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How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading Audiobook
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(3.01) - 3,174 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
With half a million copies in print, How to Read a Book is the best and most successful guide to reading comprehension for the general reader, completely rewritten and updated with new material.
A CNN Book of the Week: “Explains not just why we should read books, but how we should read them. It's masterfully done.” –Farheed Zakaria
Originally published in 1940, this book is a rare phenomenon, a living classic that introduces and elucidates the various levels of reading and how to achieve them—from elementary reading, through systematic skimming and inspectional reading, to speed reading. Readers will learn when and how to “judge a book by its cover,” and also how to X-ray it, read critically, and extract the author’s message from the text.
Also included is instruction in the different techniques that work best for reading particular genres, such as practical books, imaginative literature, plays, poetry, history, science and mathematics, philosophy and social science works.
Finally, the authors offer a recommended reading list and supply reading tests you can use measure your own progress in reading skills, comprehension, and speed.
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"A complete, systematic and excellently written account of the really valuable art of reading. The text is well-divided into appropriate sections that explain step-by-step and in a very detailed and practical manner, as how to go about reading a book. Also, the way the book is written for contemporary period is very thoughtful of the author indeed. Bonus points to the coverage of the method of reading different kinds of books and to the reading list at the end!"
— Pratul (4 out of 5 stars)
How to Read a Book Listener Reviews
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" This book discusses the various ways to read different kinds of literature and levels of reading. The book not only helped me to approach reading in various ways, but also gave me permission to scan a work to get a quick understanding of its contents. "
— Adrienne, 1/20/2014 -
" Skimmed it "
— Jane, 1/4/2014 -
" M.J. Adler organizes and structures common sense knowledge on books and reading into a single unit which is not so common. Essential read for the student, teacher, life-long reader... or hell, everyone! "
— Nantapat, 1/3/2014 -
" Reading this book, one has to force themselves to either do as Adler instructs, or to humor him as they do what they've done naturally for years. I fell into the latter of these categories, and while I enjoyed his instructional book, I could not help but feel as if I were wasting my time. What I found in it that I not only enjoyed but "increased my understanding" was a greater message on Adler's philosophy on reading and learning. "
— John, 12/17/2013 -
" educational, non-fiction: recommend it for the college bound or a person interested in reading the Great Books. "
— Maureen, 12/13/2013 -
" I enjoyed reading this but 10 years later I don't really follow Adler's advice, so it obviously didn't have a very big impact on me. "
— Sarah, 12/10/2013 -
" It distresses me to realize how few people read. If your friend is entering college and doesn't read quickly and well, I recommend this. "
— Charity, 12/5/2013 -
" Hands down the clearest book on reading and how to maximize what you read. It has changed the way I read. "
— Shay, 11/4/2013 -
" The information was good, but it was obvious that it was written in a time when people were more patient in the way information was presented. It was really dry and I couldn't stay focused on what I was reading. "
— Miranda, 10/28/2013 -
" I read this book as an audio book. It is the best book I have ever read and it changed my life teaching me to read by "ideas" not by chapters. "
— John, 10/20/2013 -
" Exactly what it says on the cover. By the time you finish this book, you will be able to read a book. "
— Dustin, 6/30/2013 -
" Very well done work on how to read a book!! I am now ready to conquer the reading world!!! "
— Jacob, 3/18/2013 -
" This is one of the most important books I have ever read. It never goes out of date. It taught me how to read serious non-fiction well. "
— Tom, 2/17/2013 -
" This is a great book. Encourages readers to focus on improving their reading skills since most readers stay at a 6th grade reading level for most of their lives. The book has some great applications for reading Scriptures. "
— Jim, 12/15/2012 -
" This book has given me GREAT advice on how to get the best out of a book. I'm applying the principles of this book to every book i'm reading today. Definitely worth reading! "
— Jimenez, 12/2/2012 -
" A must read before you start reading the classics! Mortimer Adler is my hero. "
— Brenda, 3/25/2012 -
" Stumbled upon this classic at a bargain book rack. So glad I found it. It speaks to all avid readers. If you're good, it's really just an affirmation of stuff you already knew. "
— Cesar, 12/2/2011 -
" This is a classic in the field. I can't really say that I read it cover to cover. It's more of a reference work than a narrative. It also contains an excellent book list. "
— F., 5/8/2011 -
" one of the worst bits of writing I have seen as well as pretentious and kind of stupid "
— Mark, 4/24/2011 -
" Should have read this 20 years ago when it was listed as optional reading for a class. "
— Shane, 4/19/2011 -
" Looking at this on my shelf the other day. I should revisit this every few years, to remind myself about how to read. "
— Deidre, 4/11/2011 -
" This is one of those books I never really finish, but go back to as a reference again and again. "
— Lily, 4/6/2011 -
" Well, I read the first 150 pages of this book... then I used what it taught me to skim the rest. It's an interesting book but very dry. I don't think I have enough interest to *really* learn to read. "
— Jessica, 4/4/2011 -
" changing the way I think about reading.... "
— Ana2118, 3/5/2011 -
" this book should be slightly updated and taught in high school. "
— Eel, 2/28/2011
About the Authors
Mortimer J. Adler (1902–2001), an American philosopher, educator, and popular author, served as the chairman of Encyclopaedia Britannica’s board of editors, was the founder and director of the Institute for Philosophical Research, and was an honorary trustee and founder of the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. He authored the well-known How to Read a Book and the intellectual autobiography Philosopher at Large and was coeditor, with Charles Van Doren, of Great Treasury of Western Thought, declared the Reference Book of 1977 by the American Library Association.
Charles Van Doren is an American intellectual, writer, and editor. He earned a bachelor’s degree from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, and went on to earn a master’s in astrophysics and a doctorate in English from Columbia University, where he later taught English. He is also the author of A History of Knowledge.
About Edward Holland
Edward Holland is an audiobook narrator whose credits include Confessions of a Spy, Vietnam, and How to Read a Book.