WEM vs HTRAB

[Kristie in Florida]

Well Educated Mind vs How to Read A Book

 

I have both. Which one do you prefer and why? I haven't read Adler yet because it seems daunting.

 

I would be using it for self study now and my daughter would use it later. I know that Ambleside recommends Adler for their year 7 and so do other curriculums.

[midorifamily]

I used to have both, and I prefer (and kept) WEM.  For self study, I think WEM is far more user-friendly and just plain good reading.  If you liked Susan's humor in the little footnotes in "The History of the Ancient World", you'd like WEM.  I love it that WEM gives me an excellent array of questions for each genre and level.  Not only do they serve as great conversation starters, but I can also choose the type of questions according to the student's level of comprehension.  (One cannot always reach the rhetoric level of understanding of every single book…)  When one of the questions sparks interesting responses or observations, I ask my student to write a short essay on them.  HTRAB might be good as a reference, but certainly not as a tool for self-study.

 

As with any how-to book we tweaked it after going through one book her way, so I feel like a cheater for saying this, but it is a gem!  You might want to do a search and find what Nan in Mass did with it.  Her posts are inspirational, and will give you a clearer idea as to what WEM can offer.

 

HTH,

 

Midori

[GoVanGogh]

I have WEM pulled off bookshelf to read through again, as it has been years since I read. :huh:

I just read How to Read a Book for the third time and was reminded why I hate it. (Prior, I had read it in college and read again when we started homescholing.) I find it too wordy and very dry. I tried to find sections to mark for my child to read, but knew he would never slog through. I asked an AO friend about it, knowing both of her children had read. She said they both hated it and didn't understand why she made them read it.

[nansk]

... for dd I am having her do HTRAB simply because there was a workbook available that went with the History Odyssey schedule....

Do you mean How To Read HTRAB?

[8filltheheart]

I read HtRaB aloud with my kids. We stop and discuss the main points as we go along. I have found it helpful for getting them to really consider all aspects of books and how to use them. I would never just hand it to them, though. 5 pgs at a time is plenty.

 

I really like his simple essay on how to mark a book and I do ask my kids to implement those methods.

 

ETA link http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/adler.html

Edited March 16, 2016 by 8FillTheHeart

[Meriwether]

I am currently reading both. HTRAB puts me to sleep. I usually read about 100 pages/hour. It is taking me 2-3 minutes/page for this one. 8FillTheHeart, I told Dh that I would assign it five pages at a time or read it aloud. Maybe I'll do both.

 

I cannot give a recommendation since I haven't finished either one, but I do enjoy WEM more so far.