How to Read a Book

This is the title to a classic book, "How to Read a Book; The Classic guide to Intelligent Reading." which was originally published in 1940. I recall stumbling across this book by accident as a high school student and being blown away by the in depth analysis it contains. It is as relevant now as it ever was. Let us look at some excerpts.

"Perhaps we know more about the world than we used to. and insofar as knowledge is prerequisite to understanding, that is all to the good. But knowledge is not as much a prerequisite to understanding as is commonly supposed. We do not have to know everything about something in order to understand it; too many facts are often as much of an obstacle to understanding as too few. There is a sense in which we moderns are inundated with facts to the detriment of understanding."

Here we have a rather insightful recognition that understanding (which is the true goal of reading) can be impeded by a plethora of non essentials. Knowing more facts does not mean we have comprehended their relationships to each other, or examined their relevance, or placed them in appropriate categories according to prioritization. With the internet at most peoples fingertips these days, this awareness of "facts vs understanding" is more vital than ever.

"Teachability is often confused with subservience. A person is wrongly thought to be teachable if he is passive and pliable. On the contrary, teachability is an extremely active virtue. No one is really teachable who does not freely exercise his power of independent judgment. He can be trained, perhaps, but not taught. The most teachable reader is, therefore, the most critical. He is the reader who finally responds to a book by the greatest effort to make up his own mind on the matters the author has discussed."

Learning is active not passive. As both a life long student and a teacher I see the importance of recognizing the act of learning is not merely dumping content into an empty cup. Independent judgement is a prerequisite for engaging in the rigorous "stuff" of evaluating, sorting, synthesizing, and applying concepts.

"Every book should be read no more slowly than it deserves, and no more quickly than you can read it with satisfaction and comprehension. In any event, the speed at which they read, be it fast or slow, is but a fractional part of most people's problem with reading. Skimming or pre-reading a book is always a good idea; it is necessary when you do not know, as is often the case, whether the book you have in hand is worth reading carefully. You will find that out by skimming it. It is generally desirable to skim even a book that you intend to read carefully, to get some idea of its form and structure."

This last excerpt is just plain great practical advice. One of the things I enjoy most about this book is that the knowledge it expresses covers a lot of ground: from the most in depth abstract concepts to the most grounded relevant tips. Happy reading!