{"id":45100,"date":"2021-08-14T19:25:28","date_gmt":"2021-08-14T23:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=45100"},"modified":"2021-08-15T19:10:51","modified_gmt":"2021-08-15T23:10:51","slug":"what-is-good-reading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-is-good-reading\/","title":{"rendered":"Adler and Van Doren: What Is Good Reading?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

According to the authors of How to Read a Book, <\/em>what is good reading? Why is it important to read for comprehension rather than passively?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In their book, Adler and Van Doren assert that good reading is active rather than passive. They talk about the importance of reading for comprehension rather than just grasping the surface level and they believe that the best books challenge you and force you to grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue below to learn what good reading is, according to Adler and Van Doren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What Is Good Reading? <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What is good reading? While some consider reading to be passive in nature, Adler and Van Doren argue that reading for the purpose of comprehension is an active pursuit.<\/strong> This is a bit like the difference between merely hearing <\/em>someone\u2019s words and actively listening<\/em> with the goal of comprehending what the words mean. If you read passively (without effort), you might register the surface level of what is said, but you won\u2019t truly understand what the author is trying to say. (Shortform note: Studies show that reading for comprehension requires significant cognitive effort<\/a>, but that this type of reading isn\u2019t the most demanding\u2014reading with the goal of revising the text requires even more<\/em> mental effort.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The authors believe there are two types of active reading (note that this does not include reading for pure entertainment, which is a relatively passive pursuit in terms of cognitive effort): <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Reading to collect facts.<\/strong> The authors argue that if you understand the book completely without exerting any extra effort, then you have only gained information<\/em> from the book\u2014you haven\u2019t improved your understanding<\/em>. You\u2019ve simply added to your existing collection of facts on the subject. <\/li>
  2. Reading for comprehension. <\/strong>When you read for comprehension, the authors believe that you won\u2019t glean all the meaning from the book on the very first try. Instead of just adding to your collection of facts on a subject, the book will challenge you to find new ways to think about those facts or relate them to one another. You\u2019ll begin to think about not just what is the case, but why <\/em>it is the case. This type of reading expands your understanding and increases your reading skills.<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    However, we don\u2019t live in a world that\u2019s conducive to understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n