First, the most superficial reading or thinking is like reading math equations, many textbook descriptions, phone book pages, stock tickers, most weather reports, etc.
You read it, you might memorize it, you might use the information, but you really do not think too much about the information and it does not create any emotional or personal angst or issue. Neither does it generate any intellectual a-haa! or intellectual reaction.
Second, you might read something (or hear or see something) and it creates a response.
You like it, you hate it, you find it amusing, you find it interesting, your heart rate increases, etc. But, you read on. You really do not think too much about what has just happened - it is a gut reaction. 'I do not like it'. 'I like it'. 'I think it is stupid'. This is typical of reading pulp fiction or light novels for easy reading while on vacation or vegging. It might even be the way that you read textbooks and course material (not recommended though).
Third, you read or experience something that creates an emotional or intellectual response, but you start reflecting and enquire as to why it registered such a response.
Why did you find it funny? Why did you find it annoying? This is the start of a higher level of comprehension, thinking, and cognitive skill. You are aware of the response and start to think about causal relationships - that made me laugh, why? This level can be superficial or a bit deeper. For example, I know I laughed because the author used a funny example. I know it was ‘funny’ and that is why I laughed. That is a superficial level of analysis. Why do you find it funny? Is it a cultural bias? Is it a slapstick example of humour with a face plant into a wall? If you laugh at something, why?
Fourth, you register the response, are aware of what might have made you respond, and you also think about the intent of the author.
Was the response planned? Was it a conscious and planned structure that created the response? The author used clever puns or clever wording or certain circumstances, or the author accidentally created a situation that is funny when other information is known.
Fifth, if it was a conscious effort by the author, why?
Why did the author want us to feel or react this way at this point in time, and the reaction caused by this type of mechanism? Why did the author choose the method to elicit this specific response? Why this response? Why not a different method? Why not a different response? Why any response? Why? The response might be emotional or it might be an intellectual point of enlightenment - this is the deeper a-haa! point. But be careful and do not try to read more into it than is there. The author might not have been thinking deeper. Like some paintings - blue was chosen because the paint can was closest, open, looked nice - it did not mean anything else.