How to Mark a Book
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Scot McKnight has a helpful post on how to mark a book when you read it.
See also Mortimer Adler's more detailed essay on How to Mark a Book, which begins in this way: "You know you have to read 'between the lines' to get the most out of anything. I want to persuade you to do something equally important in the course of your reading. I want to persuade you to write between the lines. Unless you do, you are not likely to do the most efficient kind of reading."
See also Mortimer Adler's more detailed essay on How to Mark a Book, which begins in this way: "You know you have to read 'between the lines' to get the most out of anything. I want to persuade you to do something equally important in the course of your reading. I want to persuade you to write between the lines. Unless you do, you are not likely to do the most efficient kind of reading."
posted by JT at Friday, May 12, 2006
5 Comments:
Justin,
Thanks for McKnight's article on how to mark a book. It provided some balance to Adler's article that you featured earlier. I thought Adler was suggesting a system that could, like McKnight observed, bog a reader down and actually hinder learning while he is reading.
I would also suggest that one might consider not marking in his book at all, and take notes on a seperate sheet of paper or notecard to be filed away so that he is not hindered from making fresh insights into the text when he goes back to the book for a second and third time.
All things considered, I think it is important for a person to develop a system that works for them and not become enslaved to another person's system; this might choke the life out of their study and thinking. Thanks for putting these two systems side by side so that this "freedom" might be encouraged among your readers.
Derek
I'll have to take a look at both systems and see if they force me relinquish the annotated marginal notes in pencil approach.
Got to say, I feel sorry for McKnight, being pitted like this against a Philosophical giant. :)
I love knowing how other people retain what they have read. I always find the most interesting things on your site. Great find Justin.
Mathew Sims
That was a helpful article. For his seventh point, "remember what you read," he gives this counsel: "No one remembers that much, so just try to remember what you can." Fortunately, there is a better way. The SQ3R method that some schools taught 20 years ago (maybe some still do) is actually very useful: Survey, question, read, recite, review. The last two points are the key to remembering what you read: If you just recite what you can recall after reading a chapter, without looking at the chapter, and then review the chapter to refresh your memory on what you couldn't recite, you will double your recollection. If you come back to the book and recite and review over a few spaced intervals over the next few weeks, you will remember even more. This redeems your time far more than just reading the book, because you'll actually remember most of it, and it means you can remember the book very well without taking the time to do copious notes.
MP,
This is an excellent suggestion. I have actually done this without knowing about the formal method (SQ3R) and I have found that it does greatly help recollection.
Derek
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