How to Read a Book – Mortimer Adler’s classic guide to intelligent reading
April 20, 2025
Housekeeping
I bought How to Read a Book back in 2018, and this is my third attempt to get through it. The first two tries didn’t get far—honestly, it felt nearly unreadable. But this time around, I’m not only interested, I’m finding it hard to put down. Perhaps because I’m not reading it start to finish, I’m reading what interests me most, which, at least today, was the end of the book and the beginning of the book.
Reflections and Random Thoughts
“People see what they are prepared to see.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803 – 1852
April 26, 2025
I think it might also be said that people learn what they are prepared to learn.
Typically, when I feel there are gaps in my understanding of a book, I move on to the next book I think is related to what I’m trying to learn. This method of deeper, more analytical reading is new to me, and Adler’s method feels like a bit of overkill. But the proof is in the pudding, as they say – I don’t think I’d try this on more than 1 or 2 at most books in a year – but we’ll see.
Insights
Key Take-Aways
Something Actionable
So far, I’m about one-third of the way through this book, and I’ve highlighted 33 words that I either don’t know the meaning of at all or only vaguely understand. You’ll be seeing these in the vocabulary quiz(s) associated with this post – but looking them up and adding the questions is work! So you’ll have to give me a minute to finish.
What Everyone Else Thinks
Amazon has given this book a rating of 4.5, with 73% 5-star reviews. The top reviewer had not even one original word to say about the book. Instead, he listed about 20 or so excerpts he found.
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