" A great book, rich in ideas and beauty, a book that raises and tries to answer great fundamental questions, demands the most active reading of which you are capable " (Adler 269). These are Adler’s statement in his book, How to Mark a book while stressing on being active while reading a book by writing between the lines. There has been an argument that Adler’s proposition of how to mark a book is irrelevant due to the introduction of new forms of educational media. I completely agree with Adler’s proposition of marking up a book because it helps the reader to understand and to receive the message and the significance of the reading.
In reading a book, one has to understand and point out the main ideas in the book and this can be easily achieved by writing in between the lines. Adler asserts that, marking up a book helps the readers to remember the thoughts they had while reading the book and the thought the author was expressing in the texts (270). Comparably, if a reader reads a book without marking any texts, it will be very hard for them to remember where the main points are in the chapters and if they are students, it can lead to low grades in school. When one marks a book, it points out that they were active while reading it and it shows their concentration compared to people who just read through the texts with an intention of finishing to read the book.
Adler’s proposition of writing in between the lines has not lost its relevance as it can also be used even if one is reading a book online. Most people prefer online books than reading them in paper and they argue that it is impossible to mark up an online book. This assumption is wrong because Adler suggests that, they can still mark up the book by making notes on a scratch pad and stick them in their study rooms (271). One can still make notes while online and this notes will help them remember what they read while offline Through taking notes while reading online, the reader will be able to think and write down their thoughts and also put down the major points of the reading and this will make it easier for them while doing a review of their reading. Keeping the scratch note pad helps the reader preserve the ideas they took from the online material and it makes it easier for them because they can access it even while offline. Comparably, if one reads an online book without taking up notes, it will be very difficult for them to remember everything they read while online since they do not have any back up notes to give them a hint.
According to Adler, the act of writing itself creates words and sentences in the readers mind and this helps preserve the concepts of the readings in one’s memory. When the concepts are kept in the memory, the reader is able to remember the contents of the book. In addition, when a reader marks up a book, the next time he/she is reading it, they will understand it fully and better. One can continue marking the important points they feel were left out the last time they read it and this makes them understand all the concepts of the book (Adler 272). Moreover, one can write the pages that have the most important points at the margin of the book. This helps the next time one reads needs information from the book, he/she will just go straight to the marked pages and get the information they need. Comparably, if the book was not marked, the reader will be forced to read the entire book again in order to get the points they nee.
In conclusion, Adler’s concept of marking a book is still relevant despite the emergence of new forms of educational media because it helps the readers to remember easily the concepts of the reading without going back to the book.
Works Cited
Adler, Mortimer J. "How to Mark a Book.” Modern English Readings. Ed. Roger Sherman and Donald Lemen. New York: Farrar &Rinehart Inc, 1942. 268-272. Print.
