How to Read a Book
How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adlerby Mortimer Adler
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 4 education books
Recommended as a practical guide to reading nonfiction and getting more out of books, with some readers finding it repetitive and less useful for certain types of books.
Recommended as a practical guide to reading nonfiction and getting more out of books, with some readers finding it repetitive and less useful for certain types of books.
13 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 12
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 92%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 12 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 12 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Practical reading tips and tricks
“an excellent and practical introduction to reading these books”
Comment from 10 Dec 2025 in “Harvard Classics” “it was such a useful guide for me”
Comment from 10 Dec 2025 in “How to Read a Book” “taught me a lot of tricks”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Judge a book by its first pages” Favorite classic everyone should read
“His How to read a book was an attempt at filling in the gap. It's one of my favorite books.”
Comment from 12 Jul 2026 in “I Learned to Read Again” “I strongly urge you to read How to Read a Book (by Adler & Doren)”
Comment from 28 Aug 2026 in “Ask HN: If I am 16 what should I learn? Which books should read?” “a classic that everyone should read”
Comment from 3 Aug 2026 in “Note-Taking and Personal Knowledge Management” Works well for nonfiction
“I use Mortimer's system for non-fiction works, which is where it makes the most sense.”
Comment from 19 Jul 2026 in “Judge a book by its first pages” “Mortimer Adler's How to Read a Book addresses most of the first three questions”
Comment from 12 Jul 2026 in “How to Read More Books”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Not useful for every book type
“in practice ... it's not very useful for the types of book I read”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Judge a book by its first pages” Repetitive and too long
“it is quite repetitive and filled with unnecessary volume”
Comment from 12 Jul 2026 in “I Learned to Read Again”
Other education books people recommend
The three most recommended other education books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| How to Read a Bookby Mortimer AdlerThis page | 12 | 1 | 92% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Mindstormsby Seymour Papert | 7 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Make It Stickby Brown, Roediger and McDaniel | 2 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| The Underground History of American Educationby John Taylor Gatto | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 14 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“you’ll end up with a good chunk of a liberal arts education”
“I strongly urge you to read How to Read a Book (by Adler & Doren)”
“a classic that everyone should read”
“I kinda felt it was overrated at the time”
“I use Mortimer's system for non-fiction works, which is where it makes the most sense.”
“in practice ... it's not very useful for the types of book I read”
“taught me a lot of tricks”
“I always follow the rule in the book "How to Read a Book"”
“The nice thing about spending more time with HTRAB is it forces you to think about reading.”
“it is quite repetitive and filled with unnecessary volume”
“His How to read a book was an attempt at filling in the gap. It's one of my favorite books.”
“Mortimer Adler's How to Read a Book addresses most of the first three questions”
“it was such a useful guide for me”
“an excellent and practical introduction to reading these books”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.