The following steps for reading a non-fiction book were adapted from Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren's How to Read a Book (New York, New York: Simon and Shuster, 1972).
- Read the publisher's blurb on the back cover.
- Read the title page and preface. What is the subject of the book?
- Identify the type of book: history, philosophy, science, mathematics, how to, etc.
- Read the table of contents and index. Identify and define key terms.
- Skim the entire book. Identify and skim the chapters that seem pivotal to the book's argument. Read the opening and closing paragraph of each pivotal chapter.
- Read the last 2-3 pages of the book.
- Begin reading the book. As you read, write in observations using consistent conventions:
- Underline short quotes.
- Make vertical line in the margin for long quotes.
- Mark important statements with an asterisk.
- Use numbers to indicate the sequence of points being made.
- Circle keywords and phrases.
- Add cross references to other pages in the book or to other books.
- Use the margin to record questions, reduce complicated discussions to a single statement and record the sequence of major points.
- Read each chapter all the way through without stopping. Go back and review parts of the chapter you do not understand.
- Look for the following while reading:
- Problems presented and the solutions provided.
- Unsolved problems.
- Areas where the author is uninformed (unaware of relevant knowledge).
- Areas where the author is misinformed (incorrect in assertions about relevant knowledge).
- Areas where the author is illogical.
- Implications/ ramifications the author overlooks.
- Distinctions the author fails to make.
- Use the back page of the book to create an index with page numbers of key quotes and ideas.
- What are you going to do about what you've read? When are you going to take action? Where? With who? Tell someone what your plans are and follow through.