'How To Mark A Book' By Mortimer Adler

Writing and marking up books is a very strange and uncomfortable concept to many people. From a very young age, people have been taught that writing in a book would take away from the literature. However, after reading “How to Mark a Book” by Mortimer Adler, I feel differently about what I was once taught. Adler makes it known that by marking books will help us all become a better reader by being more engaged with the literature. Adler coins the term “writing between the lines”. This to me is a very important message and the basis of his argument about marking books. Writing between the lines is an essential part of reading because this is when the book becomes a part of the reader. When I read this, I thought about how writing important aspects of the book down helps me remember the events of a story or facts that I am reading about. …show more content…
According to Adler, the first type of book owner keeps books untouched and unread. The second type of book owner reads only a few, but owns many. The third type of book owner has few books that are all filled with markings. Those that mark books with all of their ideas, arguments, and hypothesis are conversing with the author. After reading that statement, I had to stop and think about my own reading patterns. While reading, I do have questions, speculations, and often times talk to myself when I’m upset with something I have just read. So, am I having a conversation with the author then? - no. The reasoning for this answer is because I forget my feelings about the different parts because I don’t write it