A number of years ago I read Mortimer Adler's "How to Read a Book" and was disappointed. It was a fine book, one that certainly had good intentions behind it and solid advice in its pages; however, I felt that many of the lessons contained within it were ones that I'd already been taught in my English Lit classes (especially the community college class in which we were assigned William Zinnser's invaluable "On Writing Well").

I thought about "How to Read a Book" while reading Marilyn Chandler McEntyre's book. What struck me is that McEntyre was challenging and opening my thoughts up the way I'd wanted "How to Read a Book" to and how "On Writing Well" did prior. She offers a wealth of thought and suggestion for you to ponder. I read this book over the course of several months, stopping every so often to let the ideas seep in further and consider them more deeply.

It was not an easy book to read (although McEntyre does keep her writing approachable) if you're reading it as she (or Adler or Zinnser) would suggest. However, no matter how much work went in, I always felt I was gaining more than my fair share's worth. This book is work the reading, worth the effort and vital for the growth of all literate people.