How to Read a Book and Why

First, the “How” Part

Your mind is very active while you process text. You may think you’re just saying words to yourself and hearing them somewhere inside your head, but chances are there’s more going on. Becoming aware of what your mind is doing when you read helps you become a better reader.

Nobody knows what goes on in the minds of readers as they read. And there’s no way to tell. So, we have to make up a theory about it. In my theory, there are two different ways to read:

(1) Reading like a reader. We might think of this as the “normal” way of reading where we try to figure out what a piece of writing means by understanding the words a writer uses.

(2) Reading like a writer. When we read from the perspective of a writer, we focus less on what the writer is saying and more on how the writer is saying it.

When we read actively, we don’t just wait for the meaning to come to us, we go after it — consciously, aggressively. We look deeply into the text, hunting in certain ways, searching for certain clues about what the writer is saying to us. It’s as if we start a conversation between the writer, the writing, and ourselves.

Why Read?

To be completely honest, reading can seem rather dull to the average kid compared with playing Nintendo or sports, riding bikes, hanging out with friends, or – and this is the one we adults worry about most – watching television. So why bother?

Oh yeah, sure, you’re gonna grow up and have a job some day where you’ll need to read but isn’t that the kind of tired excuse you never believe anyway, the kind adults give when they just want you to do something to make their lives easier?

As I see it, there are only two real reasons why anyone would want to read: power and pleasure.