“Since the publication of this book, no other reading method book has surpassed it!”
“A book is not truly read until it has been judged and critiqued!”

Exclusive Korean version of Amazon's longest-running bestseller!
A must-read for Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, and Yale universities!
A global bestseller translated into over 30 countries around the world!
Highly recommended by Professor Seo Hye-ran, the 41st Director of the National Library of Korea!

Nowadays, with the Internet so developed that most knowledge can be obtained through a simple search, there are almost no people who cannot read books.
There are just some people who can't read properly.
So why should we read? In "Reading to Expand Your Mind," first published in 1940 and reissued in 1972 to reflect the changing times, the authors provide a detailed and clear explanation of the various levels of reading, from basic reading (Level 1), to observation (Level 2), analytical reading (Level 3), and finally, integrated reading (Level 4).
The reading method suggested by the authors, who are former editors of the Britannica, goes far beyond the reading methods we think we know. They show us how to judge a book by its cover and table of contents, how to build basic reading skills that form the basis of understanding, and then move on to examining, analyzing, and integrating reading, using various book examples.


The authors also introduce various reading techniques that are most effective for reading each genre, such as practical books, literature, novels, comedies, and poetry, history, science, mathematics, philosophy, and social sciences, and help readers grow mentally and in life through integrated reading, the ultimate goal of reading.
Reading books using Syntopicon is especially helpful for beginners because it makes it easier to get started, stimulates other interests, and has an educational effect.
The appendix suggests a list of 137 recommended books composed of world-class classics, and provides reading practice questions and tests for each reading level that can be used to measure reading skills, comprehension, and speed, encouraging you to go beyond reading books and instead self-reflect.
If you actively read the book through to the end in the following way suggested by the authors, you will not only experience remarkable intellectual growth, but also make great advancements in your work and career.


“Pay attention to the parts you can understand, and don’t stop and just skip over the parts you don’t understand right away.
No matter how difficult it is, if you keep reading, you will soon find a part that you can understand.
Then read this part again carefully.
Don't skip over footnotes, notes, or references, and read to the end.
If you go somewhere else, you will get lost.
If you hold on to a problem you don't know, you won't be able to solve it.
It's much easier to understand if you read it again.
But you have to read it 'from beginning to end' and then read it again.”

Reading everything you can get your hands on and not reading well are similar.
To avoid making this mistake, we need to differentiate between the ways we learn.
This distinction is not only relevant to various readings, but also to general education.
In education, a distinction has been made between learning through human education and learning through enlightenment.
Education is when one person teaches another, either verbally or in writing.
However, one can gain knowledge without being taught.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for teachers to acquire new knowledge, as they would have to learn from others what they have to teach to others.
There must be a process of enlightenment that involves learning through study, inquiry, and deep thought, without being taught.
Enlightenment is something you learn without a teacher, unlike education, which is something you learn with the help of someone else.
In both cases, the act of learning takes place within the learner.
It is not correct to say that enlightenment is active learning and education is passive learning.
Just as there is no passive reading, there is no passive learning.

---From "Chapter 1: The Act and Skill of Reading"

When you first start learning to read, you look at the letters in a book and have no idea what they mean.
But after at least two or three weeks, you will read it and know what it means.
How can an American child and a French child, despite speaking different languages, equally understand the meaning of "the cat is on the hat"? Where does this phenomenon come from? No one, not even philosophers or psychologists, has been able to figure out how this is possible, even after 2,500 years of studying it.
In fact, only humans can understand the meaning that letters represent.
It is also one of the most remarkable intellectual feats a human being can perform, mostly before the age of seven.

---From "Chapter 3 Basic Reading (Level 1 of Reading)"

Learning to read well is not easy.
In particular, reading while analyzing is a more complex mental activity than skiing.
Beginner skiers should just focus on the body movements that come naturally to them, even if they later forget how to do it.
While it is easy to become conscious of bodily movements in this way, the mental activity that people have to do to begin reading while analyzing is much more difficult.
In some ways, it may be about thinking about your own thoughts.
There aren't many people who read this well.
But we can do it.
And once you get used to it, you'll find yourself reading much better.
---From "Chapter 5: How to Become an Aspiring Reader"

Finding the real structure is really important.
The second principle of finding the main flow of a book cannot be properly followed without observing the third principle of identifying each part that makes up that main flow.
Even if you just skim through it, you can summarize the main idea in two or three sentences.
And you might get a nice score for reading that book better.
But I'm not sure if I understood it correctly.
It was just a lucky coincidence.
Therefore, the third principle is also necessary to faithfully follow the second principle.
---From "Chapter 7: Looking Through the Book"

Another clue to finding important sentences is the words used in them.
Once you know what the important words are, you can use those words to identify sentences that require more careful reading.
The first step to interpretation becomes the basis for the second step.
But it could be the other way around.
That is, when you come across a sentence whose meaning you don't know, pay attention to the words in that sentence.
The order in which the principles are discussed here is not necessarily fixed.
Important words can create propositions, or you can look at propositions and find important words.
In other words, if you know the words that have important meaning, you can figure out the propositions in the sentence, and if you figure out the propositions in the sentence, it means you have found the important words.

---From "Chapter 9: Finding the Author's Message"

A good book can only be appreciated if you read it actively.
The act of reading does not end with understanding what the book is saying.
“You have to judge and criticize to have read everything.” This is not the case for readers who are not very motivated.
I can't even analyze or understand the book.
No, not only do they not make an effort to understand, they just throw it away and forget about it.
What's worse than pretending to praise someone, even if it's insincere, is to criticize them without thinking about it at all.
---From "Chapter 10: Criticizing Fairly"

The most important thing to remember from any practical book is that “reading books alone will never solve your problems.”
The theory book can solve problems in the book.
However, the problems addressed in practical books must be solved through actual action.
If you want to know how to make money, reading books about how to make friends or how to be a leader won't help.
It's a book that tells you exactly what to do.
No problem can be solved without taking action.
In other words, it can only be solved by actually making money.

---From "Chapter 13 How to Read Practical Books"

We can also learn something from literary works such as poetry, novels, and especially plays.
But it's different from what you learn in science or philosophy books.
We can learn something from the experiences we have in our daily lives.
Likewise, we can learn from the various experiences that stories create in our imagination.
In this sense, poetry and novels not only provide enjoyment but also education.
But science and philosophy teach us different things, so these explanatory books don't give us new experiences.
It is a book that conveys knowledge as it is, talking about experiences we have already had or may have.
Literary works, on the other hand, create experiences from which we can learn, and from which we derive learning.
To learn from a book like this, the reader must reflect on the experience for himself.
For philosophy or science books, you just need to understand what the authors have already thought.
---From "Chapter 14: How to Read Literature"

A final thing to be aware of when reading lyric poetry is that it often feels like you need to know more than necessary about the author or the times in which he or she lived.
There is also a tendency to place excessive trust in commentaries, critiques, and biographies.
This is because they doubt their own ability to read poetry.
Anyone can read poetry if they just try to read it.
Although it may be helpful to know the author's life or the circumstances of the times, knowing the various circumstances of the poem does not guarantee that you will be able to understand the poem well.
To understand poetry, you have to read it again and again.
A lifetime of reading great proverbs is not enough.
This doesn't mean you have to read it over and over again throughout your life, but it does mean that if it's a great work, it's worth reading multiple times.
When I read the poem again, I realize more things I didn't know before.

---From "Chapter 15: How to Read Novels, Plays, and Poetry"

The definitive biography is a piece of history.
It is a history of a person and an era as seen through the eyes of one human being, so it should be read like a history book.
But that is not the case with biographies written on commission.
These biographies are often commissioned by descendants or relatives of important figures, and attempt to portray the person's mistakes and successes as brilliantly as possible.
Sometimes these biographies are excellent because the author has access to all the relevant material.
However, a commissioned biography does not enjoy the same credibility as a definitive biography.
---From "Chapter 16: How to Read History Books"

If you want to understand the history of science, you must not only read the classics, but also experience them firsthand and become familiar with the important experiments discussed in that history.
There are not only classic books, but also classic experiments.
Scientific classics are easier to understand for those who have seen with their own eyes and touched with their own hands the process by which the great scientists reached their conclusions.

---From "Chapter 17: How to Read Science and Math Books"

Good philosophical theories are not rhetorical or inflammatory like good scientific papers.
There is no need to worry about the author's 'personality' or to investigate his social and economic environment.
However, it is necessary to read the works of philosophers who deal with the same problems as the author.
Philosophers have long conversed with one another throughout the history of thought.
Before you make up your mind about someone's story, it's a good idea to listen to their conversation.

---From "Chapter 18: How to Read Philosophy Books"

Reading holistically means 'looking at all sides and trying not to lean to one side.'
Complete objectivity is impossible.
It may be possible to present issues impartially, without bias, and to deal fairly with opposing views.
But looking at all sides is more difficult than not leaning to one side.
If you look at all sides, you may fail to read it comprehensively.
It is impossible to consider all aspects of an issue without exception.
Still, we must try.
It is easier to be impartial than to look at everything, but it is equally difficult.
---From "Chapter 20 Integrated Reading (Level 4 of Reading)"

If you read a good book diligently, it will pay off.
The best books will give you the best.
There are two things we receive from books.
First, it improves your reading skills by rewarding you for grappling with difficult and good books.
Second, good books teach us about the world and ourselves.
This would be a much more significant price to pay.
Learning about life, that is, becoming wiser.
It's a completely different story from learning more after reading a book that only provides knowledge or information.
Becoming wiser means gaining a deeper understanding of life's eternal and great truths.

---From "Chapter 21: Reading and Mental Growth"