A very quick summary of what I found so valuable about Chapter Four of Mortimer Adler's "How to Read a Book."
"Systematic pre-reading" is getting a basic idea of the structure and main idea of the content of a book, in a very limited time. Adler gives some very practical ways for doing this(Look at the preface, table of contents, skim, read ends of chapters, end of book where author can’t resist trying to sum up what is so great or new about his book, etc.)
In some cases, a book is only worthy of being read in this way – you can get all that you need from it by using this systematic pre-reading.
In other cases, you may still want to read the book more closely, but the pre-reading has given you the basic outline of the book and makes it much easier to read faster, and to comprehend and retain.
(He also includes an entire section on the importance of giving very difficult books a superficial read before digging into them – then explains how to do this.)
In addition, he gives excellent how-tos on reading faster, training your eye to focus on sentences and even paragraphs rather than just words, using your hand to keep your eye from fixating or regressing.
Good reading means knowing when to read at different speeds – speeding up when the material is easily understood, slowing down when you need to digest. If you have taken the short time to pre-read any book, you will better know when to slow down and when to speed up. Even a very difficult book will have passages that can be -- and should be -- read through very quickly.
On the Adler Archive, there is an article called "Hard Reading Made Easy" that covers some of this same ground.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Glorified
(A Poem by John Piper)
As far as any eye could see
There was no green. But every tree
Was cinder black, and all the ground
Was grey with ash. The only sound
Was arid wind, like spirits' ghosts,
Now gasping for some living hosts
In which to dwell, as in the days
Of evil men, before the blaze
Of unimaginable fire
Had made the earth a flaming pyre
For God's omnipotent display
Of holy rage. The dreadful Day
Of God had come. The moon had turned
To blood. The sun no longer burned
Above, but, blazing with desire,
Had flowed into a lake of fire.
The seas and oceans were no more,
And in their place a desert floor
Fell deep to meet the brazen skies,
And silence conquered distant cries.
The Lord stood still above the air.
His mighty arms were moist and bare.
They hung, as weary, by his side
Until the human blood had dried
Upon the sword in his right hand.
He stared across the blackened land
That he had made, and where he died.
His lips were tight, and deep inside,
The mystery of sovereign will
Gave leave, and it began to spill
In tears upon his bloody sword
For one last time.
And then the Lord
Wiped every tear away and turned
To see his bride. Her heart had yearned
Four thousand years for this: His face
Shone like the sun, and every trace
Of wrath was gone. And in her bliss
She heard the Master say, "Watch this:
Come forth all goodness from the ground,
Come forth and let the earth redound
With joy." And as he spoke, the throne
Of God came down to earth and shone
Like golden crystal full of light,
And banished once for all the night.
And from the throne a stream began
To flow and laugh, and as it ran,
It made a river and a lake,
And everywhere it flowed a wake
Of grass broke on the banks and spread
Like resurrection from the dead.
And in the twinkling of an eye
The saints descended from the sky.
And as I knelt beside the brook
To drink eternal life, I took
A glance across the golden grass,
And saw my dog, old Blackie, fast
As she could come. She leaped the stream-
Almost-and what a happy gleam
Was in her eye.
I knelt to drink,
And knew that I was on the brink
Of endless joy. And everywhere
I turned I saw a wonder there.
A big man running on the lawn:
That's old John Younge with both legs on.
And there's old Beryl, and Arnold too,
Still holding hands beneath the blue
And crystal sky: No stoop, they stand
Erect. No tremor in their hand.
The blind can see a bird on wing,
The dumb can lift his voice and sing.
The diabetic eats at will,
The coronary runs uphill.
The lame can walk, the deaf can hear,
The cancer-ridden bone is clear.
Arthritic joints are lithe and free,
And every pain has ceased to be.
And every sorrow deep within,
And every trace of lingering sin
Is gone. And all that's left is joy,
And endless ages to employ
The mind and heart to understand
And love the sovereign Lord who planned
That it should take eternity
To lavish all his grace on me.
O God of wonder, God of might,
Grant us some elevated sight,
Of endless days. And let us see
The joy of what is yet to be.
And may your future make us free,
And guard us by the hope that we,
Within the light of candle three,
Your glory will forever see.
As far as any eye could see
There was no green. But every tree
Was cinder black, and all the ground
Was grey with ash. The only sound
Was arid wind, like spirits' ghosts,
Now gasping for some living hosts
In which to dwell, as in the days
Of evil men, before the blaze
Of unimaginable fire
Had made the earth a flaming pyre
For God's omnipotent display
Of holy rage. The dreadful Day
Of God had come. The moon had turned
To blood. The sun no longer burned
Above, but, blazing with desire,
Had flowed into a lake of fire.
The seas and oceans were no more,
And in their place a desert floor
Fell deep to meet the brazen skies,
And silence conquered distant cries.
The Lord stood still above the air.
His mighty arms were moist and bare.
They hung, as weary, by his side
Until the human blood had dried
Upon the sword in his right hand.
He stared across the blackened land
That he had made, and where he died.
His lips were tight, and deep inside,
The mystery of sovereign will
Gave leave, and it began to spill
In tears upon his bloody sword
For one last time.
And then the Lord
Wiped every tear away and turned
To see his bride. Her heart had yearned
Four thousand years for this: His face
Shone like the sun, and every trace
Of wrath was gone. And in her bliss
She heard the Master say, "Watch this:
Come forth all goodness from the ground,
Come forth and let the earth redound
With joy." And as he spoke, the throne
Of God came down to earth and shone
Like golden crystal full of light,
And banished once for all the night.
And from the throne a stream began
To flow and laugh, and as it ran,
It made a river and a lake,
And everywhere it flowed a wake
Of grass broke on the banks and spread
Like resurrection from the dead.
And in the twinkling of an eye
The saints descended from the sky.
And as I knelt beside the brook
To drink eternal life, I took
A glance across the golden grass,
And saw my dog, old Blackie, fast
As she could come. She leaped the stream-
Almost-and what a happy gleam
Was in her eye.
I knelt to drink,
And knew that I was on the brink
Of endless joy. And everywhere
I turned I saw a wonder there.
A big man running on the lawn:
That's old John Younge with both legs on.
And there's old Beryl, and Arnold too,
Still holding hands beneath the blue
And crystal sky: No stoop, they stand
Erect. No tremor in their hand.
The blind can see a bird on wing,
The dumb can lift his voice and sing.
The diabetic eats at will,
The coronary runs uphill.
The lame can walk, the deaf can hear,
The cancer-ridden bone is clear.
Arthritic joints are lithe and free,
And every pain has ceased to be.
And every sorrow deep within,
And every trace of lingering sin
Is gone. And all that's left is joy,
And endless ages to employ
The mind and heart to understand
And love the sovereign Lord who planned
That it should take eternity
To lavish all his grace on me.
O God of wonder, God of might,
Grant us some elevated sight,
Of endless days. And let us see
The joy of what is yet to be.
And may your future make us free,
And guard us by the hope that we,
Within the light of candle three,
Your glory will forever see.
Tuesday's Ten (Or So)
I thank God for:
1. Friends who remind me to look up at the moon. I rarely notice it and, oh, it's beautiful
2. Absences that make the heart grow desperately fonder
3. Slumber parties while the men were away at the retreat
4. The candor that often comes after midnight
5. Buck, our golden Retriever, who deliberately stationed his 87-pound body across the front door during our times home alone, lest anyone try to get in -- or out
6. Long stories with many tangents
7. That I can so clearly remember that moment in my life when the Lordship of Jesus Christ suddenly became axiomatic.
8. Kindred spirits, near and far
9. Acts of radical obedience
10. Accomplished women who pour their gifts into the lives of others
11. The glory of Jesus -- and the hope of ever-increasing understanding and enjoyment of Him
1. Friends who remind me to look up at the moon. I rarely notice it and, oh, it's beautiful
2. Absences that make the heart grow desperately fonder
3. Slumber parties while the men were away at the retreat
4. The candor that often comes after midnight
5. Buck, our golden Retriever, who deliberately stationed his 87-pound body across the front door during our times home alone, lest anyone try to get in -- or out
6. Long stories with many tangents
7. That I can so clearly remember that moment in my life when the Lordship of Jesus Christ suddenly became axiomatic.
8. Kindred spirits, near and far
9. Acts of radical obedience
10. Accomplished women who pour their gifts into the lives of others
11. The glory of Jesus -- and the hope of ever-increasing understanding and enjoyment of Him
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Sentimentalism: Disloyalty to God
Sentimentalism is the vice that presents itself as a virtue. This is the enemy waving the flag of allegiance -- a traitor with a reassuring smile. Affections and emotions are good and God-given, but a sentimentalist is someone who is willing to add to or override what God says in the name of feels right or wrong. Often sentimentalists create artificial barriers in their lives, willing to commit some high-handed sin in one area, while justifying themselves with fuzzy feelings in some other realm. Also sometimes known as "transcendentalism," an appeal to "higher law" is often given as a pious sounding "ends justify the means" philosophy. And America is full of this kind of sinister behavior, demanding on the one hand that the disabled, handicapped and mentally retarded be given extra medical attention, additional money and special parking places, while simultaneously insisting that people have the right to chop these same sorts of people up if they haven't been born yet, or remove their feeding tubes if they are considered inconvenient. Sentimentalists hide their bloody hands with Hallmark cards and Precious Moments figurines. Sentimentalism is disloyalty [to God] on a grand scale and, when entrenched, knows no limits.
-- Toby J. Sumpter, in Omnibus III Reformation to the Present
-- Toby J. Sumpter, in Omnibus III Reformation to the Present
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Ten on Tuesday (Almost)
I am thankful to My Redeemer for:
1. John Rabe, under whose strong wing I so gladly take refuge
2. Jeanie Hansen and the snapshots she took at our wedding, which are by far my favorite photos
3. Augustine, Luther and Calvin, used by God despite glaring flaws and weaknesses
4. John Jr.'s love of sliding in baseball
5. Our tax lady, who is thorough and honest
6. Transcription work
7. Kids who still enjoy listening to me read aloud
8. Leah's lappy -- now I'll be able to use the computer during their online classes! To catalog books, of course...
9. People who frequently update their Facebook Status, especially friends from long ago, now faraway
10. All those who posted photos and videos from Chris Lybrand's wedding. It was almost like being there!
1. John Rabe, under whose strong wing I so gladly take refuge
2. Jeanie Hansen and the snapshots she took at our wedding, which are by far my favorite photos
3. Augustine, Luther and Calvin, used by God despite glaring flaws and weaknesses
4. John Jr.'s love of sliding in baseball
5. Our tax lady, who is thorough and honest
6. Transcription work
7. Kids who still enjoy listening to me read aloud
8. Leah's lappy -- now I'll be able to use the computer during their online classes! To catalog books, of course...
9. People who frequently update their Facebook Status, especially friends from long ago, now faraway
10. All those who posted photos and videos from Chris Lybrand's wedding. It was almost like being there!
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