Mortimer Adler, in his classic "How to Read a Book", identified four levels of reading:
Elementary Reading: This is the basic level of reading that we learn in school. It involves understanding the literal meaning of the text.
Inspectional Reading: This level of reading is about getting the most out of a book within a given time limit. It involves skimming the surface to understand the main points or arguments. It's like 'pre-reading' or 'systematic skimming' - looking at the title page, preface, table of contents, and index, dipping in here and there in the text, reading the summary and so on.
Analytical Reading: This is a more complex and systematic type of reading. It's best suited to the task of gaining understanding from a difficult book or a book on a difficult subject. It involves categorizing the book, summarizing the arguments, critiquing the book, and comparing it with other works.
Syntopical Reading: This is the most demanding level of reading, where the reader reads many books on the same subject and compares and contrasts the views of the authors. The reader essentially becomes a researcher, analyzing the topic across multiple sources.
Each level of reading is progressively more complex and helps the reader to extract more meaning and understanding from the text. It's important to note that not every book requires the highest level of reading; the level of reading should be chosen based on the complexity of the book and the reader's purpose in reading it.
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