Review: How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading

How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading by Mortimer J. Adler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is one of the few rereads I’ve done. I originally bought this book in the late 80s. Adler is a Chicago icon, and I found a paperback copy of this book autographed at Marshall Fields on State Street. You couldn’t get more Chicago than that. I reread this in the hopes of relearning ways to rip apart a book as you read it, something that I had read about those decades ago. Ends up it was not this book I was thinking of. Instead of a methodical way of parsing a book involving copious notetaking, Adler’s method is more cerebral. This method provides a number of questions to answer, and involves starting with skimming and perusal of contents and indexes, but without the necessity of notetaking along the way. Adler also says that the use of his method in its entirety should be restricted to only a few major books. His method seems great for researchers using a book for further study or as a key source, but it is not as valuable for more recreational reading. His method is not a time saver – it is a time eater. As more of a recreational reader, I wasn’t the main target for this book. However, I did enjoy the method espoused, and will think in terms of the basic questions to ask of one’s understanding of a book, which are useful in many contexts, including some recreational reading.

I must comment on Adler's writing style. He writes in a very conversational way, which is disarming, even though he is continually diving deeper and deeper into his subject. You feel you are being taught by a very thorough teacher, led in your study but engagingly, given the topic is typically dry.

I had to check this out from the library. Ends up that I believe I sold my autographed copy to the former used bookstore over the now-closed Artists Cafe in the Fine Arts Building on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, probably 30 years ago. I can imagine it still resides on the bookshelf of a collector somewhere in the city.

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