Michael Graves said: "I always take three readings. I meter for the lowest value where I want detail and place that on Zone II and then meter on the highest value that I want detail and calculate an estimated development factor. Then I try to find a place in the scene that I think SHOULD fall on Zone V and see what the meter thinks it will be. I don't do anything with that reading. Am I doing something wrong?"

Michael - Putting the darkest important area in which you want detail on Zone II would usually lead to underexposed negatives unless the darkest area wasn't very dark. The usual zone system recommendation is to put that type area on Zone III but many people find even that leads to underexposed negatives so they put it on Zone IV (which is what I usually do). If that leads to the brightest important highlight being too bright then use minus development. If you've been gettting a lot of negatives that look too dense or even normal by placing the darkest important shadow on Zone II then there's something wrong somewhere ("wrong" in the sense that you shouldn't be getting many of those kinds of negatives with that shadow placement, assuming more or less typical scenes).

Taking your Zone V reading is fine as long as you don't base your exposure or development time on that reading (unless, of course, the only areas in the scene that you care about are all on Zone V, which would be unusual). Normally the only areas over which the zone system gives you control are the darkest important shadow (on which you base your exposure) and the brightest important highlight (on which you base your development time). Everything in between falls where it falls once you've established those two things.

I've used words like "usual" and "normal" here because the zone system isn't a rigid set of rules, it's actually very flexible and leaves a lot of room for creativity and personal refinements, but always with the goal of obtaining a negative that will allow you to make the print you want to make with the least possible effort.