The article under analysis called “How to Mark a Book” reproduces interesting and helpful instructions about how should read the book. While reading the article, I was specifically attracted by a great number of ideas that have been metaphorically represented. The author has provided a fascinating account of reading a book, reasons for marking a book, as well as different approaches to how a book can be read. Being an international student, the techniques represented in the article has provided me be with a new conception of how a book should be read to receive the maximum information.
While reading the article, I have come across a variety of interesting comparisons and metaphors that emphasize the usefulness and importance of making notes at the margins of the book. In particular, my attention was focused on the comparisons of bookmarking with eating a beefsteak. Thus, the author writes, “…you do not own the beefsteak in the most important sense until you consume it and get it into your bloodstream” (Adler n. p.).
Just like consuming food, the book should also “get it…into your bloodstream” in case you need to receive the maximum benefit from the chosen book. Such a metaphor provides me with a greater understanding of why mere reading is not enough for absorbing all the necessary information from the book.
Although some of the allegorical comparisons seem to be too sophisticated for understanding, the article still provides simple examples in contrast. For instance, the author introduces persuasive and logical evidence for marking the books. Though they are quite simple and transparent, they cannot be withdrawn. Indeed, reading accompanied by marking is efficient because it activates your mind and uncovers the most striking parts of the book.
Not all books should be marked, and the author agrees with it. A reader can skip note-making unless your purpose is to relax and enjoy the book. However, if you need to extract a specific idea or argument, the reading should be slow and “between the lines.” So, before you start reading, you should define first whether this book is important for you in terms of conceptual content.
Aside from bookmarking, the author pays attention to the importance of physical writing. Certainly, I know that writing helps arrange ideas more consistently and logically. However, the author introduces another unconventional function of writing, stating, “the physical act of writing, with your hand, brings words and sentences more sharply before your mind and preserves them better in your memory.” Indeed, physical writing in combination with reading does not only enhances understanding of book ideas but also develops the necessary learning skills and techniques both in writing and in reading.
Interpreting reading is an essential operation that establishes a two-way conversation with the author. Thus, as soon as you start asking the questions at the beginning, reading and marking can help you find the necessary answers. To uncover the essence of this conversations, the author concludes, “understanding is a two-way operation; learning doesn’t’ consist in being an empty receptacle” (Adler n. p.).
What is important is that the way a reader makes notes also expresses his/her individuality in interpreting the author’s ideas. Various tools for bookmarking are also signs of learning techniques employed to understand the content. In this respect, Adler underlines, “marking a book is an expression of your differences, or agreements of opinion, with the author” (n. p.). As soon as all the techniques are conceived, a reader will be able to represent a unique, meaningful angle of the book.
While tracing the proposed techniques of marking the book, I have come across the one which appeals to me most – underlining. This approach to marking is probably the best way to highlight the most crucial ideas. However, further analysis of the underlined phrases can be enhanced significantly if these phrases are accompanied by personal thinking. I have realized that personal remarks are highly important because they develop a meaningful thesis.
The intercourse of book ideas and personal ones is an important synthesis that can allow a reader to make the book part of his/her part. Although the reading process can become much slower, the understanding of the content can occur much quicker. What is more important is that personal evaluation and interpretation is the primary goal of reading the book. One should not objectively approach the book. On the contrary, the subjective prism is much more crucial for comprehension and learning.
In conclusion, the article provides a wider picture of how learning and the educational process can be improved by introducing bookmarking. Therefore, the author’s arguments in favor of making notes are unquestionable due to several reasons. First of all, making notes keep you focused on the main idea and makes you think over the main problem that appeals specifically to you. Second, bookmarking can outline the most remarkable ideas and teach a reader to build up a personal thesis. Finally, reading books should imply thinking through each passage.
Works Cited
Adler, M. How to Mark a Book. In Modern English Readings. Roger Sherman Loomis and Donald Lemen Clark (Ed). US: Farrar & Rinehart. 1942, Web.