Book reflections

A book reflection holds your answers to Mortimer J. Adler’s four analytical-reading questions about a book. Each book has one reflection, and each answer in it is a note.

The four questions

Open a book’s Reflection tab to answer them.

1. What is the book about? State what the whole book is about in a single sentence. Then outline its major parts, and name the problems the author set out to solve.
2. What does it say in detail? The author’s key terms, most important propositions, and the arguments behind them.
3. Do I agree? Judge the book. Is the author uninformed, misinformed, or illogical? If none of those apply, Adler says you must agree.
4. So what? If the book is true, what follows? What will you do or think differently, and how does it connect with other books you have read?

When you answer a question, the note editor opens with the question as the title and its guidance shown. The saved answer shows on the tab, with an edit button.

Reflection notes

Each answer in a reflection is a reflection note.

The second question also lists the term and concept notes you wrote while reading. You can link existing notes to the reflection or write a new one from there.

Reading stages

A reading stage shows how far you are with a book. You set it yourself in the book’s header. Crossbill does not change it based on your reading activity.

• To read
• Skimming
• Reading
• Finished
• Reflected

A sixth stage, Did not finish, is for books you stopped reading.

The Reflection tab suggests a next step based on the stage:

• Skimming: state what the book is about.
• Finished: answer “Do I agree?”.
• Reflected: revisit your answers when the book comes up again.

You can clear the stage at any time.