1. Principles
1.1. Four Questions to Ask
1.1.1. 1. What is the book about as a whole?
1.1.2. 2. What is being said in detail and how?
1.1.3. 3. Is the book true, in whole or part?
1.1.4. 4. What of it?
1.2. Read a book according to its merits
1.2.1. Level of activity
1.2.2. Speed
1.2.2.1. Every book contains interstitial material that should be read quickly
1.3. Assumptions
1.3.1. You are reading to gain understanding [4]
1.3.2. Effectiveness of reading is determined by the level of effort (activity) and skill
1.3.3. To be enlightened, we have to read books beyond us, that can raise us up to the author's level
1.3.4. Reading is discovery with a little help [14]
1.4. Gaining understanding is much harder than collecting knowledge, it requires active thinking. Although being informed is antecedent to understanding
1.5. What is our goal as readers?
1.5.1. To gain understanding, to be enlightened
1.5.2. To get help with discovery
1.6. pyramid of books
1.6.1. most have nothing useful fo understanding
1.6.2. Some (1/100) have useful information but when you return there is less there. Worth one analytical read
1.6.3. A few become better, they have grown with you. you should focus on those books. the great books is a good place to start
2. Other Things
2.1. Types of Books
2.1.1. Fiction
2.1.1.1. approach to reading fiction
2.1.1.1.1. let the book act on us as deeply as possible
2.1.1.1.2. read it quickly, all together
2.1.1.1.3. don't need to understand everything as you read it
2.1.1.1.4. the parts may be less independently readable than an expository work
2.1.1.1.5. think about directing the play
2.1.1.1.6. read lyrics out loud, and over and over again
2.1.1.2. criticize whether you like it or not
2.1.1.2.1. be able to state why you were or were not pleased. what was good and what was bad
2.1.1.2.2. don't criticize until you appreciate what the author attempted to have you experience
2.1.1.2.3. must have finished it
2.1.1.3. what to look for
2.1.1.3.1. a new experience from which we can learn
2.1.1.3.2. unity in plot
2.1.1.3.3. elements are the episodes/incidents, characters, and the characters thoughts/actions
2.1.2. Practical
2.1.2.1. Teaches you how to do something you want to do or think you should do
2.1.2.2. Types
2.1.2.2.1. collections of rules
2.1.2.2.2. collections of principles
2.1.2.3. Adapting analytical reading
2.1.2.3.1. Is the author's end correct?
2.1.2.3.2. Are the author's means effective toward that end?
2.1.3. Theoretical
2.1.3.1. Teaches you that something is the case
2.1.3.2. history
2.1.3.2.1. things that occurred. past experience
2.1.3.2.2. things to look for
2.1.3.2.3. your approach
2.1.3.3. science
2.1.3.3.1. things that lie outside of the scope of daily experience. special experience
2.1.3.4. philosophy
2.1.3.4.1. things that lie within the scope of daily experience. common experience
2.1.3.4.2. about philosophy
2.1.3.4.3. types
2.1.3.4.4. styles
2.1.3.4.5. hints
2.1.4. social science
2.1.4.1. a mixture of science, philosophy, and history with some fiction thrown in
2.1.4.2. goal is to understand the problem (and approach to answering it)
2.1.4.3. greatest need for synoptical reading
2.2. Reading Aids
2.2.1. Outside help should only be sought after you have done your best to read the book on your own [167]
2.2.2. Your experience
2.2.2.1. Give concrete examples of points you understand
2.2.3. Other books
2.2.3.1. Philosophy and history books are often a collective conversation and should be read in a certain order [170-171]
2.2.3.2. Commentaries/Essay
2.2.3.2.1. Do not read them until after your intrinsic reading
2.2.3.2.2. Useful to jog memory and when you are engaged in synoptical reading
2.2.3.3. Reference books/Wikipedia
2.2.3.3.1. must know what to ask for
2.2.3.3.2. end disputes about facts
2.3. Note Taking
2.3.1. Structural
2.3.1.1. Concern the structure not the substance (all the questions of inspectional reading)
2.3.2. Conceptual
2.3.2.1. The author's concepts and your own as they have been impacted
2.3.3. Dialectical
2.3.3.1. Shape of the discussion between books and about a topic
3. Levels of Reading
3.1. 1. Elementary
3.2. 2. Inspectional
3.2.1. the goal is to get the most out of a book within a given time, to decide if it's worth more time
3.2.2. Skimming or pre-reading is always a good idea
3.2.2.1. Learn if the book is worth reading
3.2.2.2. Get an idea of the topic and structure of the book to improve the later close reading
3.2.3. also known as skimming systematically
3.2.4. questions asked
3.2.4.1. What kind of book is this?
3.2.4.2. What is this book about?
3.2.4.3. What is the structure of this book?
3.2.5. Levels
3.2.5.1. I. Systematic Skimming
3.2.5.1.1. Steps
3.2.5.2. II. Superficial Reading
3.2.5.2.1. Read it through without stopping to ponder or question or look-up topics
3.3. 3. Analytical
3.3.1. the goal is to get the most complete reading possible unconstrained by time. it's aim is to understand
3.3.2. The acceptance criteria
3.3.2.1. You can answer all four basic questions, especially is it true and what of it? [47]
3.3.3. The questions
3.3.3.1. What is the book about?
3.3.3.1.1. Classify the book
3.3.3.1.2. State its unity
3.3.3.1.3. Enumerate its parts
3.3.3.1.4. Define the problem(s)
3.3.3.2. What is being said in detail and how?
3.3.3.2.1. Come to terms with the author
3.3.3.2.2. Discover the propositions in the sentences
3.3.3.2.3. Locate or construct the argument
3.3.3.2.4. Summarize the author's answers
3.3.3.3. Is the book true, in whole or part?
3.3.3.3.1. rules
3.3.3.3.2. Disagree well
3.3.3.3.3. acceptable disagreements
3.3.3.3.4. suspending judgement is just as much an act of criticism and it is lazy
3.3.3.4. What of it?
3.3.3.4.1. If it is true in some sense, you must face this questions. You are morally obligated to do something
3.4. 4. Synoptical
3.4.1. the goal is to construct an analysis of a subject (that may not exist in any book); comparing tests
3.4.2. requirements
3.4.2.1. need more than 1 book
3.4.2.2. figure out which books to read and in what order (by inspection)
3.4.2.3. may have to read a lot of works before you decide what the subject really is
3.4.2.4. synoptical reading is different than analytical
3.4.2.4.1. you are the master, not the book
3.4.2.5. constantly refer back to the actual text of the authors
3.4.2.6. aim for as much objectivity as possible
3.4.3. meta-steps
3.4.3.1. 1. Ask a question or pick a subject
3.4.3.2. 2. create a tentative bibliography using catalogues, advisors, and bibliographies
3.4.3.3. 3. Inspect ALL of the books (before reading any of them)
3.4.4. steps for each book (after inspection)
3.4.4.1. 1. find the relevant passages
3.4.4.1.1. relevant to you, the book doesn't really matter
3.4.4.2. 2. bring the author to your terms [310]
3.4.4.2.1. force the author to use your language
3.4.4.2.2. synoptical reading is an exercise in translation
3.4.4.3. 3. clarify the questions [311]
3.4.4.3.1. state neutral propositions
3.4.4.3.2. order the authors questions in the order that is useful to us
3.4.4.4. 4. define the issues [312]
3.4.4.4.1. join the questions and the answers at the same time
3.4.4.4.2. the answers
3.4.4.5. 5. analyze the discussion [313]
3.4.4.5.1. answers are often found in the conflict of opposing answers
3.4.4.5.2. this is the ultimate goal of synoptical reading