في عصرنا الكتاب يضع قواعد للقراءة الناجحة التي تتعدّى حدود الكلمات المجردة إلى ما وراءها من مفاهيم وأفكار。الأشياء المفيدة في الكتاب كانت شرح مستويات القراءة الأربعة وكيفية الاستفادة من كل مستوى إلى أقصى حد بالإضافة إلى بعض النصائح لقراءة أنواع مختلفة من الكتب مثل الكتب العلمية والكتب العملية والكتب التاريخية والدينية والكتب الروائية أيضاً لكن الكتاب يتحدث بشكل أساسي عن الكتب الغير روائية بأنواعها 。كان كتاباً ثقيلاً بكل ما تحمله الكلمة من معنى。 الكتاب قديم ولذا قد يجد القارئ بعض الأشياء مسلّم بها في عصرنا أما بالنسبة لوقت كتابة هذا الكتاب كانت اكتشافات مبهرة。 كان المؤلف يستغرق عشرات الصفحة في شرح مفهوم أو خطوة كان من الممكن أن يشرحها في صفحة واحدة والأمثلة التي استخدمها لإيضاح بعض النقاط كانت من كتب إنجليزية تراثية مثل كتب أفلاطون وهذا زاد من صعوبة الكتاب وجعله مملاً للغاية。（باختصار ذكّرني بكتب مادة الحضارة التي درستها في الجامعة -_-）بالطبع استفدت أشياء كثيرة فيما يتعلق بالقراءة التحليلية والنقدية وتعلمتُ عن بعض الأخطاء التي أرتكبها أثناء القراءة。 。。。more
Jun
，
As an avid book reader， I feel lucky to have found and read this book。 I think it is not obvious that there are so many details in advanced reading skills。 Especially after many years of primary and secondary schooling， reading has become "obvious" or "instinctual。" Even in schools， there are writing classes， but rarely do I see reading classes。 Although in many degree programs one gets trained in reading， advanced training in reading isn't usually performed explicitly。 This book brings to mind As an avid book reader， I feel lucky to have found and read this book。 I think it is not obvious that there are so many details in advanced reading skills。 Especially after many years of primary and secondary schooling， reading has become "obvious" or "instinctual。" Even in schools， there are writing classes， but rarely do I see reading classes。 Although in many degree programs one gets trained in reading， advanced training in reading isn't usually performed explicitly。 This book brings to mind many important things to consider and good practices while （and before！） reading any book， and it methodically characterized different styles of reading under different circumstances， for different kinds of books and readers' different purposes （take a look at its table of contents）。 I highly recommend this book to everyone who cares about understanding anything from reading。This book first discusses the goal of reading -- for information vs for understanding， and outlines different levels of reading: elementary， inspectional， analytical， and syntopical。 （Going back to the above， school teaching focuses more on the elementary level of reading， as mentioned in this book early in Chapter 3。） It also says what this book is not about early in Chapter 4: "Many books are hardly worth even skimming; some should be read quickly。。。 It is wasteful to read a book slowly that deserves only a fast reading" -- it's not asking you to read everything in analytical detail （more elaborations in Chapter 20 on syntopical reading）。 As I read along， I've been using the pratical methods it proposed onto reading this book itself， and do feel that I'm remembering and digesting what I've read more efficiently and more deeply。There are， of course， different types of books， and this book is not preaching a universal method of reading any book。 In Part Three， the book explains how to read practical books; imaginative literature; stories， plays and poems; history; science and mathematics; philosophy; and social science。 （Notably， psychology is put in the social science chapter rather than the science chapter， which is debatable， but the definition of this field and its methodologies have shifted， admittedly。 We're also seeing scientific expansionism generally among social sciences， so it's interesting to compare those two chapters while reading。） Rather than being merely "how to，" these chapters contain a lot of material on "why" one should read those subjects， so I recommend reading those chapters to understand the "why，" even if you think you're not interested in， say poetry， or philosophy。 Especially interestingly， the chapter on how to read philosophy could even be read as a short introduction to philosophy and a short history of philosophy itself， and it is enlightening。 Understandably， the classifications and the historical discussions are Eurocentric （although more contemporary non-western works have been influenced by or adopted western styles）， but I don't have a better solution to this than just keeping it in mind， or maybe employing "syntopical reading" on the subject of "book-reading。"There's one particular advice I like。 In Chapter 12 Aids to Reading， section "How to Use Commentaries and Abstracts，" page 174-175， it says， "you should read an author's preface and introduction before reading his book， the rule in the case of extrinsic reading is that you should not read a commentary by someone else until after you have read the book。" It's a habit （reading preface and introduction before， and searching for comments and reviews after） that I have picked up gradually over the years and personally I feel I've benefited a lot from doing this， so it's nice to be confirmed by the authors here。 （Unfortunately， if you haven't read this book， you've read my comments too soon， but not everything can be perfect！）In addition to being about how to read， there are places of the book where I enjoy reading them as philosophical discussions， for example， in chapter 8， about the meaning and ambiguity of words， and about communication; in chapter 9， about arguments and logic; in chapter 12， about facts; in chapter 20， about progress; and of course， in chapter 18， about everything philosophy。Note that the book's discussions and instructions are very explicit and hands-on， which I do like， but one may find some parts of the book obvious and too wordy。 I think sometimes this style is helpful -- it is precisely those parts where you don't realize that require explicit training， and different people could need and take away different things from this book。 Skip the obvious as you like， as in Chapter 4: "the ideal is。。。 to be able to read at different speeds -- and to know when the different speeds are appropriate。"You've read along this far， and whether you're convinced to read this book or not， it wouldn't take you more than another few minutes to find the book's table of contents and take a look。 Some of the ideas are obvious and the headings themselves serve as good reminders of what you already know （but probably not taking seriously enough）。 Hopefully you'll already take away something doing that。 。。。more
Ali
，
The book is really useful but a little bit boring since it is really academic and there is no sense of attraction 。
Erick Viveros
，