Why Settle For Merely Reading A Book When You Can Master It?
April 2008
Occasionally I
run across something that is so valuable to me that I just have to pass
it along to you. The recent January/February issue of
Solid Ground
contained an article on how to
master what
you read, by Greg Koukl, President of
Stand To Reason.*
I thought this would
be a good article to place here just prior to my annual book review
(next month). For your edification . . .
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If you’re like me, you want to read more effectively, but you don’t know
how and can’t find the time. Solomon wrote, “The writing of many books
is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.” I
agree. The stacks of unopened volumes in my own library weary me just
looking at them.
To make matters
worse, even the good books we read often do little good in our lives
because we forget the details almost immediately. Often our goal is to
finish the book, not feast on its contents and master the material, so
we read inefficiently.
I want to suggest
a plan that will change that for you. I would like to show you how you
can read less, more. It’s based on one simple idea: It’s better to
thoroughly read one or two good books than “finish” ten or twenty by
reading them cover to cover and then moving on.
The idea raises
two practical problems. First, how do we know if a book is worth
investing time in? Second, what techniques will allow us to read
thoroughly, yet quickly, leading to a thorough understanding of the
author’s ideas?
Four Pages a Day
Don’t think you
have to read 50, 25, or even 10 books a year to stay educated, informed,
and equipped. Instead, I want you to think about carefully reading just
six books during the next twelve months.
For some of you,
even that number may seem overwhelming. It isn’t. It’s 60 days per
book, or four pages per day for a 200-page title. Even a person who
reads very casually can accomplish this, especially using the techniques
I’ll show you.
I want you to
consider devoting two months to one book. The object is not simply to
read from beginning to end, though. The goal is to have a thorough
understanding of the book’s ideas and arguments. I’m going to show you
how to read a book in such a way that at the end of two months you can
say, “I own this book.”
For that you need
a system. Starting at the beginning and reading through word by word to
the end is a system, of sorts, but it’s not a very good one. The key is
to effective reading is going through a book more than once at different
levels. I’m going to show you how. Follow these four steps for
nonfiction books: overview, preview, read, and post-view.
Overview the Book
Not every book
deserves a good reading. The initial overview allows you to determine
whether a title merits your attention. It gives you a sense of the main
thrust of the book in five to ten minutes.
Start by reading
the jacket cover. Read the table of contents. Skim the book’s preface
and the introduction. Read the conclusion in the last three pages of
the book. Browse through the index in the back. Note the publisher and
the date of publication.
If you don’t like
what you see, abandon the effort and look for a better book. You’ve
only lost a few minutes and possibly saved hours of fruitless reading.
If the work looks
promising, though, page through the entire book at the rate of 2-3
seconds per page. Don’t try to “speed read.” This first step is a
casual one. Let your eyes stroll over the material as your gaze falls
on the text and enjoy the process of serendipitous discovery.
An overview like
this takes less than twenty minutes in the extended form and can be done
while you’re browsing in the bookstore. If you like what you see, buy
the book to read more thoroughly later.
The overview is
always the
first step of thorough reading. Even if you already own the book and
have decided to read it (or it’s been assigned to you for a class),
don’t skip this step. It provides you with a quick glimpse of the
general structure of the work. Knowing these things in advance makes the
book more interesting when you slow down for a more detailed read. It
also helps you to better understand and remember the material.
Preview the Book
Next, go through
the book a second time. Sit down and read it at a slower rate, but
still not word for word. I suggest you skim at the rate of four to ten
seconds per page. Force yourself to move quickly.
Obviously, you’re
not reading all the words. You’re skimming. I read the headings and
the first sentence of some of the paragraphs. I try to get a feel for
the author’s main case and his progression of thought.
This is more
aggressive reading than you did in the overview, but still casual.
Don’t linger, though. Force yourself to push ahead, turning the page
every four to ten seconds. You might even break the book in as you go,
gently pressing each page back as you move forward.
You will be amazed
at how much you’ll absorb during this quick preview phase. When I
interview authors on radio, this is the way I “read” many of their
books. I don’t have time to cover everything, in my preparation or on
the air. This step gives me a thorough grasp of the contents, though, in
a very brief amount of time.
When you’re done,
write a summary sentence or two on the title page, capturing the main
thrust of the book. Answer the question, “What is this book about?” or
“What is the author trying to accomplish?” Use pencil because you may
want to change the summary after you’ve read the book more thoroughly.
The second step of
our approach will take 20 to 40 minutes at four to ten seconds per page,
depending on the book. When you’re done, you will have gone through the
entire book twice-overviewing and previewing-in about an hour, with a
summary statement capturing the central idea of the book.
This “layering”
method imbeds the book’s basic ideas in your mind in a way that won’t
happen if you simply start at the first page and read through to the
end. The first layer - the overview - gives you a general sense of the
material and allows you to decide whether the book is worth reading or
not. The preview clarifies the basic content and organization of the
book, and gives you the author’s approach and main argument.
Read the Book
Now it’s time to
actually read the book. This can be done in multiple sessions, one
chapter at a sitting.
Start by quickly
previewing the chapter once again, 4-10 seconds per page. This is
important. It reacquaints you with the material and its structure, but
takes only minutes. Then read the text word for word, as quickly as
possible.
Don’t linger and
don’t regress (don’t reread what you’ve just been over). Don’t stop to
underline, either. It slows you down. Instead, use a pencil and make a
vertical line in the margin to mark those things worthy of note. You’ll
come back to those places later. You don’t want to lag here, even
though you’re reading carefully.
Complete this
phase by writing,
in pencil, a
summary sentence or two in the big white space above the title at the
beginning of each chapter. Use pencil because you may want to make
refinements later. Try to capture the main point of the section.
This is one of the
most useful exercises of our reading plan. You cannot summarize an
author’s ideas unless you have thought a bit about what exactly he is
trying to say. Further, your summaries will serve as quick reminders of
each chapter’s contents when you review the book in the future. Reading
them quickly in sequence gives you a quick synopsis of the book in your
own words.
Post-View the Chapter Immediately
Finally, go
back over the chapter one more time right after you’ve read it word for
word focusing on the marks you made in the margin. Review the material,
interacting with the author’s ideas and making further notations in the
margins if you like. At the end of each chapter or in the flyleaf you
might want to sketch a quick outline or recall pattern. Look at the
summary you placed at the beginning of the chapter and see if it’s
accurate and precise. Refine it if you need to.
Go through each
chapter in the same way. Preview it, skimming quickly, then read it
carefully but at a good clip, making your notations during the
post-view. If you take a break and resume your reading a day or more
later, review your summaries at the beginning of the book and each
preceding chapter before you pick up where you left off. This will only
take a few short minutes, but will set the stage for your next session.
This is aggressive
reading. When you’re done, you will have gone through the book at least
four times in a fairly short period of time working from the whole to
the parts to the whole again. You’ll have brief chapter summaries and
an outline - handy tools for quick review in the future - and a solid
grasp of the material.
In the future when
you simply skim through the book again, all the information will come
back to you. You’ll be able to clearly state who the author is, his
main point, the structure (development) of his thought, if you think his
views are correct (why or why not), and what difference it makes to
you. You will have mastered the book, not just read it. I think you
might also discover something else: Going through the book four times in
this way will actually seem to go faster than reading it the “old” way.
Double Your Reading Speed Instantly
Let me give you an
additional tip that has the potential to double your reading speed in
one step. Use your finger as a pointer and move it along underneath the
sentences at the fastest comfortable speed you can read. You can read
above your finger, ahead of it, or behind it, whichever is most
comfortable for you.
You might
substitute a pencil or pen as your pointer, as long as you don’t give in
to the temptation to underline during your main reading. Instead, make
short vertical lines in the margin next to sections you want to focus on
in the post-view. Don’t do any underlining until that stage.
Using some kind of
pointer to keep you moving forward forces you to read more aggressively,
with more concentration. Don’t be afraid to push yourself a little
bit. Go as fast as you can and still grasp the material. Don’t stop,
pause, or reread portions of what you’ve just covered (regressing).
Keep up with your moving pointer, just like following the bouncing ball.
Again, this is not
“speed reading,” taking in whole paragraphs or pages in a glance.
You’re still reading every word just as you normally would, but you’re
using your pointer as a pacer, increasing your speed and keeping your
eyes from wandering.
You’ll be
surprised how dramatically your reading speed will increase. If you’re
reading 150 words a minute (a relatively slow rate), you can jump to 300
words per minute simply by consistently using your finger as a speed
guide. Just move it underneath the words and follow along. Your
comprehension and retention will improve too, even though you are moving
faster.
Finding the Time
I am convinced
that anyone is fully capable of mastering six books a year, but I also
know it will not happen by itself. It takes a plan (which I’ve just
given you) and the will to apply a modest amount of time to your goal.
Thirty minutes three or four times a week is all you need. But how do
you find the time? It’s easier than you think.
The first thing
you can do is turn off the TV. The average person watches two to three
hours of TV a day. Even the slowest of readers can read 50 books a year
in that time. Devote some of that TV time to reading. Skip the nightly
news. It’s the worst possible source of information and will almost
always put you in a sour mood. Instead, use that half hour to read.
You’ll be amazed at how much you’ll get done and how civilized you’ll
feel as a result.
Here are some
other ways to redeem pockets of useful time for reading. Try getting up
half an hour earlier in the morning. Go into a quiet room before the
household is up and read. Or redeem the time you spend sitting in the
bathroom. Just ten minutes a day will get even slow readers 150 pages a
month. That’s six books a year. I also keep a book with me in the car so
I can read while waiting for an appointment or when I’m stuck in line.
Just Do It
Now it’s time for
action. You have the plan. Now you only have to do two more things.
First, I want you
to think for a moment about what six books you would like to have
mastered a year from now. Check STR’s bookstore for titles we think are
worth your time. For starters, consider
Mere Christianity,
the short classic by C.S. Lewis, or James Emery White’s
Serious Times,
or Gregory Ganssle’s
Thinking about God.
Each is a wonderful little tome that is very accessible to the average
reader.
Second, decide how
you’re going to redeem 10-20 minutes per day for your personal reading
time. Opportunities abound, if you look for them. Carve out the time and
then protect it.
This is something
anyone can do. One year from now you will be a deeper, better informed
person as a result. Just choose your titles carefully, then apply the
plan. This may be one of the most rewarding habits you’ll ever develop.
I hope you start today.
Yours for the truth,
Greg Koukl,
President
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I hope you
enjoyed that as much as I did. May your summer be filled with fruitful
and rewarding reading and learning.
Without Wax-
Jim Osman
Pastor/Teacher
Footnotes:
* Stand to Reason is an educational
organization training ambassadors for Christ to defend classical
Christianity and classical Christian values in a gracious, even-handed,
yet incisive way. Greg Koukl is an award-winning author and a radio talk
show host. A central theme of his speaking and writing is that
Christianity can compete in the marketplace of ideas. You can access
their website at www.str.org.
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