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# How to Read a Book - Adler & Van Doren
![[calendar-plus.svg]] <small>Dec 28, 2021</small> | ![[calendar-clock.svg]] <small>May 30, 2023</small>
**Author(s):** Moritmer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren
**Citation:** Adler, M. J., & Van Doren, C. (2014). *How to read a book: The classic guide to intelligent reading.* Touchstone.
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# ~ 3 Sentence Summary
## Key Takeaways
# Notes & Important Ideas
#### Four levels of reading
1. Elementary Reading
- Basic literacy
- Reader can answer the question "What does the sentence say?"
2. [[inspectional reading|Inspectional Reading]]
- Quickly reading to uncover the purpose of the writing and evaluate the merits of further reading
- Gives you the gist of things
3. [[analytical reading|Analytical Reading]]
- Thorough reading to fully comprehend
4. [[syntopical reading|Syntopical Reading]]
- Comparative reading that involves reading many books on the same subject and comparing and contrasting ideas, vocabulary and arguments
#### Inspectional Reading
- Two types of inspectional reading
1. [[systematic skimming|Systematic skimming]] or pre-reading
2. [[superficial reading|Superficial reading]]
#### How to be a demanding reader
- To catch more of what the author is 'pitching,' it is important to practice more [[active reading]], which entails asking four basic questions.
- Make a book your own with [[marginalia]].
- Take three kinds of notes:
1. [[structural notes]]
2. [[conceptual notes]]
3. [[dialectical notes]]
- Form a habit of reading
#### Analytical Reading
##### Classify a book
```ad-important
title: Rule #1
Know what kind of book you're reading, preferably before you begin reading.
```
##### X-ray a book to grasp it's structure
```ad-important
title: Rule #2
State the unity of the whole book in a single sentence or short paragraph.
```
```ad-important
title: Rule #3
Set forth the major parts of the book, and show how they're organized into a whole.
```
- Discover the [[author's purpose]]
-
```ad-important
title: Rule #4
Find out what the author's problems were.
```
## Connections to Other Materials
# Personal Revelations
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# Other References
## Tags