grammar doubt in parallel structure - which sentence is corr

[samarpan.bschool]

One way to know about Chicago is to read through a tourist guide.

One way to know about Chicago is reading through a tourist guide.

Which one is parallel?

My understanding: 'is' an auxiliary verb introduces parallelism before and after its position. Here 'one way' is a noun and hence 'reading', a gerund (noun), should be correct.

Is my understanding correct?

Thanks in advance!

[RonPurewal]

it's pretty clear that this question is motivated by some problem, somewhere. if you cite that problem (or just give the problem number, if it's from OG), that would be helpful.

--

this is mostly an issue of idiom, not grammar; "a way is"/"one way is"/"the best way is"/etc. is normally followed by an infinitive.

here are some random sentences in OG12 with this construction (not necessarily from the SC section):
One way to judge the performance of a company is to compare it with other companies. (p625)
One way to approach this question is to ask yourself ... (p647)
One way to create this parallelism is to phrase both contributing causes as noun clauses ... (p726)
One way to solve for the two unknowns is to express... (p122)

you get the point.

on the other hand, this is not a particularly simple issue; for instance, the -ING becomes the preferred form if it is placed *before* "a way"/"one way"/"the best way"/etc.

so, for instance,
the best way to learn written language is to read and write on a regular basis
is preferred to
the best way to learn written language is reading and writing on a regular basis

BUT
reading and writing on a regular basis is the best way to learn a written language
is preferred to
to read and write on a regular basis is the best way to learn a written language

the english language is weird.

i very seriously doubt that this difference will ever be the deciding factor in a SC problem -- so, again, please give the problem that created this issue in the first place. thanks.