More on getting the most out of reading by
Your ransacking may uncover a new idea or some fresh thinking on a familiar idea. You want to explore that further without reading the rest of the book. The answer is browsing.
Browsing is dipping into certain portions of a book to study in detail some discussion of a topic in its contextual treatment.
Detailed reading of an extended portion of a book is what is meant by browsing. A section of a chapter or an entire chapter on a special topic of interest would be the object of browsing. Often you will discover browsing material when ransacking for a new idea. Browsing is a must with unfamiliar material since you can’t compare it.
After browsing, you should be able to answer the evaluative type questions on the section you just read: what did the author say, how well did he/she say it, what was left unsaid, how does this compare with something else, how useful is it ... etc.
The danger, of course, is that you are taking this section out of context. You don't want to misperceive the author's intent. The defense against this is a good scanning and ransacking of the book (which you should have done by the time you reached browsing). However, you may decide that you need to pre-read the book to make sure. Pre-reading is a fast read through specifically designed to uncover the theme and structure of the argument the author is making. (pre-reading will be discussed in the next post).
The preface, introduction and conclusion of a book are natural places to browse and read word by word. Sometimes your browsing can require to go do further closed ransacking to totally get the idea.
For example, Clinton writes,
"In beginning to browse the Conclusion section in the first paragraph, one sentence used the phrase “essential qualities of religious leadership.” Since it was obvious that her conclusions would use this, I was forced to ransack the introductory chapter to understand the concepts behind the phrase. I ransacked that chapter and noted her theoretical basis for assessing leadership."
His browse of the Conclusion spawned a closed ransack of the introductory chapter so he could see the author unpack a specific phrase.
As you can see, Reading On The Run is fluid and organic. You mix and match as needed. The goal is to get to the good stuff quickly.
Like the other assessment styles of reading, browsing ends with a write up and a decision to go deeper into the continuum ( pre-read, read, study ). I will provide examples of my browse reading and a helpful outline sheet to fill out later in the series.
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