How do I read? Let me count the ways...

Most of the reading that I prefer is for leisure. So when I read, I read my mysteries or other non-fiction pieces to in a sense "escape" from reality. Normally I don't try and figure out who the "killer" is, but I'm caught right up in the middle of the mystery with the characters. In my mind, I guess I sort of become one of the characters. The thought may cross my mind like, "I wonder who this mystery person is" but it is not with the passion of "I want to find out!" When I am reading a mystery, I'm not actually being Nancy Drew and putting the clues together myself, but rather watching her find the missing pieces and linking them altogether. During this class, I am really wanting to work hard to be a more active reader and actually ENGAGE in the reading. One of the thoughts that I liked while reading this section was that, "you become engaged in a conversation with the author." Everyone can have a conversation! This is a way to think of "how to read." I have never thought of having a "conversation" with the author. Trying to see their perspective, or foreshadowing the coming events or even making up your own ending of what you thought could be better. It would actually be fun to speak with an author about their book and ask them the questions that you have about a certain part, or ask them how they came up with that scenario. It would be a cool experience.
One of the biggest struggles I have when it comes to learning "how to read" is asking questions, especially about parts that I don't completely understand. Maybe because I don't read carefully enough I am not gleaning as much information out of the text as someone else would. As the book says, if I read carefully and pay attention then I can "come to a fuller understanding of a literary work" even if I may not be familiar with the work. It will take time, but it will be worth it so that I can understand literature better.
When it comes to reading texts for a certain class, I do pay more attention and try to glean information out of them, but maybe I am not always asking the "right" questions to get the answers that I am looking for. Another problem would be that careful reading takes time and effort into thinking, and usually the author's thoughts are outside my box of thinking. Yet, maybe reading the biographies of authors will give me a clue as to where their thinking is at.
Reading through the annotations of Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" helped me notice things that I would have possibly missed if I hadn't reread them and read the annotation alongside it. Maybe the first time you read for content, but the second and third time is to look beyond the words and see meaning, ask questions and find connections. Learning "how to read" well is going to be a challenge for me, but with all these tips, I know that it will become easier as I practice more and more.
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Annisa McElhenny

Thinking back, what I remember of literature as a child would mostly be my dad reading bedtime stories to my siblings and I when we were little. We had a book that was full different five minute bedtime stories that were just the right length for us kids. One of my favorites was called "Bridget's New Look." It was about this little girl going to the beauty salon to get a new "look" for an occasion. I guess that I have always been fascinated with hair and hairstyles, so the story always captivated me. I always wanted my dad to read it to us, but we has to pick different stories every once in a while. Growing up I have always enjoyed reading, mostly mysteries, such as the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series. I could not put those books down! Mostly fictional pieces of literature have been more abundant in my life. Some of my favorites include books from Frank Perreti. Although I do enjoy a good mystery or classic novel, I would have to say that the Bible is the most significant text that I have read. I have been reading it for many many years, and it never gets old. Even the stories that I have read multiple times still have new meanings and new perspectives when I meditate on them and put myself in the character's shoes. I think that digging deeper and "becoming aware, attentive, active and transformed" is one of the purposes behind what authors write. They want others to really take time to meditate, and maybe slip into their shoes and think about about maybe the author was thinking as they wrote their piece. Literature is definitely a part of life. Whether we realize it or not, literature is all around us, waiting to be analyzed, appreciated and thought about. I personally struggle a lot with "doing" something with literature. I never really thought about literature as something active, but there is much more than meets the eye. It takes time to think and relate to the piece, and have a better understanding of why things were done a certain way. I definitely need to work on "how to read to get the most out of [my] reading" so that I can be more aware in personally involved in all the literature that surrounds me everyday.

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