“Concentration is another name for what we have called activity in reading. The good reader reads actively, with concentration.” — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“Marking a book is literally an expression of your differences or your agreements with the author. It is the highest respect you… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“Francis Bacon once remarked that “some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“We must be more than a nation of functional literates. We must become a nation of truly competent readers, recognizing all that… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“We are tied down, all our days and for the greater part of our days, to the commonplace. That is where contact… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“Great speed in reading is a dubious achievement; it is of value only if what you have to read is not worth… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“The characteristics of this kind of reading are perhaps summed up in the word “orthodox,” which is almost always applicable. The word… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“To be informed is to know simply that something is the case. To be enlightened is to know, in addition, what it… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“Every book has a skeleton hidden between its covers. Your job as an analytical reader is to find it.” — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“If an author does not give reasons for his propositions, they can only be treated as expressions of personal opinion on his… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“There have always been literate ignoramuses who have read too widely and not well. The Greeks had a name for such a… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“Good books are over your head; they would not be good for you if they were not. And books that are over… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“The year after How to Read a Book was published, a parody of it appeared under the title How to Read Two… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“One reader is better than another in proportion as he is capable of a greater range of activity in reading and exerts… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“The characteristics of this kind of reading are perhaps summed up in the word “orthodox,” which is almost always applicable. The word comes from… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“We are not told, or not told early enough so that it sinks in, that mathematics is a language, and that we can learn… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“Even when you have been somewhat enlightened by what you have read, you are called upon to continue the serach for significance.” — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“Even a cursory perusal reveals a very great range of reference. There is hardly a single human action that has not been called—in one… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“Reading is like skiing. When done well, when done by an expert, both reading and skiing are graceful, harmonious, activities. When done by a… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“You must be able to say, with reasonable certainty, "I understand," before you can say "I agree," or "I disagree," or "I suspend judgment.” — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“We hope you have not made the error of supposing that to criticize is always to disagree. (...) To agree is just as much… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“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… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“Great speed in reading is a dubious achievement; it is of value only if what you have to read is not worth reading. A… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
“Francis Bacon once remarked that “some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” Reading… — Mortimer J. Adler Copy Share Image
