How to Read a Book

It was a ritual of mine during college—wandering through the campus bookstore at the start of every semester. Officially, I was there to pick up my textbooks. But unofficially, I was hunting for something more interesting—those unexpected treasures that could change the way you think about the world. One semester, as a sophomore (or maybe a junior?), I was combing through the shelves when I stumbled upon my assigned textbook nestled next to a smaller book with a peculiar title: How to Read a Book. The sheer audacity of it stopped me in my tracks. A book… about reading books? It felt like an intellectual paradox, and I couldn’t resist. I bought it immediately. I sat there in my dorm room, the book open in my hands, when I read something that stopped me cold. The authors, Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren, laid it out plainly: reading wasn’t just about moving your eyes across the page or painstakingly absorbing every single word. It was about engaging with the ideas, extracting meaning, and—most shocking to me—sometimes skipping parts entirely. Skipping?! The idea felt like heresy. But then they explained: not all words are created equal. Not every sentence demands your full attention. The goal of reading isn’t to memorize; it’s to understand. That realization hit me like a lightning bolt. I realized my problem wasn’t that I didn’t love reading—it was that I’d been treating every book like a sacred artifact, every word as though it were scripture. I was trying so hard to be thorough that I was missing the forest for the trees. At first, I felt cheated—like all those books I’d struggled through, savoring every sentence, were wasted hours. But as I read on, something else took over: relief. This wasn’t about cutting corners; it was about freedom. I didn’t have to slog through every word to be a “real reader.” I could be faster, more selective, and—paradoxically—get more out of it. The change didn’t happen overnight, but the impact was profound. I started experimenting—skimming chapters, skipping prefaces, focusing only on the parts that lit me up. And it worked. My reading speed skyrocketed. Suddenly, books that would have taken me weeks to finish were flying off my shelf in days. Even better, I was actually retaining more. For the first time, I felt like I was having conversations with the authors, asking questions, challenging ideas. It was like discovering a new superpower. Reading wasn’t just easier; it was thrilling. Over the next year, I devoured more books than I had in the past five years combined, diving into everything from philosophy to fiction, biographies to business. And the more I read, the more I wanted to read. I didn’t just love books anymore—I was alive in them. As a software engineer, reading is a gateway to mastery. Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren’s How to Read a Book provides timeless strategies for tackling technical texts and scientific papers with precision. Adler and Van Doren highlight how elementary reading skills—decoding words and grasping simple narratives—are inadequate for the complex texts professionals face. Unfortunately, as they point out, most of us stop learning how to read after those early years, leaving a gap between the strategies we have and the materials we face as working professionals. Technical books, scientific papers, and design documents demand a far more sophisticated approach than the linear, surface-level reading we were taught as children. Where elementary reading focuses on what is explicitly written, from start to finish. Professional reading requires uncovering hidden arguments, identifying assumptions, and synthesizing ideas into actionable insights. This evolution from basic to advanced reading is a cornerstone of How to Read a Book, which outlines methods to bridge this gap. Adler and Van Doren’s multi-pass reading mirrors how we learn—by linking new information to existing knowledge. First, skim to map the structure and themes. Later passes dive deeper, questioning arguments and connecting concepts, like debugging code to clarify patterns. For technical professionals, this incremental approach is transformative. When tackling a dense technical book or scientific paper, the first pass might involve scanning headings and summaries to grasp the scope of the material. In later passes, you dissect individual sections, examine the logic of each argument, and relate these insights to knowledge you already possess. The result is not just comprehension but integration—new concepts find a place in your mental framework, strengthening your ability to apply them in real-world contexts. Adler and Van Doren also categorize reading into levels, emphasizing the importance of analytical and syntopical reading for professionals. Analytical reading engages the author’s argument: What is the main point? Is it valid? Syntopical reading compares ideas across sources—key when evaluating methodologies or guiding decisions as an engineer. Ganesh Ramachandran recently told me during one of our mentorship sessions that he uses genai to interact with books in exactly this way helping him understand the concepts at a deeper level. Robert C. Martin emphasizes the value of deliberate personal growth and professional discipline in his book The Clean Coder, it creates a roadmap for not only learning deeply but also thriving in your career. Martin insists that growth as a professional is your responsibility, not your employer’s. He advocates setting aside 20 hours a week outside of regular work hours to invest in skill enhancement. This time can be used for reading technical books, practicing coding challenges, or exploring new technologies. For engineers, these extra hours are an investment in developing expertise, staying sharp in a rapidly evolving industry, and cultivating the ability to lead with technical authority. This habit of deliberate learning aligns beautifully with Adler and Van Doren’s call to approach texts with intention. Reading is most powerful when paired with other learning activities—writing code inspired by what you’ve read, discussing ideas with peers, or presenting summaries to your team. These activities solidify knowledge and make it actionable. Both books also emphasize the importance of tailoring your approach to the material. Reading a scientific paper requires evaluating the rigor of its methodology, while reading a software design book might focus on understanding principles that can be applied to your systems. By asking the right questions, making annotations, and even summarizing ideas in your own words, you convert information into tools for problem-solving. Finally, Adler and Van Doren remind us that reading should be lifelong and exploratory, extending beyond your domain. Martin echoes this idea, advocating for continuous learning as the hallmark of professionalism. By dedicating time to grow, both through reading and deliberate practice, you not only expand your expertise but also position yourself as a leader who drives innovation and excellence. The fusion of Adler and Van Doren’s multi-pass reading strategy and Martin’s disciplined growth ethic provides a powerful approach for mastering complexity. For a software engineer, this is more than a strategy—it is a way to stay ahead, think critically, and lead with confidence. Every book you read, every pass you take to deepen understanding, and every hour you invest in skill-building is a step toward both personal and professional greatness.