The Book How to Read a Book
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How to Read How to Read a Volume: A Review
Mortimer J. Adler was an American philosopher who championed the idea of the "Western Canon" and was one of the spearheads of the American "Great Books" movement, which sought to establish what works were central to the foundations of Western literature. The concept was, and is withal today, not without its critics, as these "Groovy Books" and "Western Canon" lists tend to take been generated by educated, upper-grade, white men and tend to omit the works of authors of color, women, and LGBT people. The volume, Adler admits in the preface of the 1970s revision co-authored by Charles Van Doren (of the quiz show scandals fame), was an unexpected success and went on to become a national bestseller and has been in print ever since. A 5-star reviewer named "Paul" on GoodReads calls it "...1 of the most important books you tin read." Louis Vigo claims the "volume will revolutionize how you're reading" in a perfect review on Amazon. The modern publisher's blurb calls Adler's book, "...a rare phenomenon, a living classic that introduces and elucidates the various levels of reading and how to accomplish them."
I had heard of the volume before, but never had any interest in actually seeking it out and reading it. After all, I know how to read a book, correct? I suppose that depends on how one defines what reading is precisely and what the human action is supposed to achieve. I first (directly) encountered this volume in the "required course materials" list for my first primary's class a few weeks ago. Naturally, I was intrigued by the notion that I had been reading wrong my entire life and that this book may offer a solution to a trouble I was not even aware I had. I bought the book and started reading it when it came in the mail a few days after in preparation for my upcoming coursework.
The initial chapters seemed promising in their approach to what reading is and how to formally meliorate ane's reading skills, emphasizing that the human action of reading itself is a skill that tin be built upon and improved over time like whatever other ability. I tin purchase into that. Afterward all, I could never have read a book similar Gravity'southward Rainbow without having read Ulysses or that without having reading Faulkner or that without having read Hemingway or Hemingway without having read Light-green Eggs and Ham as a child, and so on. Seems similar a pretty solid assertion that anyone could brand with conviction and build a strong foundation upon.
Moving on to Chapter 2, the reader is introduced to the flagship concepts of the book: the four cumulative "levels" of reading; cumulative meaning none of these levels can be reached without having achieved the preceding level. These stages are heavily stressed throughout Adler and Van Doren's 1972 revision of the volume and might be called the key thought of the entire enterprise (emphasis on the word "enterprise" hither). The levels are Unproblematic, Inspectional, Belittling, and Syntopical. (You might exist request yourself at this point, what the hell does "syntopical" fifty-fifty mean? I'll become to that). Adler and Van Doren spend the first of half of the book and then going into the nitty-gritty of each of the starting time 3 levels.
Simple Reading, as defined past the authors, is what we acquire to do in, y'all guessed it, elementary school. It is rudimentary reading: the basic act of looking at the word "cow" and understanding that it means the vertebrate, mammalian animate being that goes "moo". Inspectional Reading seems to be an ornate way of saying "looking at the table of contents and skimming the interesting parts". This is washed to "inspect" how much (if whatever) of the book is worth the reader'due south fourth dimension. Side by side, we get to the third level: "Analytical". Y'all know; that stuff most of usa learned in loftier school and undergraduate English & literature courses; read a book and critically analyze it.
So what the hell is this mysterious 4th level? "Syntopical" reading? That give-and-take sounds made upward correct? Well, they'll become to that. But outset, Adler and Van Doren tell the states, they want to accept seven chapters talking about the different types of books a person tin read and tailor their earlier advice to every category of book they can proper name. It is simply in the terminal 36 pages and 2 chapters of the main torso of the volume that Adler and Van Doren decide to explain this cagey level of reading they've been name dropping throughout the unabridged book. Syntopical reading, in the words of the authors:
"It is the most complex and systematic type of reading of all. It makes very heavy demands on the reader, fifty-fifty if the materials he is reading are themselves relatively piece of cake and unsophisticated. Another name for this level might be comparative reading. When reading syntopically, the reader reads many books, not just ane, and places them in relation to one some other and to a bailiwick about which they all revolve. But mere comparing of texts is non enough. Syntopical reading involves more. With the aid of the books read, the syntopical reader is able to construct an analysis of the subject that may not be in any of the books. It is obvious, therefore, that syntopical reading is the most active and effortful kind of reading."
Adler's "syntopical reading", like "inspectional reading" is a dressed-upwards term meaning but, comparative reading.
Then why make a bunch of hubbub over something as unproblematic every bit comparative reading? Sure, it's a big role of writing enquiry papers in secondary schoolhouse, college, and beyond, but why dress is it upward with a made-up give-and-take? This is where the penultimate chapter of the volume turns into a sales pitch. Here, Adler and Van Doren innovate a trouble: how does one know what books to read syntopically? If only, if just there were a production out there that could tell you all the major works of the major ideas of human (err, Western) idea in one, convenient bundle. "Oh await!" exclaims Mortimer J. Adler (in Olde Capitalist*)*, "There is a product just like that!" Information technology's called: A Syntopicon: An Alphabetize to the Great Ideas! Guess who compiled and edited it for the Encyclopædia Britannica Great Books of the Western Earth series?
As it turns out, Mortimer J. Adler happened to be not only at the forefront of the "Dandy Books" movement, but he also did a lot of work capitalizing on it, too, helping to develop the Great Books of the Western Globe serial. Co-author, Charles Van Doren, worked at Encyclopædia Britannica for over xx years when this revised edition of How to Read a Book was published, every bit well. Finding out all of this, I couldn't help only wonder, did I just read a 330+ folio sales pitch for a now-antiquated set of encyclopedias? Did he really invent a "level of reading" and name it (syntopical) to audio like a product (syntopicon) he helped develop? It begs the question: what, if any, of the arguments made in this book were made in genuine expert religion?
Early on into my reading, my biggest criticism was that the book offered an accented famine of data or prove to the methods the authors were prescribing. I was more than than a fiddling disappointed that in that location was nada insight regarding the science of the complex cognitive functions that go into the human activity of reading and deciphering language from arbitrary symbols into multifarious abstruse ideas. Where were the chapters on the psychology of reading? The childhood evolution of reading skills? The neurology aspect? All were conspicuously absent from this book. I was willing to forgive this, considering Mortimer J. Adler was, as far every bit I knew, a lifelong educator and must have known what he was talking about. At all-time, this was an educator sharing his insights; at worst, it was an argument from authority that made some interesting and thought-provoking claims. If that didn't raise the red flag for me, the penultimate chapter that substantially read like a 90s infomercial certainly did. After doing more reading into the authors' respective backgrounds, and the periphery work they did outside of the classroom and outside of writing, it became more difficult to have what this volume was saying at face-value.
So what did I ultimately think? I'm currently sitting at 1352 words into this review; can I really sum it up in one paragraph? I suppose I can try. Here's my best endeavour:
How to Read a Book offers a couple of nuggets of decent communication about reading over 330-some-odd pages that could've been explained in about 50. None of their methods, recommendations, or observations are backed up past any semblance of data or empirical evidence, and it appears they were motivated more so past a paycheck and shameless self-promotion than they were in actually helping audiences learn to read better. Tin this book help the average reader? I'd venture to say it's within the realm of possibility (as long every bit everything is taken with a grain of table salt); yet, if you lot're a life-long reader who has fabricated it a addiction of challenging yourself with books and texts outside of your comfort zone here and there, I can safely tell you: you don't demand this volume. Behave on, and happy reading.
-Bloom
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueLit/comments/e8lb6i/how_to_read_how_to_read_a_book_a_review/
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