Analytical reading on ereaders ?

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.

meeera · 11-15-2014, 12:22 AM

For that sort of markup, your best bet would be a large tablet such as an iPad, with an app that allows freeform stylus markup as well as 'sticky-note' type annotation.

Kumabjorn · 11-15-2014, 01:07 AM

I'd suggest exporting the book into OneNote and do all your annotations there. Tha added feature of flags and colored highlights give you even more options than a paper based book. OneNote on penabled Android devices is now a reality.

KevinBurke · 11-15-2014, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meeera

For that sort of markup, your best bet would be a large tablet such as an iPad, with an app that allows freeform stylus markup as well as 'sticky-note' type annotation.

The biggest problem with that is that those tablets are not e-ink. Sony makes like a big e-ink tablet that is marketed at professionals ,such as those in the law field, for marking up documents and such but it goes for like $1,000 dollars or more and I'm not willing to pay that.

KevinBurke · 11-15-2014, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

I'd suggest exporting the book into OneNote and do all your annotations there. Tha added feature of flags and colored highlights give you even more options than a paper based book. OneNote on penabled Android devices is now a reality.

since it is colored it doesn't sound like e-ink (AFAIK there is no color e-ink available) so that sounds like an inferior solution.

Red Falcon · 11-15-2014, 10:32 AM

I do a lot of critical reading for school with my various devices.I have found the easy thing to do is have a notebook with me and just make notes in there.I make a separate section for each chapter/section and put a short annotation in the ebook and notebook to reference back to in each.

For example I will make a comment in my notebook about a paragraph and mark at the beginning something like b6 and put that as a note in the e-book to reference back to.

I have found taking long notes in electronic devices is to cumbersome for my taste.

KevinBurke · 11-15-2014, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinBurke

The biggest problem with that is that those tablets are not e-ink. Sony makes like a big e-ink tablet that is marketed at professionals ,such as those in the law field, for marking up documents and such but it goes for like $1,000 dollars or more and I'm not willing to pay that.

If anyone is interested this is the Sony device :

https://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/show-d...r:digitalpaper

It is actually $999 and IMO all other options for reading non-fiction, besides real books, are inferior.

KevinBurke · 11-15-2014, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Falcon

I do a lot of critical reading for school with my various devices.I have found the easy thing to do is have a notebook with me and just make notes in there.I make a separate section for each chapter/section and put a short annotation in the ebook and notebook to reference back to in each.

For example I will make a comment in my notebook about a paragraph and mark at the beginning something like b6 and put that as a note in the e-book to reference back to.

I have found taking long notes in electronic devices is to cumbersome for my taste.

Yeah, I know I have already thought about that and have used a notebook for such (it is common sense) but more extensive markup abilities and the ability to write in the ebook with a stylus are still desirable. IMO Sony with its ereaders was getting it right and was going in the right direction and Sony with its digital paper tablet (see my post immediately above) has got it right. AFAIK all the major ereader players on the market now like the Kobo and Kindle get this woefully wrong. It is a shame that Sony stopped making ereaders because the software and/or the touch interface are inferior on the kindle and kobo.

Kumabjorn · 11-15-2014, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinBurke

since it is colored it doesn't sound like e-ink (AFAIK there is no color e-ink available) so that sounds like an inferior solution.

You're right it isn't e-ink, but there is an e-Reader device that you can root and run standard Android on. I Think it is made by Onyx, but at the moment I can't recall.

Froide · 11-15-2014, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Falcon

I do a lot of critical reading for school with my various devices.I have found the easy thing to do is have a notebook with me and just make notes in there.I make a separate section for each chapter/section and put a short annotation in the ebook and notebook to reference back to in each.

For example I will make a comment in my notebook about a paragraph and mark at the beginning something like b6 and put that as a note in the e-book to reference back to.

I have found taking long notes in electronic devices is to cumbersome for my taste.

Ditto, for my work-related reading.

Little.Egret · 11-15-2014, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinBurke

since it is colored it doesn't sound like e-ink (AFAIK there is no color e-ink available) so that sounds like an inferior solution.

In fact colour e-ink readers do exist.

http://www.jetbook.net/

KevinBurke · 11-15-2014, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Little.Egret

In fact colour e-ink readers do exist.

http://www.jetbook.net/

Cool I haven't been around places like this for a while so I didn't know (I've been out of loop so to speak). Hopefully amazon and kobo will start making color ones. Still I highly doubt that this device is good for what I am talking about just because it happens to be color.

rollei · 11-15-2014, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinBurke

If anyone is interested this is the Sony device :

https://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/show-d...r:digitalpaper

It is actually $999 and IMO all other options for reading non-fiction, besides real books, are inferior.

Nice, a big price tag but has e-ink.

rollei · 11-15-2014, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Little.Egret

In fact colour e-ink readers do exist.

http://www.jetbook.net/

This colour e-ink reader is cool too. The question is:

1. The books I'm reading may not be in color, even the photo inserts are not in color

2. Good for reading coffee table books which has color photos but do I buy coffee table books to read on a 5-inch device and are there many coffee table e-books out there

Still, a colour e-ink reader is appealing.

Little.Egret · 11-15-2014, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rollei

This colour e-ink reader is cool too. The question is:

1. The books I'm reading may not be in color, even the photo inserts are not in color

2. Good for reading coffee table books which has color photos but do I buy coffee table books to read on a 5-inch device and are there many coffee table e-books out there

Still, a colour e-ink reader is appealing.

For me a tablet is fine for reading cookbooks and travel books with colour illustrations (and maps !)

I would be interested to try a colour e-ink reader but the prices are what a Kindle cost 4-5 years back.

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.

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11-15-2014, 12:22 AM	#2
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,659 Karma: 66420972 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	For that sort of markup, your best bet would be a large tablet such as an iPad, with an app that allows freeform stylus markup as well as 'sticky-note' type annotation.

11-15-2014, 01:07 AM	#3
Kumabjorn Basculocolpic Posts: 4,356 Karma: 20181319 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sweden Device: Kindle 3 WiFi, Kindle 4SO, Kindle for Android, Sony PRS-350 and PRS-T1	I'd suggest exporting the book into OneNote and do all your annotations there. Tha added feature of flags and colored highlights give you even more options than a paper based book. OneNote on penabled Android devices is now a reality.

11-15-2014, 10:32 AM	#6
Red Falcon Addict Posts: 281 Karma: 1593188 Join Date: May 2012 Device: Kindle Keyboard	I do a lot of critical reading for school with my various devices.I have found the easy thing to do is have a notebook with me and just make notes in there.I make a separate section for each chapter/section and put a short annotation in the ebook and notebook to reference back to in each. For example I will make a comment in my notebook about a paragraph and mark at the beginning something like b6 and put that as a note in the e-book to reference back to. I have found taking long notes in electronic devices is to cumbersome for my taste.

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