How to Read a Book

In How to Read a Book, Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren provide a guide to reading effectively and critically. They outline four levels of reading: elementary, inspectional, analytical, and syntopical, each building on the previous. The book emphasizes active reading, encouraging readers to ask questions, identify the author’s main arguments, and engage deeply with the material. Adler and Van Doren also offer techniques for reading different genres, from fiction to scholarly works. The goal is to cultivate lifelong learning through thoughtful, intentional reading.