How does one get the most out of reading literature?

Question

Nabokov said that: "good readers are rereaders." How do you get the most out of literature? Do you read scholarly sources, take notes, look for other readers? Do you apply the works to your life? Do you take notes in the margin?

Answer 1

I am a rereader, and I do the same thing with books as I do with movies. Obviously, this is just my method, but it's the one that works the best for me.

The first time I watch a movie, I simply watch it and let it wash over me. I concentrate on following the story, and I let my emotions engage so that if the movie is sad, I feel the sadness, and if it is happy, I feel happy. I do the same thing with books. The first time I read it I just pay attention to the story. I engage with the characters, and just concentrate on following their journey throught the book.

I like to watch a movie a second time to look for technical filmmaking details. I look at the direction, the acting, the lighting, the costuming, the whole thing, but I look at it as a technical work. Again, I do the same thing with a book. I reread and I look at pacing, at character development, at how disparate plot lines are brought together. I look for little details I might have missed before, such as descriptive passages, or long conversations, or recurring themes. I look at it as a piece of prose, and I do some minor critical analysis.

The third time I watch a movie, I try to integrate what I have learned from my two previous viewings. How does the directors's use of color in this scene heighten the emotional impact? (As an example, the movie "Schindler's List" is mostly in black and white. There is a color section at the end, but what was of more interest to me was a hand-tinted section in the middle: a little Jewish girl in a pink coat. There are several scenes with her in them, and she is the only thing on the screen that is in color. I asked myself why Spielberg chose to highlight that little girl by giving her color, while the rest of the film was in black and white.) Again, I do the same thing on my third reading of a book. I ask myself questions about why the author chose to speed up or slow down the pacing in a certain section. I look at how the things a character says directly, in narration, differ from the things others in the book say about him or what we, as readers, know to be true. I ask myself questions, such as why did the author choose to reveal this detail here, as opposed to in another place. I try and look at the book as an integrated whole. I combine what I learned about the story and what I learned about the technical way in which the book was written to get at a better understanding of what the author is really trying to say.

Afterwards, I try to revisit the work periodically, either watching the movie again, or rereading the book. I do this because I have found that I am receptive to different things at different stages of my life. As an example, I read many of the "classics" (Dickens, Nabokov, Rand, Hardy, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, etc...) for the first time when I was a teenager. I hadn't developed my own personal method for reading then, so usually I reread them in college, which is where I developed my appreciation for the technical aspects of the writer's craft. Usually, if they were assigned for something in college, I reread them several times in a term. But I find that many books did not have their full impact for me until I read them as an adult. I usually saw the details, and understood the action, but the actual, deeper meaning was something I just wasn't able to grasp. And for me, often, each subsequent rereading shows me things I missed before.

If I am reading non-fiction, I often supplement it with other works, including scholarly sources, or original material such as diaries and memoirs, if they are available. When reading fiction, I sometimes do the same, but not always. Usually, if I do look more deeply into outside sources on fiction, I try to read what the author has said about the work, as many of them offer very interesting views on what they have tried to communicate in a book. I underline a lot, and I do take notes, but I usually put my notes elsewhere, rather than in the margins. I found out a long time ago that margin notes, for me at least, can be distracting if they are my own. I get stuck on that one interpretation, and it closes my mind to other thoughts that may occur to me later on. I also play the "What if" game with myself, which for me means "What if I had to write a paper about this, or give an oral presentation about it, or talk about it in a book group without sounding like an idiot?" I go back and give a lot of thought to the work in general, and to troublesome questions in particular. I turn them over and over in my mind until I come up with an answer that works for me.

I do enjoy discussing books with other readers, but I have often been frustrated with the discussions. Many people seem to focus exclusively on how a book made them feel, but they don't seem interested in going any deeper than that. I think that those feelings are perfectly valid, and an important part of the impact of a book, but it's very hard discussing a novel, say, "Lolita", when all the other person wants to talk about is that Humbert is creepy and made them feel uncomfortable. Surely there's more to it than just that!

I would also note briefly that not everything I come in contact with gets the full treatment. Some movies and books are, for lack of a better word, just fluff to me. I take them in once, and that's enough. It doesn't mean that there isn't more to them, just that I don't care to take a closer look and find out :)

Now please pass me that novel you're reading. I would like to read it too...

Answer 2

actually i do all of the above when i read. this is probably odd, but i really enjoy reading a proffessional analysis of what i have read- are there things that i missed? or is the critic off his rocker? taking notes in the margin is a habbit i got into when i was in college and i feel like it allows me to reply or better remember what is in the book. having a disucssion with other readers is the best. if a book is well written and poiniant i find it almost impossible not to apply it to my life

Answer 3

There are some excellent books woth studying. That you may be taught quite a bit. Learn bios from individuals who encourage you. I loved Winston Churchill bio. The way in which he explains how he lernt maths was once funny. There is quite a lot of potential in them. You can not receive the written knowledge in case you in no way see the publication.You emerge as wiser. The most shocking book I ever read was Auschwitz written by using a Jew who survived it. I simply read in an additional e-book that Hitler granddad was once a Jew. Fantastic! Hitler used to be sexually abused as a baby by using his dad and his hate closer to his dad resolted in killing so many Jews. When I used to be reading a ebook about Auscwitz I kept asking why he did that? Now i know. I love studying historical past books. I also liked the e-book concerning the satisfactory Russian ballet dancer who died from AIDS. Rudolf expaind what Tchaikovsky track ment to him simply before the IIWW. It's Iinteresting to return in time. I hearken to Tchaikowsky another way now. The books about Africa. I adored Waris Dirie barren region Rose. Merciless but authentic.

Answer 4

re-reading can be many things. the obvious choice is reading a line or paragraph until you understand it. the less likely- but often more useful is re-reading the same work in its entirety at a different time in your life. a piece can mean something completely different to you depending on when you read it.
all of your suggestions can help- but it depends on the work. some authors meant for their stories to be read aloud to an audience where others need to be deciphered in a notepad like code. some need to be unraveled overtime. some should be swallowed whole where others should be nibbled and savored.
more often than not the answer to a question is ALL rather than one OR the other.
hope this helps!

Answer 5

Since literature is meant to involve the readers as well as educate them, it is not necessary to take a test on them! Read for pleasure. If you read what you enjoy (or enjoy what you read), you will get the most out of reading literature. Books are meant to be devoured and enjoyed. They are not meant to be a punishment for trying to expand our horizons. When you can close a book after the last page, holding it to your chest with a satisfied feeling, you have gotten the most out of literature.

Answer 6

When ever you read you should have a dictionary with you to look up unfamiliar words.

On a sheet of paper write down what you predict will happen when the plot heightens. Also write down questions while you are reading.

What characters did you like? Can you relate to him/her. What are some characters that you disliked and why did you dislike them. If you don't like a certain book or piece of literature ask yourself why you didn't like it and why?

Answer 7

I say just enjoy it. The professionals usually say to look for symbols and literary items like forshadowing, but for the most part, I bet even Herman Melville wasn't trying to make a statement by making Moby Dick a white whale, he just wanted him to be easier to spot. So just sit back and don't treat a book like a safarri.

Answer 8

It depends most obviously on what you read. However I won't recommend anything...

I'll just say, read widely... read what you need to at every point in time.

Answer 9

my ELA teacher taught me that one needs to make connections to thier every day life to understand the text better.

Answer 10

Read it over & over again..until u no it by heart... absorb each word... understand its meaning..... teach lit.... talk lit... live lit..