How to Read "How to Read a Book"

"How to Read a Book" is amazing. You should read it. It'll help you squeeze everything you need out of a great book.

More importantly, perhaps, it'll help you spend less time reading bad books.

But how will you know how to read "How to Read a Book" if you haven't read "How to Read a Book"?

Just follow the steps below.

Part 1: Inspectional Reading

Step 1: Systematic Skimming or Pre-Reading

Look at the title page and skim the preface
Study the table of contents
Check the index, paying attention to key terms
Read the publisher's blurb, if it has one
Look at the chapters that are pivotal to the argument and read their summary statements (usually at the beginning and end of the chapter)
Quickly skim the whole book, and read the last two or three pages

Step 2: Superficial Reading

Speed read the book. Don't get hung up and pause on difficult passages; just read it fast.

After this, you should have a pretty good understanding of what the author is up to, and whether this book deserves a close reading.

(Hint: most books do not deserve a close reading. But "How to Read a Book" might. So you should know how to read it analytically, which you'll learn in the next section.)

Part 2: Analytical Reading

Step 1: Find out what the book is about

Determine the book's type (e.g. practical or theoretical) and subject matter (e.g. ethics or biology)
State what the book is about (the author's main point)
Outline the book's major parts
Define the problem(s) the author is trying to solve

Step 2: Find out what the book says

Make sure you understand the author's key terms
Grasp the most important statements
Grasp the author's arguments (these are constructed from the most important statements)
Which problems has the author solved, or not solved? Which problems do they know they failed to solve?

Step 3: Decide whether (and why or why not) you agree with the book

But first:

Did you do Steps 2.1 and 2.2 yet? If not, go back and do them. You can't form an opinion on something you don’t understand.
Don't disagree just to disagree.
Make sure you have good evidence for your judgments. Then answer the following:
How is the author uninformed?
How is the author misinformed?
Is the author ever illogical? Where?
Where is the author's analysis incomplete?

Cool. Now you know how to read "How to Read a Book."

Moreover, these steps work great for almost any book, particularly non-fiction. (I actually think they can be adapted more easily to fiction than the authors describe; an area where I think their analysis is incomplete.)

"How to Read a Book" will teach you how to read nearly everything — novels, poetry, science, philosophy, news articles, plays, and more.

If you follow the steps above — and I'm sure you've figured out by now that they're paraphrased from the book — I'm certain it will enrich your life.

Enjoy!