Mortimer J. Adler on Reading

At the beginning of a new school year, it doesn't hurt to mention one of the classic books for "scholars" of all stripes, the above-pictured How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler. (Many other of his writings--including

• How to Stay Awake While Reading,
• How to Read a Difficult Book, and
• How to Read a Book Superficially

are available online from the Mortimer J. Adler Archive.

Many students are very used to taking snippits of facts from facebook pages, websites, etc., but are less adept at reading longer texts through and retaining the overall purpose and message of the work.

It will be well worth the time to read and digest these essays.