Chapter 4 Starting to Read: Final Preparations

At the end of chapter 3, Susan Wise Bauer assigns beginning a commonplace book and starting the process with chapter 4 of A Well-Educated Mind.

I am to write the chapter on the first page. See above.
Read through the entire chapter once without stopping.  Record any particularly interesting or meaningful information in my journal as I go.
Summarize each of the three sections in my own words. 
Write my reactions to the summaries I've written.

Sounds simple enough.

Notes upon first reading:
Read and keep reading.  The task of the first reading it to finish the book and basically understand it.  Summarize each chapter.  Write down questions as you go but don't try to answer them. /This is the what of the  book.

Go back and ask questions about style, structure and purpose.  Develop own thoughts as dig deeper into meaning and purpose of book.  The why and how of the book.

Think about and discuss what the author was hoping to get across and how well the purpose was accomplished.

Summary for Chapter 4

The most important thing it to keep reading.  The first reading is for completion.  Get through the book with a basic understanding of what the author is trying to say.  Don't let questions, vocabulary or confusion stop you.  Make a note and move on until reaching the end.  I find this to be comforting.  Sometimes pressing forward is half the battle.

The second reading is for clarity and purpose.  Go back and see if initial reading questions have been answered.  Determine why the author wrote the book and how the argument was made.  Reading 2 and 3 times concerned me.  Reviewing and rereading with this purpose in mind makes sense and doesn't seem so rigid as word for word re-reading.

The third reading is for response.  Now that the book is read and we understand what it says and what the author hoped we'd get from it, how do we respond.  Do we agree, disagree, think the author was right or wrong?  It never occurred to me that evaluating the author's argument was part of my job as reader.  I like this perspective and look forward to seeing how it works in the reading to come.