Scan barcode
A review by laurennbrackbill
How to Read Literature Like a Professor Revised Edition: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas C. Foster
4.75
Honestly, I learned so much from this book. I am an English teacher, and I felt like an idiot reading it sometimes. I would think to myself, "how have I never realized that?" Now, I was only an English minor, not a major, so that is how I make myself feel better. I digress.
I really think this book makes literature seem more accessible to students or anyone that want to read deeply for their own purposes. I was always thinking of books, poems, movies, or songs that I could apply his ideas to, and I would write them down in the margins so I could go back and read, watch, or listen with a new "lens". I learned a lot about books I had already read and was planning on teaching, which was very helpful. I also have added many books to my wish list that he mentioned (I have a book addiction, it's a problem).
The only thing that made me give this book less than a 5.0 is that I sometimes felt that the same novels/poems/authors were used repeatedly as examples throughout the book. It wasn't bad, but sometimes it made me want to skip over the portion because I felt I had learned about that book multiple times, and I was over it.
I really think this book makes literature seem more accessible to students or anyone that want to read deeply for their own purposes. I was always thinking of books, poems, movies, or songs that I could apply his ideas to, and I would write them down in the margins so I could go back and read, watch, or listen with a new "lens". I learned a lot about books I had already read and was planning on teaching, which was very helpful. I also have added many books to my wish list that he mentioned (I have a book addiction, it's a problem).
The only thing that made me give this book less than a 5.0 is that I sometimes felt that the same novels/poems/authors were used repeatedly as examples throughout the book. It wasn't bad, but sometimes it made me want to skip over the portion because I felt I had learned about that book multiple times, and I was over it.
Minor: Sexual content
The writer is not inappropriate, but the reality is sexual themes are in books, and he addresses that. So, if that makes you feel uncomfortable, perhaps you skip over the two chapters that focus on it. Still worth reading. Foster addresses it all professionally, in my opinion.