How To Do Serious Reading For Intellectual Growth

I regret the time I wasted in reading books in a way that did not yield any fruitful results. I just acquired information and did not increase my understanding.

This led me to look for proper methods to read a book and I was astonished to know the mistakes I had done in the past.

Let me share what I have learned so you may avoid doing the same.

1. Read With Purpose.

A very common reason for why you might not be getting the most out of your reading is because of the purpose you are reading with, which are:

• Reading for Understanding.

• Reading for Amusement.

When you read a book to gain understanding you have to read actively. You must compel all of your faculties, especially intellectual ones, to concentrate on the matter written before you.

But most of us are not willing to do that. Do you know why? Simply because that requires patience and consistency in the right direction.

"You must use your thinking, imagination, analytical skills, memory, attentiveness, and the likes to extract the understanding from a book."

Q. So you should never read for pleasure?

That is not what I meant. You may and I encourage that you should be reading for pleasure too. But that should not become your habit. You must know the difference between when you are reading for purpose and when you are reading for pleasure. The former requires highly critical skills while the latter just satisfies your mood. And guess what? Both are needed.

2. Read The Preface And The Introduction.

Preface and introduction will help you know what the author is trying to do in the book i.e., what is his purpose in writing the book?

Furthermore, it will give you a hint whether the book in hand needs your serious reading in the future or not.

3. Read About The Author.

An author is an absent teacher. Remember that.

And the best way to learn is to establish a relationship between you and the author. That is how you will come to know under what context did the author wrote the book.

With that, you can select what is applicable in your context and time."

4. The Importance Of Classifying A Book.

You should be able to classify the book in your reading journey as early as possible.

Do you know why it is so important? If you don't classify books early on, you might be reading a book on psychology in the way a philosophical or self- help book is read. Aristotle has also talked about it,

"It is the hallmark of an educated mind to rest satisfied with the degree of precision which the nature of the subject admits and not to seek exactness where only an approximation is possible."

"Classifying a book helps you know what kind of book you are reading because different kinds of books require different kinds of reading methods. Like in a book on philosophy you won't bother yourself to look for scientific-type proofs. You just need critical thinking. And in a self-help book, you need to act upon the advice mentioned without much critical thinking."

5. How Titles Can Help You?

Titles give you a rough idea of what the chapter may be about and how it is connected with the previous chapter.

This will help you in seeing and understanding the unity in the book and thus will further help in summarizing the book in the best possible way.

So don't skip them.

6. The Importance Of Asking Questions In A Systematic Way.

A very simple key for serious reading is to ask questions as you read the book. You should not be reading passively.

And the art of asking questions is that it should be done systematically.

First, you should ask 'What the author is trying to say?'.

Once you understand the concept, only then you should bother yourself to know the reasons for Why is he saying so?

And finally, you should ask Whether he is right or not in his conclusions?

In short, you should ask in this manner: 'what the author is saying?', 'why is he saying so?', 'whether he is right or not in his conclusion?'

If you change the order you won't find the answer to any of them. I have experienced this a lot.

7. Don't Read More Than One Book At A Time.

"If I could read more books on a single subject, I would have more knowledge and information."

I had this misconception. But to the contrary, it deteriorated my reading habit and I was not able to finish any book.

Plus, I wasted my time, which is more devastating. I guess many of you might have gone through the same thing. Focus on one book and master its contents.

Q.So you should be reading one book only no matter at what level you are?

Now obviously, the above applies to general readers who are just beginning. An expert may read more than one book at a time without much difficulty if he is really an expert.

8. Do Not Use Dictionaries.

Now, this is among the most commons of problems in reading, especially with beginners.

"When I started serious reading, dictionary was my constant companion. And because of that, I was never able to finish even a single book as I was busy searching for meanings of the word I did not know."

Let me explain why.

Dictionaries are just like internet in that the moment you open them to look for the meaning of a word, some other interesting word captures your attention and you fall for that.

Sounds relatable? Well, you are not alone who does so.

To avoid it you should try to learn the meaning of an unknown word through context. That is the key.

Q. But when does it become compulsory to use a dictionary?

Firstly, I am assuming that you have attained your elementary education because that should have equipped you with a good amount of vocabulary needed to read almost any book.

Now as for the answer, I try to exhaust all my mental faculties to get the meaning of an unknown word. When that becomes extremely difficult only then do I go to dictionaries.

The idea is that you should not depend on them.

9. Do Not Read A Good Book Only Once.

Think of a book you had finished in the past. Did you read it again? If yes, then I am pretty much sure that you would have found something new the second time you read it.

But if you do not find anything new in your second reading, that is the sign that the book in hand is not worth reading and hence cannot give you any understanding anymore.

And take this as a rule that every good book should be read at least three times with a serious reading. Master that kind of book because…

"It is not about reading a lot of books but it is about how well-read you are. Note this down."

10. Discuss With Someone You Consider Knowledgeable In The Subject.

Now, this is where real-life problems will begin to emerge which is the most fruitful result you can get out from reading.

It will teach you the application of what you have learned in the book - whether the knowledge you have acquired can be applied in your context or not. If yes, then how?

In other words,

"You will begin to gain wisdom."

Conclusion

Happy is the man who acquires the habit of reading when he is young for he has secured a life-long source of pleasure, instruction, and inspiration. So be a source of all of that and acquire the best of habits - 'reading'.

What do you think about reading? How do you read? Share your method in the comment section.

About The Author

Hello readers! I am Kamran, the co-founder, and writer at Nobles. I love seeking knowledge; I believe that reading books can help us engage in life-long learning. Hope you enjoyed reading the article.

Let's connect on LinkedIn.