 | | |
| How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines | 
 enlarge | Author: Thomas C. Foster
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy New: $4.50
You Save: $9.45 (68%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $4.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  (64 reviews)
Sales Rank: 5083
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 006000942X
Dewey Decimal Number: 808
EAN: 9780060009427
ASIN: 006000942X
Publication Date: March 1, 2003
Release Date: February 18, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
 It may ruin literature for you unless you can both appreciate your opinion and the authors. August 10, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Most people I encounter, after reading this book, complain that it is pushing a single opinion about the meaning of a story. That's not the case. While it does convey the language that people use to communicate, since that is what literature is supposed to do, it still does recognize that everyone will hear a story differently, due to the intertextuality it even mentions. This is an excellent book to have people "join the conversation" instead of being trapped in their own interpretation which may not be shared with anyone.
makes you look at the novels you read in a different way August 2, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
How to Read Literature Like a Professor explains some of the devices used by authors to express themselves. The author covers many aspects of the novel such as the quest and the frequent appearance of references to previous authors such as Shakespeare. The author's approach is flexible, he explains that, for example the weather, can have many uses as a device rather than just one. Rather than tell you precisely what to think about a use of a literary device in a novel, the author encourages you to think about them for yourself. After reading this book you will pay more attention to what is going on in a novel so I recommend this book for those people looking for a comparatively easy way to deepen one's appreciation of literature.
 Like a professor? Hardly... August 2, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book provided a handful of interesting things for me to consider (and a small list of interesting titles to check out later). However, as a literature major, the whole endeavor seemed a bit too elementary to be worth reading. The title should have been something akin to "How to Read Literature in Such a Way So as to Pass AP English Lit." Most of the concepts Foster discusses may be easily grasped through one critical read of a novel in a high school senior literature class.
The most enjoyable part of the book was the "case study" of "The Garden Party" by Mansfield; unfortunately for Foster, I simply mean Mansfield's short story. The story was fantastic, but it was quite easy to analyze the story and come to nearly as many supposedly "profound" conclusions as the author. In fact, I am only keeping this book for that story.
I would recommend this book to high school juniors and seniors (or even college students outside the English major). However, I would NOT recommend this book to a well-read individual, nor do I desire to read Foster's other book any longer.
Great for Anyone Interested in Literature July 30, 2008
It's an interesting, funny, and informative book that can give you ideas of how to interpret the literature you're reading, and even give you more ideas of what to read next. It's entertaining, and you learn more than you even realize until the next time you read a difficult novel.
Want an A in English class?? July 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
My high school AP English teacher recommended this to our class. A lot of other people have addressed how great this book is for appreciating literature so I'll talk about another great aspect of it.
This literally should be every students bible for getting A's in English classes. I never understood how to break that B+ barrier on writing essays for english classes and then I read this and was enlightened. No matter if you are interested in sincerely analyzing literature or straight up b.s.ing your next english teacher this book is the key. Not only did I find success with it but I passed it on to my brother who is not the best student but after reading 50 pages found himself with an A in English every quarter.
In sum, this is it for understanding the minds of professors/teachers. Its pretty amazing how most students and adults don't know how to fully appreciate literature, or at least understand why great literature is what it is.
If you are preparing for the AP test or have always struggled with writing essays on interpretations of literature, this is the key, I promise.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| | |