Chapter 5: How to Be a Demanding Reader
We wrap up the first part of the book with a discussion of what questions to ask as we read a book, and ways to take ownership of a book by writing and note-making in our books.
The essence of active reading is this – Ask questions while you read – questions that you try to answer while you are reading. Describe the 4 Basic Questions (a reader asks) as outlined by Adler. (p. 46-47)
The 4 Basic Questions
- What is the book about as a whole? Try to discover the leading theme of the book. How does the author develop the theme?
- What is being said in detail and how? Try to discover the main ideas, assertions, and arguments that the author is trying to express.
- Is the book true, in whole or in part? You will need to answer the first two questions before you can answer this question. You have to know what is being said before you can decide if it is true.
- What of it? If the author has given information in their book, is it significant? Why does the author think this information is important to know?
What is the difference between a demanding reader and an undemanding reader? (p. 47)
Reading a book beyond the elementary level asks the reader to be demanding – asking questions while reading and answering them to the best of one’s ability. An undemanding reader asks no questions and gets no answers.
How does Adler describe the concept of book ownership? (p. 49)
The concept of book ownership goes beyond just buying and owning a book. Asking questions while reading a book is important, but it isn’t enough – the reader must also work to answer these questions. Adler points out that in theory this could be done entirely in your mind, but is much easier to do pencil in hand. Fully taking possession of a book is much more than ownership – Adler says full ownership comes only when you have made it a part of yourself, and the best way to do this is by writing in it.
Why are some reasons Adler says writing in books is important? (p. 49-50)
- Marking a book helps keep you awake – not just conscious, but wide awake.
- Active reading is thinking – and thinking tends to express itself in words. A person may say they are thinking something, but if a person cannot express what they are thinking (in words or writing), they don’t really know what they are thinking.
- Writing your reaction to what you are reading helps you the reader remember the thoughts of the author.
- Marking a book acts as a conversation between the reader and the author about the subject of the book. Marking a book can serve as an expression of the reader’s differences or agreements with the author.
Adler goes on to describe several techniques to use in writing in our books. Describe them briefly. (p. 49-50)
- Underlining – major points, important or forceful statements
- Vertical lines at margin – used to emphasize longer passages, rather than underlining several sentences.
- Star, asterisk, or other doodle at the margin – use sparingly to emphasize important statements or passages in the book. Adler also suggestions marking the page somehow for future reference
- Numbers in the margin – indicates a sequence of points being made by author in developing an argument
- Page Numbers in the margin – good for referencing where else in the book this point (or some related point) is made. The notation “Cf” meaning ‘compare’ or ‘refer to’ can also be used.
- Circling of key words or phrases – similar in function to underlining
- Writing in margin, top/bottom of page – the reader could record questions or answers, or make a statement (a summary statement perhaps). Note – Adler also suggestions using the endpapers – those several blank pages at the back of many books – to make a personal index of author’s points, and the blank frontpapers as a personal outline of a book.
Adler discusses the three kinds of note-making , and which kind is used depends on the level at which you are reading a book. Discuss the different note-making at each level of reading – inspectional, analytical, and syntopical. (p. 51-52)
- Inspectional reading – questions answered by inspectional reading are What kind of book is it, What is it about as a whole, and What is the structural order of the book in which the author develops the book’s concept or subject matter. These notes are more about the structure of the book and less about the substance of the book (or at least, in great detail).
- Analytical reading – questions asked at this level deal with the truth and significance of the book’s content. Notes taken at this level are not structural but rather conceptual. These questions deal with the author’s concepts (as well as your own). Notes at this level may include page numbers to other locations in the book (or in other books, as in the case of syntopical reading)
- Syntopical reading – this level of reading involves reading several books at the same time. Notes when reading at this level may include what Adler refers to as the ‘shape of the discussion’ that is engaged in by all the authors of the various books – not a conscious discussion, of course, but rather how points made by one author seems to interact with points made by another author in a different book. Discussed later in the book, Adler refers to these notes as DIALECTICAL. As a personal note, I often refer to this as “my books are talking to each other.”
** Note – assume much of the content following each discussion question is a paraphrase and comes from the book How to Read a Book.
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