Week 9, 2019
How to Read a Book: Inspect, Analyze, and Summarize
Each week I share three ideas for how to make work better. And this week, the topic is reading. Specifically, how to read for retention and understanding.
I read a lot. Not as much as some people, but more than most. And the reason I do this is because I love, I absolute love, the a-ha moments that occur when I’m able to connect the dots between otherwise disparate thoughts and ideas.
I’ve been thinking about these moments in weeks past as I’ve written about Systems Thinking (w47 2018) and Structural Leadership (w46 2018) etc. There’s a connection there. And so today, that’s what I’d like to explore.
Let’s begin with Mortimer Adler’s treaty on How to Read a Book from 1940.
1. Inspect
You’d be forgiven if you thought a 79-year-old book might not be all that relevant today. But you’d be wrong. Adler’s advice is timeless. And I’ve found myself referring back to it again and again ever since I first read it a few years ago. For starters, Adler suggests starting with clear intent. Ask yourself why you are reading and what you’re trying to learn. Then use your answers to inspect the book in front of you. Review its table of contents. Read through its index. Skim it. You might even want to do a superficial reading. All this to ensure you won’t waste time carefully reading the wrong text. It’s like Frank Zappa said: “Too many books, so little time.” Don’t commit until you’re sure it’s the right book for you.
2. Analyze
Most people read for information, Adler says. At best, this enables them to regurgitate the author’s main points. But if you truly want to understand the book, you must channel your inner Bacon and “chew and digest” it. You need to analyze it. And that takes time and effort. So forget the couch. Adler-style reading is best done at a desk with easy access to a dictionary and a notepad. You read slowly and closely. You take notes. You look up words and references. You try to come to terms with the author. And once you are certain you’ve understood his or her points, you must critically examine the book. Only then will you have earned the right to decide whether you agree or disagree with the text.
3. Summarize
Understanding a book requires time and effort. Understanding an entire subject requires a shit load of time and effort. Because to do that, you need to read different texts from different authors. You need to understand them all. And you need to compare and contrast. Adler calls this Synoptical Reading because it involves crafting a general summary — a synopsis — of the combined texts. Not unlike the scientific “meta-analysis” in other words. Because just like how the scientist pools together multiple studies in systematic reviews, so too must you combine multiple books in order to form a complete picture. If you are serious about your inquiry, this is the groundwork you must do in order to have an informed opinion.
By now you’re probably wondering what this all has to do with the future of work? But hear me out on this one because there is a link!
In a future where organizations are largely self-organized, we need an additional emphasis on the structures and systems that underpin their function. And the skillset to create those structures — the ability to think in systems — is associated, I think, with having a wide range of experiences. The more diverse your background, the more likely you are to appreciate the nuances and complexities of sociocultural systems, etc.
Reading is just one way to ascertain that experience. But what I like about Adler’s work is that it emphasizes discipline. There is no such thing as a free lunch. And true understanding comes from putting in the work. You need to define your purpose, inspect the text, analyze its content, and compare it to similar works. Then you rinse and repeat. Over time, and inch by inch, you eek closer to those elusive a-ha moments that make it all worthwhile.
That’s all for this week.
Until next time: make it matter.
