What's your reading process like, Veeky Forums?
I find that to really understand a tome, you have to read it 5, 6, often 7 times. Here's the strategy I find most useful:
>1st read: read quickly though to grasp the key ideas and summary of the plot
>2nd read: read through more slowly this time to see if you missed anything the first time
>3rd read: really read slowly and supplement your reading with other literature and analysis of the text if it exists, take copious notes, write essays about important ideas, sometimes spend thirty minutes analyzing one page
>Fourth read: take a month break as a palate cleanser, then come back to the book and read through without overthinking too much, but take your time
>Fifth read: really get into the mind of the author, read his (or her) biography and all other works, maybe do a little roleplay, go to a museum to see what period they lived in, try to see how their ideas may have formed in response to traumatic childhood events
>Sixth read: challenge your own ideas about the text by reading new analyses and writing counterarguments to your own notes and essays, read each chapter individually in a randomized chronological so you can shake up your perspective and really delve deep
>Seventh read: write your final essay on the book, including a detailed summary, key thoughts and points, and your own analysis. Place the book in the context of the overall scholarly culture of the time and bring up anything you feel is especially relevant today. Often this essay will be up to twenty pages or many more (excluding quotations)
At this point I consider myself to be 'finished' with a book, although of course I'll revisit it for reference or just for fun. Please note that this is just a basic outline; often it will take you a lot more read-throughs and more extensive research. For example, when I read Green's "Looking for Alaska" it actually took me eleven complete readings and numerous essay rewrites to really understand the novel. Everyone has their own style but this is just the one that works for me.
How do you get the most out of a book
Yuck... so lame you pseud
That's quite the accusation. How do YOU read, user?
I listen to audiobooks
With this tactic how many books do you read a year
I read multiple books at the same time and complete about six every year
Spinoza only had a small library so it's entirely possible that book chugglers of today are doing it wrong and you're in fact right. I read atleast two or three times to get a good grasp of books but i'm a brainlet so maybe that's why lole.
>For example, when I read Green's "Looking for Alaska"
OP is about as far from being a pseud as you can get. OP is a fucking philosopher king. Take notes Veeky Forumsizens, class is in session.
Supplements and an expensive chair
If I read a sentence and the full meaning isn't immediately clear then I'll re-read it again, slowly, until I understand it. If it still doesn't make sense after a couple of reads and mulling over then I chalk that up to my intelligence not being up to speed with the author and simply continue onward.
Well, the truth is, a sizeable majority of the population reads very infrequently and only has secondhand knowledge of many important philosophers and authors. So if you really analyze and read a seminal text- even if only one every month- you will have a better knowledge base than most of the population and a lot more insight into a particular work than 95% of the people who only breezed through it.
Veeky Forums dismisses green out of hand because, in their perpetual intellectual insecurity, they seek to distance themselves from popular works they perceive to be immature. However, I think that green is one of the most important authors of the 21st century in terms of American cultural significance. For example, I wrote an essay, structured like am historically analysis, of one scene in which the protagonist receive oral sex from the Lara character. I found it to be a very good examination of youthful American sexuality in the 21st century.
Seven reads of a single book is insane. I've read Anna Karenina twice and got a lot out if each read. I see no need to read it again for at least 5 years if not longer even though it is one of my favorites.
I do think rereading is important but no need to over do it
OP you sound like a tru scholar, please post your "Looking for alaska" essays for the rest of us pedestrians to relish on
I would, but I write all my essays on physical paper, and I think I lost my notes on LfA when I moved apartments. If thi
s thread is still open in a few hours I'll post the transcribed version of one of my "the Fault in our Stars" essays just to show you how I structure it.
And why does Veeky Forums perceive Green specifically to be immature?
I usually don't reread things. I usually just read them very slowly, consider what they mean, and then discuss the concepts that I learn with my peers.
If I do reread something, I'll probably just try to pick out specific passages that I'm trying to figure out to make sure that I'm aware of the context and the phrasing of the passages so that I understand what's being posited in that particular part of what I read so that I can consider it properly. It's very rare for me to go back and reread something in it's entirety.
That being said, I probably don't get as much out of reading as many people here who reread do, but I engage with the concepts in my own way and that works for me.
>read it
>understand 60-100%
>onto the next book
>come back a month+ later
>read it and understand the rest
by god.... you only have a few dozen years
For me 9 out 10 times it happens because of the phrasing of words / letters inside words make me read different words or skip in my brain some words - hence render the meaning out, when that happens simply reading it carefully with "forced attention" makes me understand the meaning instantly.
>I find that to really understand a tome
>tome
Fuck off with your autism, fucking pseud.
Why you read?
If you read for amusement, this method is not necessary.
If you read for understanding, not every book deserve this treatment, and I hope you select very very very good books.
On your topic, I'm learning the method illustrated in how to read a book, it can also help to upgrade your method.