Talk About It! discussion
How do you approach reading???
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It depends on what I'm reading. I never just drift through a book though, my brain always picks up on minor details and analyses and evaluates. I do have some books I drift through more than others though like graphic novels. My books that I have to study for academic reasons are ones which I pay close attention to and remember quotes from. I often make notes for those books but for others I just remember things. I have a pretty great memory.
I prefer the simple joy of losing myself in a book, letting the prose carry me. I mean, sure, I pay attention to it - good prose is essential - but I don't stop to analyze and study the thing. I've done enough of that when I was in school.
Jonathan wrote: "It depends on what I'm reading. I never just drift through a book though, my brain always picks up on minor details and analyses and evaluates. I do have some books I drift through more than others..."
Some of the denser books also require some closer reading for me, otherwise I don't understand a single thing the author says. Or any otherwise obscure and incomprehensible prose.
Some of the denser books also require some closer reading for me, otherwise I don't understand a single thing the author says. Or any otherwise obscure and incomprehensible prose.
I'm a slow reader naturally but I'm even slower since I try and think about what I'm reading as I go along and these days I rarely have sessions in which I read more than 30 pages at a time, unless it's something designed to grip your socks off like ASOIAF ... however, because I raced through the best books of that series I feel that I missed an awful lot.I don't really see the point in reading if you're not going to try and actively engage with a text and appreciate what the author is doing, and why they are doing it. Unfortunately that also takes mental energy I seem to be seriously lacking these days :(
Jocelyn wrote: "With chocolate."With chocolate and coffee. Like a mochachino. I love those.
I read rather quickly now, save when it comes to really thick texts that I need to slow down on. I can analyse and draw depth from a book at my usual speeds I find but I understand how that differs from person to person.
What do you guys particularly pay attention to while reading?
Jocelyn wrote: "What do you guys particularly pay attention to while reading?"Characters, ideologies, themes. Where possible I try and look at the underlying rather than the immediate surface tensions but they don't always stand out.
Same for the most part. As time goes on I've come to think that it's a bad idea to go with your gut instinct, it's better to look closer and base observations on that.
Alex wrote: "Unfortunately that also takes mental energy I seem to be seriously lacking these days :("
Yeah, it does takes a lot of effort. Currently trying to make engagement with the text a second nature habit...which seems like something that requires a lifetime to develop.
Yeah, it does takes a lot of effort. Currently trying to make engagement with the text a second nature habit...which seems like something that requires a lifetime to develop.
Jocelyn wrote: "What do you guys particularly pay attention to while reading?"It depends on the book but usually, personally I'm interested in thinking about the main themes of the book - what the book is saying to me and how it's going about saying it. I think it's a difference between sitting down with a book and saying "entertain me" or "give me characters I like" and sitting down and asking "why is the author writing what s/he is writing?". and "What is the author trying to say to me?"
I wouldn't say that I think majorly profound thoughts whilst I'm reading about the text or anything, I just try to read actively rather than passively
Jocelyn wrote: "Yeah, it does takes a lot of effort. Currently trying to make engagement with the text a second nature habit...which seems like something that requires a lifetime to develop. "You should probably start thinking about reading books about books, if you're not already doing so. You won't get a very good understanding purely by discussing things on goodreads (though discussing books 24/7 will definitely help you)
This sort of thing is ideal ...
http://www.amazon.com/Romeo-Juliet-Ca...
(obviously it depends what you are reading they do bunches of these on classic books ... not modern fantasy, of course)
and once you've read a decent amount then thinking about literature will become second nature to you, I can assure you.
Yeah, I think looking at what the author is trying to say is a good way to counter whatever preconceptions we've built up about what we think the author should be doing.
There's one thing usually have trouble with on that part, though--unintentional themes. I'm pretty sure Stephenie Meyer didn't set out to be sexist or insulting, for example. Is the failure a thoughtless presentation of a worldview or is it the way it influences its audience?
I'm pretty sure none of us produce majorly profound thoughts either. It takes enough focus just distancing oneself from a text.
There's one thing usually have trouble with on that part, though--unintentional themes. I'm pretty sure Stephenie Meyer didn't set out to be sexist or insulting, for example. Is the failure a thoughtless presentation of a worldview or is it the way it influences its audience?
I'm pretty sure none of us produce majorly profound thoughts either. It takes enough focus just distancing oneself from a text.
Alex wrote: "Jocelyn wrote: "Yeah, it does takes a lot of effort. Currently trying to make engagement with the text a second nature habit...which seems like something that requires a lifetime to develop. "
You..."
That'd be interesting to look into, thanks for sharing. Goodreads is more of a site for exchanging reading experiences and finding recommendations, so yes, it probably isn't enough.
You..."
That'd be interesting to look into, thanks for sharing. Goodreads is more of a site for exchanging reading experiences and finding recommendations, so yes, it probably isn't enough.
Anyone pay particular attention to introductions or prefaces?
Jocelyn wrote: "There's one thing usually have trouble with on that part, though--unintentional themes. I'm pretty sure Stephenie Meyer didn't set out to be sexist or insulting, for example. Is the failure a thoughtless presentation of a worldview or is it the way it influences its audience?"Ok, well, there's what the author is trying to say through his/her book and then there's what the author is saying because s/he is a product of her time and her culture. It's definitely an oversimplification to think of a book as something that is purely about the relationship between you and the author since in another sense the text is simply "the text". And it's worth bearing in mind that there are multiple different ways to read a text, I just might, personally, favour one way over another because of my own preferences and biases.
Most authors don't set out to write a work that is an anti-feminist expression of the patriarchy but they do it by default because of who they are, how they were raised, what society believes about men/women etc. The "types" in fiction that you often complain about as anti-feminist, exist because they are an easy way for people to understand and make sense of the world and the division of identities between men/women has been ingrained within our culture since the year dot. So on that level you can't understand a book without understanding other books, and you can't understand any of those without considering the cultural context quite deeply.
In the case of Meyer I actually think she "did" set out to be anti-feminist. That is, for her, women should be passive and demure. She does think it is the woman's role in life to honour and obey a stronger male protector and she's set out to show this situation through her writing and make it an attractive proposition to female readers. She's drawing on classic staples of women's romance fiction, too, so that makes it easier to read.
It's just, she of course doesn't see that as negative. It's her religion/culture.
Jocelyn wrote: "Anyone pay particular attention to introductions or prefaces?"Mainly as an afterthought really...
Speaking on books about books I recommend reading How Fiction Works.
Jocelyn wrote: "Anyone pay particular attention to introductions or prefaces? "In what way attention?
Like, giving them the same amount of attention as the rest of the book. I usually skip them and then skim over them as an after thought, like Jonathan.
Jocelyn wrote: "Like, giving them the same amount of attention as the rest of the book. I usually skip them and then skim over them as an after thought, like Jonathan."I guess it depends how interested I am in the book as a whole. Prefaces by the author tend to be pretty interesting so I'll generally read them, yes. Introdcutions usually give up some interesting contextual information, so yeah, I usually read them through too.
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I used to read a little more superficially, just let myself breeze through the thing but recently I've started to take a little more time, savor the text and try to read it in depth (and so I can have something to write about in the following review...) It's sort of exhausting, but it makes good books last longer and it's weirdly rewarding.