I know, it sounds a bit of a bizarre statement, How to Read a Book, but there is a published book named as such, by an American philosopher, Mortimer J. Adler. It was published in 1940, and a revised edition published in 1972, co-authored by Adler along with writer and editor Charles Van Doren. Van Doren's name may be familiar to some. Van Doren was involved in a television quiz show scandal in the 1950s. He later testified before the US Congress that he had been given the correct answers by producers of the quiz show Twenty-One.

Why would anyone want a book that explained how to read a book. Well, there's more to reading than meets the eye... pun intended.
Adler's book is written in four parts.
Part 1: The Dimensions of Reading
Part 2: The Third Level of Reading: Analytical Reading
Part 3: Approaches to Different Kinds of Reading Matter
Part 4: The Ultimate Goals of Reading
It also includes information on genres like history, poetry, science and fiction. But what caught my eye was information on syntopical reading. I had no idea there was more than one way of reading a book. Syntopical reading is also known as comparative or analytical reading. It involves reading multiple books on the same subject, then comparing and contrasting the arguments and perspectives in order to gain new insights.  

It was at this point in my research that my brain gave up and told me to switch off. I think I'll stick to reading a book for enjoyment, rather than analysis.

And there's another way you can read a book. Kindle Unlimited, or KU. Anyone out there looking for a good read? Then you've come to the right place. You can choose a good read from The Brittle Saga Trilogy or The Midnight Series. They're all 5-Star historical fiction thrillers.

Copyright © Tom Kane July 2025