How to Speak and Write Correctly,
Joseph Devlin

Adler's book is mostly about the mechanics of reading, while Bloom's is mostly about literary appreciation

>>8272600
>tfw can't do either
>tfw forever stupid

>>8272600
Which is the right choice for those who want to read the classics, in your opinion?

>>8272600
This. The two books really aren't very similar at all.

>>8272630
They're both the right choice. Adler's best at giving you tips on how to understand what you're reading, while Bloom's best at getting you excited to read.

>>8272573
how to tak ( some ways)

>>8272573
Adler's book is actually not that eye-opening. It is actually very basic and at first you should try and follow through all the steps though they are numerous. It is almost impossible to go through all the steps, however, without consuming an enormous amount of time. I have read Adler and summarized it and it is a good read. Remind yourself however to apply the steps if you can since the major point the book is trying to convey is that reading is HARD WORK.
If you want to distill as much information as you possibly can from a book, expect to do the work.

>>8272573
Did anyone else feel kind of underwhelmed when Adler discussed Syntopical reading?

It seems like a neat concept, however I can't imagine a syntopicon that always stays up to date and relevant. Not to mention how much of a pain in the ass it would be to compile and edit such a volume...

>>8272948
Apparently he updated "the great ideas" yearly, until 1998.

http://thegreatideasfromthegreatbooks.blogspot.com/p/the-great-ideas-today-index-by.html

Read both, they're really different. Bloom's book is, as you might expect, just a collection of his thoughts on certain books.

Is "How to read a book" actually an essential?

Reading it before embarking on the classics will actually make the journey that much better?

>>8274964
Only if you apply what you've read.
To be honest 'How to Read a Book' is pretty straightforward. My summary at the end of the book went something like this:

he First stage of analytical reading: rules for finding what a book is about
1. classify the book according to kind and subject matter
2. state what the whole book is about with the utmost brevity
3. enumerate its major parts in their order and relation, and outline these parts as you have outlined the whole
4. define the problems or problems the author is trying to solve
II The second stage of analytical reading: Rules for interpreting a book's contents
5. come to terms with the author by interpreting his key words
6. grasp the author's leading propositions by dealing with his most important sentences.
7. Know the author's arguments, by finding them in, or constructing them out of, sequences of sentences.
8. Dtermine which of his problems the author has solved and which he has not; and as of the latter, decide which the author knew he had failed to solve.
III The third stage of analytical reading: rules for criticizing a book as a communication of knowledge
A. General maxims of intellectual etiquette
9. Do not begin criticism until you have completed your outline and your interpretation of the book. (do not say you agree, disagree, or suspend judgment, until you can say 'I understand').
10. Do not disagree disputatiosly or contentiously
11. demonstrate that you recognize the difference between knowledge and mere personal opinion by presenting good reasons for any critical judgment you make.
B. Special criteria for points of criticism
12. Show wherein the author is uninformed
13. Show wherein the author is misinformed
14. show wherein the author is illogical
15. show wherein the author's analysis or account is incomplete

This is roughly an exerpt from my summary

>>8274964
Also, you will miss a lot of things in, for example, the Iliad and Odyssey if you are not aware of certain terms which are, in the original language, are loaded quite differently and have an entirely different meaning than our contemporary notion of the term.
For example in ancient greek literature you have words such as
Kleos = Glory
Time = Honor
Psyke = Soul
Xenia = Hospitality
Theos = God (notice the capitalization of the G)

For me personally, I usually try and see if there are some lectures from the Teaching Company that covers the book I am reading. My appreciation for the Iliad went from a 7.5/10 to a 9.5/10 because of it. There are so many things you miss whenever you read a book for the first time.

>>8275018
You buy those lectures? Because I searched for their Iliad and it costs $90 for the audio and $200 for the DVDs. It's kind of impossible for me.

>>8275072
There's a 36GB Teaching Company torrent on kat with all the literature audio and video.

>>8272573
How to Read a Book is a good guide to understanding a text but it's too long
Bloom's is more philosophical

>>8275080
Thanks a lot for the recommendation, friend. I'm downloading that mammoth torrent right now.