How to read a book
Parent Post
There is a difference
There is a difference between reading for understanding and reading for information.
If you’re like most people, you probably haven’t given much thought to how you read. And how you read makes a massive difference to knowledge accumulation.
A lot of people confuse knowing the name of something with understanding.
While great for exercising your memory, the regurgitation of facts without solid understanding and context gains you little in the real world.
The four levels of
The four levels of reading
The goal of reading determines how you read. If you’re reading for entertainment or information, you’re going to read a lot differently (and likely different material) than reading to increase understanding.
Before we can improve our reading skills, we need to understand the differences in the reading levels.
They are thought of as levels because you can’t move to a higher level without a firm understanding of the previous one — they are cumulative.
Analytical readingAnalytical reading is
Analytical reading
Analytical reading is a thorough reading.
There are four rules to Analytical Reading
- Classify the book according to kind and subject matter.
- State what the whole book is about with the utmost brevity.
- Enumerate its major parts in their order and relation, and outline these parts as you have outlined the whole.
- Define the problem or problems the author is trying to solve.
After an inspectional read, you will understand the book and the author’s views.
Elementary readingThis is the
Elementary reading
This is the level of reading taught in our elementary schools. If you’re reading this website, you already know how to do this.
Syntopical readingThe goal is
Syntopical reading
The goal is not to achieve an overall understanding of any particular book, but rather to understand the subject and develop a deep fluency.
This is all about identifying and filling in your knowledge gaps.
There are five steps to syntopical reading:
- Finding the Relevant Passages
- Bringing the Author to Terms
- Getting the Questions Clear
- Defining the Issues
- Analyzing the Discussion
Inspectional readingInspectional reading allows
Inspectional reading
Inspectional reading allows us to look at the author’s blueprint and evaluate the merits of a deeper reading experience.
Inspectional reading gives you the gist of things.
There are two sub-types
There are two sub-types of inspectional reading:
- Systematic skimming — This is meant to be a quick check of the book by
– Reading the preface
– Studying the table of contents
– Checking the index
– Reading the inside jacket. - Superficial reading — This is when you just read. Don’t ponder the argument, don’t look things up, don’t write in the margins. If you don’t understand something, move on.