I like books. That is probably a bit of an understatement. I do not have room for all of my books in my office. So there are several boxes of them up in our attic.
Several years ago I read, How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren. It is the best book I have ever read on how to learn. In the book the authors talk about several layers of reading. The first is the scan. It is a method of getting the kernel of a book in about 20 minutes.
A few years later I took an intersession course at DTS. The professor was a newly minted PhD, Hans Finzel. Part of the course was an application of Adler and Van Doren’s level one of reading, a book scan. Since that course I have used that system on many books.
I am not 100% consistent but I scan many of the books, non-fiction, I read before I read them. It gives me a context for the argument of the author and makes my reading of the book more effective. I recommend the practice, here is an example.
I am thinking about adding a page on this blog and from time to time sharing some of these. Regardless, you should try it.
A few years later I took an intersession course at DTS. The professor was a newly minted PhD, Hans Finzel. Part of the course was an application of Adler and Van Doren’s level one of reading, a book scan. Since that course I have used that system on many books.
I am not 100% consistent but I scan many of the books, non-fiction, I read before I read them. It gives me a context for the argument of the author and makes my reading of the book more effective. I recommend the practice, here is an example.
I am thinking about adding a page on this blog and from time to time sharing some of these. Regardless, you should try it.
Great book and great practice, Mike. Could you please share how you use the results of your inspectional reading -- book review, like the one you refer to as an example? I would guess, the obvious benefits of verbalizing your findings -- to better formulate the thoughts and store them in case you delay with the actual reading of the book. Any other? Thanks.
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