American philosopher, teacher, editor and popularizer of humanities education. He organized two scientific institutes: in 1952, the Institute for Philosophical Research, and in 1990, together with Max Weissmann, the Center for the Study of Great Ideas in Chicago

And you should start with a stunning statement.

We can't read.

You don't know how to read books, neither do I and your literature teacher. Probably, each of us noticed how, while reading a book, he was mentally distracted, and after a few pages he realized that he had just been doing background reading without understanding or remembering anything. This is about what your reading today looks like compared to the way of reading that is mentioned in Mortimer Adler's book.

Initially, the book was published back in 1940, so its author is inclined to indulge in lengthy arguments and pour a lot of water, but after all, the pace of life was different before? In addition, the author honestly admits that with the help of his book you will not learn to read, bearing in mind the need for practice to master this art. But if you at least try, you will have a chance to multiply the benefits you receive from reading and make up for the shortcomings in education.

Mortimer Adler argued that a good, thoughtful reader reads a book three times, or rather three ways.

The first method is structural or analytical. At this stage, the reader should understand the structure of the book, pay attention to the content and the main thematic components.
The second method is interpretive or synthetic. In this case, the reader must process the main keywords, paragraphs and sentences. Understand and interpret them, retell them in your own words and make sense of them.
The third method is critical or evaluative. At this stage, the reader is invited to argue with the author of the book, to understand what the shortcomings of what he read and where the author could be wrong. It is worth remembering, however, that there are no unsolvable differences and that the author is probably superior to the reader intellectually.

It should be understood that with the help of this review, you will not learn to read either. As with the help of the book itself. However, even someone who reads the book without paying due attention to the proposed rules and methods of reading will certainly see the scale of the problem of incorrect, unconscious reading.

I would make the work "How to read books" compulsory reading and even a whole subject for students of modern universities, because it is with reading that the educational process should begin. But do not think that the man from education Mortimer Adler has done a titanic job just for students. This book will be useful to everyone who wants to get the maximum benefit and pleasure from reading, who wants to learn to read actively and be fully aware of what they have read. Concluding the review, I will draw an analogy with listening to music: reading books in the usual way is like preferring a low—quality audio recording to listening to a vinyl record on good equipment. Mortimer Adler gives us both a record and a record player. You just need to learn to hear.

Rating: 8 out of 10

"How to read books", Mortimer Adler

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