There, I said it.  My husband may disagree with me, but I NEED to be more demanding!  Mortimer Adler insists I be more demanding.  In Chapter #5 of How to Read a Book, Adler explores the art of asking questions and making a habit of being a demanding reader. 

Some questions I need to ask as I “actively” read a book include:

What is the overall theme?

Has the author subdivided the theme into bite-sized topics?

Are subordinate themes presented in an orderly/understandable manner?

Can I determine what the book is about as a whole?

Does the author support his main theme with believable arguments?

What assertions constitute the main idea?

Do I believe this book or any part of it to be true?

What significance does the author’s message have for me?

Does the information I obtain demand further reading?

To assist in this questioning process, Adler suggests another heresy….MARK UP YOUR BOOK!  First I’m demanding and now I’m going to scribble in my precious, moderately expensive, treasured book?  I specifically remember punishments from my parents and teachers alike for writing in books meant only to be read.  I find I have “issues” with writing in a book!  College-style underlining and highlighting aren’t enough?  Adler proposes a system of marginal notes, stars and asterisks, numbers in the margin, circling key phrases, and references to other pages.  And if that’s not enough, ideally, the reader makes an outline in the front endpapers and a summary of the author’s points in the back endpapers. 

The whole process reminds me of cleaning out a closet.  One removes and examines most every item and makes a categorical decision about its value.  Only what is of the utmost importance is replaced in an orderly fashion on the shelves.  When I open the door to a newly cleaned closet, I can immediately visualize all that I ever really needed in that closet to begin with.  The rest has been discarded.  My finished book should look the same way.  I need only open the book and focus on my own notes and markings to understand the key points of the author.  I have categorized and assigned value to these key points through my active reading. I always knew cleaning a closet was a demanding job.  Now I understand the art of becoming a more demanding reader: it’s up to me to practice until it becomes a habit.

“One learns to do by doing.”

Chapter #1 – my response notes

Chapter #2 – my response notes

Chapter #3 & #4 – my response notes

Featured in the Carnival of Education: Week 70

Related Tags: Great Books, literature, Mortimer Adler, analytic reading

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Posted by AcceptanceWithJoy

We have a wonderful young man that just joined our book study group. Anyway, he said he had just started writing in his books. He never would before, because they were precious. He does now and I quote, "Because THEY like it!" Personification of books ~ a sure sign of a bibliophile!

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Posted by Anonymous

This is fantastic, Maureen!
Cay in LA ( http://caygibson.typepad.com )

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Posted by mamma1420

About the habits, here's my link http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/mamma1420/143743/

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Posted by gottsegnet

Oh, but those marked up books are such a treasured heirloom. I have one of my Great Aunt's old books and to read it along with her thoughts...

There are some books I can mark up more easily than others. The one I'm reading right now, for example, I think I shall. But others I would like to pass on to my children and would like them to have their own thoughts. So I take notes in a notebook.

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Posted by suitti

With all due respect, those are awful questions. How this one:

Where is this story going?

I confess i last tried highlighting while i still had a photographic memory. On rereading, i found the marks distracting. In hindsight, they just weren't the important parts (or at least, they were no longer the important parts). I even purchased a new copy of the book.

These days, i keep notes in a seperate notebook. Not of the important parts. Of the most trivial details. That really helps bring things into focus. I love irony.

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