How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading
Every year I read a lot of books, and last year was no different. A few years ago, back in 2018, the only difference is that most of the books I read would be books that you read for entertainment. I was sick most of that year, and the antibiotics and over-the-counter drugs I took wreaked havoc with my system. So, I had a hard time focusing on books that dealt with topics that I had to think about. I created a challenge to get my reading groove back. Based on my experience, in this article, I will show you how to become a skilled reader and read more of the right books in 2022.
There are many great articles published that offer tips on how to read more books, but my approach is completely different. Those articles cover tips such as always having a book with you so you can read while waiting; scheduling a time for reading and so on. All of these tips are important, but what they lack is something more fundamental.
Have you read?
The Challenge to Get My Reading Groove Back
Definition of the Right Books
I define the right book as one that makes you think and can help you to grow personally and professionally in your life. Also, the books that teach you the 10 skills that the World Economic Forum says you need to succeed in 2020 fall into that category. In other words, any book that will help you to accelerate your career and allow you to live a more fulfilled life.
In case you have not seen any of my other articles that I wrote about the skills you need to thrive in 2020 and beyond, here are the skills you need.
Examples of the Right Books: Books That Cover the Following Topics
- Complex problem solving.
- Critical thinking and analysis.
- Creativity, innovation, ideation, originality, and initiative.
- People management.
- Coordinating with others.
- Emotional intelligence.
- Judgment, reasoning, analytical thinking, and decision making.
- Service orientation.
- Negotiation.
- Cognitive flexibility.
- Active learning and learning strategies.
- Technology design and programming/Technology use, monitoring and control.
- Leadership and social influence.
- Systems analysis and evaluation.
- Resilience, stress tolerance, and flexibility.
- Cultural sensitivity and awareness.
Based on my years of experience, there are other skills such as learning how to learn that I think are important to your success. Please read “The Skills You Need To Succeed In 2020.”
Have you read?
Skills You Need to Thrive in 2025 According to World Economic Forum
The Skills You Need To Succeed In 2020 And Beyond
The Skills You Need To Succeed In 2020
Become a Skilled Reader: Reading is a Skill
Are you a skilled reader? I am not trying to insult your intelligence. But this is an important issue that I would like to address. When you were a child, you were taught to read a certain way, but as you grew older, you were never taught how to read more effectively and efficiently.
As a child, you would sound out the words and also read the book from cover-to-cover, reading every word. When you attended college or university, you quickly realized that if you wanted to stay on track you would have to find a way to get the information from your textbooks quickly, so you could complete your assignments on time and get a very good grade on your tests.
Being a skilled reader has nothing to do with the number of books you read. It has more to do with your ability to grasp the concepts in the books you read. Do you have the skill to ferret out the answers to the questions you have when the information you seek is not easy to identify. Or do you have the skill to grasp the hidden meaning in a passage in the book you are reading. Being a skilled reader is having the ability to determine what is important and not important in a book. All of these abilities require reading actively. Most people do not know how to do these things.
If you master the skills and become a skilled reader, you will read more books in 2019. Most books do not have to be read cover-to-cover. Let that sink in for a minute. Think back to the last 10 books that you read, looking back, how many of those books had information that was 100 percent important to you? Authors add in information that is not necessarily important to your understanding of the text.
Here is a secret – publishers have length requirements for books, and the length differs by the genre of a book. Go to a bookstore and browse different sections to determine the length of books for different genres. After an author finishes writing a book, if it doesn’t meet the length requirement for the publisher, more than likely he or she will have to find a way to increase the length of the book.
Become a Skilled Reader: Reasons for Reading a Book
In How to Read a Book
by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren, they say that there are three reasons for reading any book:
- Entertainment
- Information
- Increased Understanding of a Topic of Interest
Before you start reading any book, have a reason for reading it. Your reason will also dictate how you read the book. When you are reading for entertainment, you have to read the entire book because you do not want skip information that will help you to understand the story. But when you are reading for information or to further your understanding of a topic, you can be more strategic about which sections of the book you read.
What It Takes to Become a Skilled Reader
If you want to become a skilled reader, it will not happen overnight. It will take practice, and like other skills, with deliberate practice comes mastery. If you are reading a book for information or for an increased understanding of a topic, more than likely you have questions that you want to answer. Take the time to write down all the questions that you have about the topic.
- Before you start to read the book from beginning to end, write down your one-sentence purpose for read. And take some time to scan it first. If you are reading an e-book, you can also scan it.
- Flip through the pages of the book, look at the charts, diagram, pictures, headings and section headings, and bold text.
- If there is an Introduction in the book read it. Review the Table of Contents and if you see something that captures your attention, go to the page and read one or two pages.
- And if the book has a Preface, Foreword and About the Book, read those as well.
- You will spend 20 to 45 minutes scanning a book and at the end of that time, you will know if the book is worth reading and what sections to pay attention to.
You may think that if you do not read a book from cover-to-cover, you have not read it. That is not true. If you understand what the author is trying to communicate to the reader, you have read the book. Think about Pareto’s Principle, also known as the 80/20 Rule. You can read 20 percent of a book and understand 80 percent of it. You can figure out which 20 percent or more to read if you have scanned the book first.
Another important point to make is that when you are reading, make sure that you take notes. Do not write down the text verbatim, write the notes in your own words. This shows that you understand what the author is trying to communicate to the reader. If you like mind maps, when you finish reading a book, map out what the book is about. This process tests your understanding of any book. Also try to teach what you have learned to another person.
Still struggling with whether you have read a book if you only read 20 percent or a little more of the book? Here is what Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt has to say on the topic. He was quoted as saying:
““The wise thing to do [with a book] is simply to skip the bosh and twaddle and vulgarity and untruth, and get the benefit out of the rest.””
Source: Teddy Roosevelt 5 Reading Secrets, Brandon Vogt
You may be interested in another quote from the same book:
“Many people think reading is an all-or-nothing activity. Either you read every page of the entire book, or you ignore it completely. But the best readers put themselves in control of their books. Especially with non-fiction books, they don’t waste time reading content they’re sure won’t edify them. They only focus on the truly important sections. Roosevelt did this often. He would jump around in search of the meaty nuggets of a book that would inspire him, challenge his opinions, or force him to think critically about some topic.”
Source: Teddy Roosevelt 5 Reading Secrets, Brandon Vogt
Next Steps: Become a Skilled Reader: Read More of the Right Books in 2022
Think about the things you would like to accomplish in 20222. What skills do you need to accelerate your career. If you are unsure, start with the skills that the World Economic Forum says you need to thrive in 2022. Start taking the steps to become a skilled reader. I know that when you want to read a certain book, the temptation is there to start reading from the beginning. Stop yourself and preview the book first to determine which sections to read.
The time you save previewing books first will allow you to read more books in 2022. Here are action steps to take to become a skilled reader and read more books this year.
- Carve out the time to read How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren.
- Read Learning How to Learn: How to Succeed in School Without Spending All Your Time Studying; A Guide for Kids and Teens by Barbara Oakley, Terrence Sejnowski, and Alistair McConville.
- Also read The Science of Self-Learning: How to Teach Yourself Anything, Learn More in Less Time, and Direct Your Own Education
by Peter Hollins. - Join the MoreReads Success Blueprint 6 Month Accelerator Program
by Peter Hollins.The most accomplished people use books as problem solving tools. They carve out the time in their schedule to find solutions in the pages of a book. Let me help you to solve your own problems. Additionally, this program helps you to learn valuable career skills. Click the link MoreReads Success Blueprint Accelerator Program to buy.
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UPDATE: First published in January 2019
