For the most part, I agreed with the article; the content made sense to me (the steps were logical). However, I am no expert on the subject. As much as I would like to be, I do not consider myself well read. The problem is not that I do not like reading - I just do not have enough time to finish two novels every week (whether or not I am on "vacation").
I have seen a few others disagree with the following piece of advice, and I must say I do too. Under "Part 3 of 3: Making Reading More Fun," the third suggestion is "Listen to Audio Books" and the fourth suggestion is "Get a Kindle." For me, without a tangible book (with tangible pages), the experience is too different. I like holding a book, turning the pages, placing it on and taking it off my shelf. I need to visually see the printed words and not-completely-white pages, and hear the pages crinkling. Audio books and Kindles just do not work for me.
Though I agreed with the article on many aspects, I think the author may have missed a few things:
I was also surprised by some of the advice; after some reflection, in a way, it almost seems as if parts of the article were advertisements. Advice such as "[starting] a Goodreads account" and "[becoming] an Amazon top reviewer" may have been suggested out of good intentions, but it almost seemed as if it was a more discreet "sign up today, and you will become more well-read!" move. I think it's just me though.
As for what I already do, I "Hang out with other well-read people," "Read the classics from 1914-1995," and occasionally "Read poetry." I would like to do more of a bit of everything else, in particular, "Read the classics before 1600," "Blaze through top 100 lists," and "Read popular fiction and non-fiction." I also learned a few new things I would like to try, including "[Setting] goals," "[Starting] or [joining] a book club," and "[Listening] to podcasts."
Finally, what makes a good book good to me? It does not have to be a classic, nor does it need to be an award winner. We discussed this topic in class today, and among the answers, a couple of them resonated with me. To me, the book must be relatable (the characters, plot, or subject...just something to make me think it relates in some way to my life), thought-provoking, attention-grabbing, and world-changing. I need to be impacted by the book in some way, and I must want more.
Thanks for tuning in!
I have seen a few others disagree with the following piece of advice, and I must say I do too. Under "Part 3 of 3: Making Reading More Fun," the third suggestion is "Listen to Audio Books" and the fourth suggestion is "Get a Kindle." For me, without a tangible book (with tangible pages), the experience is too different. I like holding a book, turning the pages, placing it on and taking it off my shelf. I need to visually see the printed words and not-completely-white pages, and hear the pages crinkling. Audio books and Kindles just do not work for me.
Though I agreed with the article on many aspects, I think the author may have missed a few things:
- Comprehension: To me, being well-read does not just mean reading a variety of genres, but it also means comprehension and learning how to read, think, and write properly. I know that the author does mention understanding what is being read, but I do not think the point is highlighted enough. Furthermore, the author did not really include how to learn and comprehend how to read, think, and write properly while reading.
- Other useful links: To me, reading some of the classics and plays (especially Shakespeare) were problems. I could not understand some of the words and phrases, as these words and phrases were no longer used in everyday, modern English. Thus, I believe providing links (such as "No Fear Shakespeare") that would help readers with this potential problem would be incredibly useful. On a side note, I realize that the author did include Sparknotes and Wikipedia as useful sites, but she only listed them as useful sites to read book summaries (which would also help with the language problem, I suppose).
- Graphic novels: I know the author did not include every genre, but I would like to see graphic novels included as well. I understand that it might not be as classy as poetry, classics, and plays, but I still think there are lessons to be learned (in the way readers can learn how to read, think, and write) in graphic novels. Furthermore, she included children's books, so why not include graphic novels as well?
- Non-fiction examples: Most of the other steps had examples. For instance, for poetry, the author suggested "The Poetry of Robert Frost by Robert Frost." As a result, it seemed a little inconsistent when all the examples above non-fiction had a plethora of examples, while non-fiction just had "different types of non-fiction."
- Blogs: Sharing thoughts seemed to be quite important, as she suggested writing reviews and joining book clubs. So perhaps she could have included writing blogs as well? Blogs are the perfect way to get ideas out into the world. After all, that is what we are doing!
I was also surprised by some of the advice; after some reflection, in a way, it almost seems as if parts of the article were advertisements. Advice such as "[starting] a Goodreads account" and "[becoming] an Amazon top reviewer" may have been suggested out of good intentions, but it almost seemed as if it was a more discreet "sign up today, and you will become more well-read!" move. I think it's just me though.
As for what I already do, I "Hang out with other well-read people," "Read the classics from 1914-1995," and occasionally "Read poetry." I would like to do more of a bit of everything else, in particular, "Read the classics before 1600," "Blaze through top 100 lists," and "Read popular fiction and non-fiction." I also learned a few new things I would like to try, including "[Setting] goals," "[Starting] or [joining] a book club," and "[Listening] to podcasts."
Finally, what makes a good book good to me? It does not have to be a classic, nor does it need to be an award winner. We discussed this topic in class today, and among the answers, a couple of them resonated with me. To me, the book must be relatable (the characters, plot, or subject...just something to make me think it relates in some way to my life), thought-provoking, attention-grabbing, and world-changing. I need to be impacted by the book in some way, and I must want more.
Thanks for tuning in!