The Art of Reading More Effectively and Efficiently • Hacker News Board

Re: The Art of Reading More Effectively and Efficiently

#181

Post by xtiansimon » Sun, Feb 28, 2021, 2:56 PM UTC

This article is a book report on the classic,

Adler, Mortimer J. How to Read a Book. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster (1940, 1972) [1]

Adler tackles the subject of reading both in breadth and depth. The work is ambitious, rigorous and challenging. It's a complete guide to reading for any academic. And also, it's a 80 year old measuring stick of your own reading practice for any who subscribe to life-long learning.

For my part I discovered Adler's book at the apex of a personal challenge ten years after my undergraduate studies in art and design.

During a summer of underemployment in a terrible job, I returned to beloved professor's syllabus, and decided to read the extra-curricular books--recommended but not required. So, no help from classmates, or instructors. Just me and the text, but a couple of very lucky coincidences happened...

First, I heard/read about a retired professor who liked to write a "book report" on his reading. He graded the books as he did his former student's assignments. A, B, etc. Haha. Whatever, but now I had something to do with my reading. Looking back 10 years at this syllabus I couldn't recall what I had read. I had no memories of these books. All I had were random digital files on an old CD-ROM.

Second, I also needed practice typing (never had one lesson). It just made sense to copy passages from the books--verbatim. I would start by summarizing the text, and realize the author said it better, and I would quote them in my 'book report'. Of course, I was entertaining my ambition to also write about my reading.

Third, to find the quotes I liked, I would tag the lines with different keywords. More often, I would encounter a term or foundational definition, and this evolved my writing notes into reading notes as a system of marginalia. [2]

Finally, I discovered the book which the OP's post is summarizing for us (in broad strokes). It has only intensified my love of reading. Not because I follow it as manual, but because it _explained_ what I learned about reading that summer in words better than I could ever conjure or put to paper.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Read_a_Book

[2]: https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/139g4uFXFCL1ZYrcWKTShbPsw...

Re: The Art of Reading More Effectively and Efficiently

#182

Post by abc_lisper » Mon, Mar 01, 2021, 6:25 AM UTC

Veen wrote: post #171

abc_lisper wrote: post #134

Straight from How to Read a Book. I highly recommend it; it felt like my IQ went up a couple of points after reading it

> it felt like my IQ went up a couple of points after reading it That's the problem with productivity porn. You feel smarter and more productive, that you're becoming a better human being. In reality, you've accomplished nothing and all the hard work is still ahead of you.

That’s a valid point probably, but that’s not what I meant. I am more aware of myself, and am more methodical when gathering information or reading a book after reading “How to read a book”

Re: The Art of Reading More Effectively and Efficiently

#183

Post by ulisesrmzroche » Wed, Mar 03, 2021, 1:52 AM UTC

brokencode wrote: post #140

ulisesrmzroche wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re trying to create a sort of virtual reality, that’s why you need so much world-building. For example, the idea in ”Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is to get the reader to live the life of a slave. The best way to achieve that in writing is details, so the reader can make a picture in their heads. Some people are better than others in making these pictures. Movies are trying to achieve a similar effect, but it’s much easier…

I think that’s a good explanation. Literature can help persuade emotionally when people are otherwise not willing to change their mind based on a purely rational argument. But what if you already agree with the author to begin with? Then it would seem less profound. Maybe that’s why I haven’t experienced any revelations yet from literature. Perhaps I can find a great piece of literature I disagree with and it would l…

you can inspire someone to become more active in the support of a cause, throw more kindling into their fire, so to speak.

Try reading Lolita by Nabokov.

Re: The Art of Reading More Effectively and Efficiently

#184

Post by ulisesrmzroche » Fri, Mar 05, 2021, 1:42 AM UTC

brokencode wrote: post #140

ulisesrmzroche wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re trying to create a sort of virtual reality, that’s why you need so much world-building. For example, the idea in ”Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is to get the reader to live the life of a slave. The best way to achieve that in writing is details, so the reader can make a picture in their heads. Some people are better than others in making these pictures. Movies are trying to achieve a similar effect, but it’s much easier…

I think that’s a good explanation. Literature can help persuade emotionally when people are otherwise not willing to change their mind based on a purely rational argument. But what if you already agree with the author to begin with? Then it would seem less profound. Maybe that’s why I haven’t experienced any revelations yet from literature. Perhaps I can find a great piece of literature I disagree with and it would l…

Another way to look at it is that not all books are literature. Literature is its own special category because it’s a tool for building culture.

The 10k latte-sipping moneys banging on their MacBooks at the local co-work hub will never make literature because intent matters. You have a job to do.

That job is to be a truth teller. to tell society the bitter truths they’d rather not hear. That’s why you have to hide it under a story.

Salman Rushdie for example. The satanic verses.

A book may be very well written, so much so that it can be said it had artistic merit, but for a book to have literary merit, it needs to play a part in the culture wars.