Great speed in reading is a dubious achievement; it is of value only if what you have to read is not really worth reading. A better formula is this: Every book should be read no more slowly than it deserves, and no more quickly than you can read it with satisfaction and comprehension.
The reader who fails to ponder, or at least mark, the words he does not understand is headed for disaster.
One constant is that, to achieve all the purposes of reading, the desideratum must be the ability to read different things at different – appropriate – speeds, not everything at the greatest possible speed. As Pascal observed three hundred years ago, “When we read too fast or too slowly, we understand nothing.” Since.
Mathematics is one of the major modern mysteries. Perhaps it is the leading one, occupying a place in our society similar to the religious mysteries of another age. If we want to know something about what our age is all about, we should have some understanding of what mathematics is, and of how the mathematician operates and thinks.
Perhaps you are beginning to see how essential a part of reading it is to be perplexed and know it. Wonder is the beginning of wisdom in learning from books as well as from nature.
There is no more irritating fellow than the one who tries to settle an argument about communism, or justice, or freedom, by quoting from the dictionary. Lexicographers may be respected as authorities on word usage, but they are not the ultimate founts of wisdom.
Human beings are curious, and especially curious about other human beings.
Perhaps you are beginning to see how essential a part of reading it is to be perplexed and know it. Wonder is the beginning of wisdom in learning from books as well as from nature. If you never ask yourself any questions about the meaning of a passage, you cannot expect the book to give you any insight you do not already possess.
Finally, do not try to understand every word or page of a difficult book the first time through. This is the most important rule of all; it is the essence of inspectional reading. Do not be afraid to be, or to seem to be, superficial. Race through even the hardest book. You will then be prepared to read it well the second time.
Reading and the Democratic Ideal of Education.
The undemanding reader asks no questions-and gets no answers.
The communion that can be achieved by human conversation is of great significance for our private lives... It is the spiritual parallel of the physical union by which lovers try to become one.
If you are reading a book that can increase your understanding, it stands to reason that not all of its words will be completely intelligible to you. If you proceed as if they were all ordinary words, all on the same level of general intelligibility as the words of a newspaper article, you will make no headway toward interpretation of the book. You might just as well be reading a newspaper, for the book cannot enlighten you if you do not try to understand it.
The First Level of Reading: Elementary Reading.
It is only when you try to refine the obvious, and give the distinctions greater precision, that you get into difficulties. For.
Now there is no other way of forming a habit of operation than by operating.
The first stage of elementary reading – reading readiness – corresponds to pre-school and kindergarten experiences.
In tackling a difficult book for the first time, read it through without ever stopping to look up or ponder the things you do not understand right away.
But it may be seriously questioned whether the advent of modern communications media has much enhanced our understanding of the world.
Do not say you agree, disagree, or suspend judgement until you can say “I understand.