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KevinBurke · 11-15-2014, 12:10 AM

When reading non-fiction any reading above the elementary level such as analytical or syntopical is going to involve writing. For instance when performing analytical reading the writing part typically involves the following (note in the latter part these points are terse could be expanded to make more 'sense' but I don't feel like it is necessary) :

"What is the best way to get the most out of a book? In his essay "How to Mark a Book," American philosopher Mortimer J. Adler extolls the virtues of not only reading, but writing "between the lines." The man who wrote the primer on liberal education, "How to Read a Book," suggests that annotating books as you read makes for "the most efficient kind of reading." Adler distinguishes between three kinds of readers: those who own books and do not read them; those who own books and read them occasionally and those who own books, read them and mark them up.

Step 1

Underline or highlight sentences that catch your attention using a pencil. If you have previously underlined a sentence and want to emphasize it further, near it draw vertical lines in your margins.

Step 2

Place stars, asterisks or other markings of your choice in the margin near what you consider the 10 or 20 most important points in the book and fold the bottom corner of the pages where you have made these markings. This will allow you to remove your book from the shelf and locate everything of importance in it quickly.

Step 3

Place numbers in the margin to trace the steps of an argument the author is making.

Step 4

Use numbers in the margin also to string together threads of an author's point throughout the text. For instance, if an author discusses the role of salt in the Roman economy on page 12, put a "3" here and on each subsequent page the author discusses the issue. In a blank page in the back of the book, write "Role of salt: 3" and the pages upon which "3" appears.

Step 5

Locate important words or phrases, such as the word "persuasion" in Jane Austen's novel of the same name, and highlight or circle them each time they appear. This allows you to see not only an author's use of repetition but also her variations on a given word or theme.

Step 6

Write important questions that you would like to ask the author, or answers to questions the author poses, in the margins and create a subject index of these questions and answers in the blank pages at the end of the book."

http://entertainmentguide.local.com/...dler-3836.html

As far as the rest of analytical reading goes :

Succinctly stating what the book is about in a sentence or paragraph at most (you can do this within a real book on the title page or somewhere else )

outlining the book

defining the problems the author was trying to solve

coming to terms with the author (some ereaders can partially help with this with highlighting or underlining)

finding the author's arguments by finding them in the key sequences of sentences (again underling or highlighting can help here)

lastly criticize the book which should take the form of writing

Now you cannot markup ebooks on ereaders as well as real books and taking extensive notes on the virtual keyboard is impractical-- so is reading non-fiction on an ereader inferior ? Or do you guys have any helpful suggestions othwerwise ? I don't want this to turn into a device specific thread but I just wanted to mention that Sony was going in the right direction with their ereader software and now that Kobo has taken their place I find Kobo's software to be more inferior at analytical reading. I have a kobo aura HD and the hardware is high-end but their touch interface and software sucks compared to the Sony ereader software.

11-15-2014, 12:10 AM	#1
KevinBurke Enthusiast Posts: 40 Karma: 40000 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: State of New York Device: Kobo Aura HD	Analytical reading on ereaders ? When reading non-fiction any reading above the elementary level such as analytical or syntopical is going to involve writing. For instance when performing analytical reading the writing part typically involves the following (note in the latter part these points are terse could be expanded to make more 'sense' but I don't feel like it is necessary) : "What is the best way to get the most out of a book? In his essay "How to Mark a Book," American philosopher Mortimer J. Adler extolls the virtues of not only reading, but writing "between the lines." The man who wrote the primer on liberal education, "How to Read a Book," suggests that annotating books as you read makes for "the most efficient kind of reading." Adler distinguishes between three kinds of readers: those who own books and do not read them; those who own books and read them occasionally and those who own books, read them and mark them up. Step 1 Underline or highlight sentences that catch your attention using a pencil. If you have previously underlined a sentence and want to emphasize it further, near it draw vertical lines in your margins. Step 2 Place stars, asterisks or other markings of your choice in the margin near what you consider the 10 or 20 most important points in the book and fold the bottom corner of the pages where you have made these markings. This will allow you to remove your book from the shelf and locate everything of importance in it quickly. Step 3 Place numbers in the margin to trace the steps of an argument the author is making. Step 4 Use numbers in the margin also to string together threads of an author's point throughout the text. For instance, if an author discusses the role of salt in the Roman economy on page 12, put a "3" here and on each subsequent page the author discusses the issue. In a blank page in the back of the book, write "Role of salt: 3" and the pages upon which "3" appears. Step 5 Locate important words or phrases, such as the word "persuasion" in Jane Austen's novel of the same name, and highlight or circle them each time they appear. This allows you to see not only an author's use of repetition but also her variations on a given word or theme. Step 6 Write important questions that you would like to ask the author, or answers to questions the author poses, in the margins and create a subject index of these questions and answers in the blank pages at the end of the book." http://entertainmentguide.local.com/...dler-3836.html As far as the rest of analytical reading goes : Succinctly stating what the book is about in a sentence or paragraph at most (you can do this within a real book on the title page or somewhere else ) outlining the book defining the problems the author was trying to solve coming to terms with the author (some ereaders can partially help with this with highlighting or underlining) finding the author's arguments by finding them in the key sequences of sentences (again underling or highlighting can help here) lastly criticize the book which should take the form of writing Now you cannot markup ebooks on ereaders as well as real books and taking extensive notes on the virtual keyboard is impractical-- so is reading non-fiction on an ereader inferior ? Or do you guys have any helpful suggestions othwerwise ? I don't want this to turn into a device specific thread but I just wanted to mention that Sony was going in the right direction with their ereader software and now that Kobo has taken their place I find Kobo's software to be more inferior at analytical reading. I have a kobo aura HD and the hardware is high-end but their touch interface and software sucks compared to the Sony ereader software. Last edited by KevinBurke; 11-15-2014 at 12:24 AM.