How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading

Elementary reading is the first level of reading. Adler and Van Doren also refer to elementary reading as “rudimentary reading, basic reading or initial reading” (17). With this level, “one learns the rudiments of the art of reading, receives basic training in reading, and acquires initial reading skills” (17).

An expository book is a work of nonfiction which conveys knowledge. Adler and Van Doren argue that an expository book is “any book that consists primarily of opinions, theories, hypotheses, or speculation, for which the claim is made more or less explicitly that they are true in some sense” (60). The two types of expository books are practical and theoretical.

Adler and Van Doren’s definition of extrinsic reading is “reading a book in the light of other books” (166). An extrinsic reading aid is one “that lies outside the book” being read (166). The four categories of extrinsic reading aids are relevant experience, other books, commentaries and abstracts, and reference books.

Inspectional reading is the second level of reading, following elementary reading and preceding analytical reading. According to Adler and Van Doren, it is “characterized by its special emphasis on time” (18). This level is intended “to get the most out of a book in a given time” (18). The two steps in inspectional reading are systematically skimming and reading a book superficially.

Intrinsic reading is “reading a book in itself, quite apart from all other books” (166). Reading a book intrinsically is to read using only one’s brain and reading skill, without referring to any outside sources.

A practical book is a nonfiction expository book which teaches “how to do something you want to do or think you should do” (66). Practical books include guidebooks and manuals—those concerned with taking action.

Superficial reading is one of two types of inspectional reading, the second level of reading. To read a book superficially is to “read it through without ever stopping to look up or ponder the things you do not understand right away” (36). Superficial reading often requires a reader to review a book a second time.

Syntopical reading is the fourth level of reading. It is “the most complex and systematic” level because “it makes very heavy demand on the reader, even if the materials he is reading are themselves relatively easy and unsophisticated” (19-20). In syntopical reading, the reader establishes a bibliography of many books on the same subject and inspects them for later comparison.

Systematic skimming is one of two types of inspectional reading, the second level of reading. Also referred to as pre-reading, systematic skimming involves skimming a book’s title page, preface, table of contents, and index before selecting important passages to read.