Scan barcode
horrorclassics's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
abby27's review
2.0
This rating may have been affected by the awful professor who urged me to read this book, but I stand by it. According to this book, everything is a biblical allusion, and your media literacy is thus subpar if you're not familiar with the Bible. Every tower, train, or rectangular prism in literature must be phallic symbolism bolstering the patriarchy. This is obviously a bit of an exaggeration, but goodness gracious this book annoyed me.
_cherry_'s review
challenging
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
I just got really bored and needed an audiobook version of this to get through it.
hinesight's review
4.0
I loved this book: it told me what I wanted to know about things that interest me. The reading list at the back is a lovely bonus.
riya_mishra's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
Brilliant book ,very insightful and full of things you can learn. It teaches you how to analyse literature by discussing symbols and codes by which literature governs. However it only scratches the surface of the codes by which literature governs and can be read. It would be better if he Included some methods he used to arrive at the reading. Like how you should ask yourself questions while reading a book. Otherwise the book is good.
libraryzen's review
2.0
Only useful for the 20 and under audience. If you have ever read How to Read a Book by Adler then you know all you need to read books.
The more non-fiction I read the more I realize that if it isn’t a how-to manual (gardening, home repair etc) or something required for one’s career then it’s really useless fodder. This book fits the self-help category for those who want believe they are smarter than others for interpereting the “deeper meaning” of a story. Yet the book points out obvious things anyone who has been half paying attention in life already knows. If it was assigned for a class then you may be young enough to find this book useful due to the lack of life and reading experience.
We all know that critical thinking skills are necessary in life which is why these interpretations are pointed out to school children, as adults don’t need them, but why ruin a good story by over analyzing it? Did the author stop to think that maybe the writer being discussed didn’t even have multiple deeper meanings buried in the text only to be truly understood by the chosen thinkers? Maybe they said it was spring because it was spring and that’s it. People read literature for the story and how it makes them feel period. This is why I hate book clubs. Just read the darn book and enjoy, stop analyzing it to death!
So to end with a quote from the book:
Freud: “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”
Ayn Rand can also be quoted: “A novel (like a statue or symphony) does not require or tolerate an explanatory preface; it is a self-contained universe, aloof from commentary, beckoning the reader to enter, perceive, respond.”
The more non-fiction I read the more I realize that if it isn’t a how-to manual (gardening, home repair etc) or something required for one’s career then it’s really useless fodder. This book fits the self-help category for those who want believe they are smarter than others for interpereting the “deeper meaning” of a story. Yet the book points out obvious things anyone who has been half paying attention in life already knows. If it was assigned for a class then you may be young enough to find this book useful due to the lack of life and reading experience.
We all know that critical thinking skills are necessary in life which is why these interpretations are pointed out to school children, as adults don’t need them, but why ruin a good story by over analyzing it? Did the author stop to think that maybe the writer being discussed didn’t even have multiple deeper meanings buried in the text only to be truly understood by the chosen thinkers? Maybe they said it was spring because it was spring and that’s it. People read literature for the story and how it makes them feel period. This is why I hate book clubs. Just read the darn book and enjoy, stop analyzing it to death!
So to end with a quote from the book:
Freud: “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”
Ayn Rand can also be quoted: “A novel (like a statue or symphony) does not require or tolerate an explanatory preface; it is a self-contained universe, aloof from commentary, beckoning the reader to enter, perceive, respond.”
ericanh's review
2.0
I don't really know what else to say about this book other than it was "okay". I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting, but the whole book is pretty much like having a conversation about literature with your teacher. Which, perhaps, is what the author had in mind. I did find many aspects of this book helpful, however, I did feel as if many of the topics discussed were obvious (by obvious I mean you probably already learned these things in high school English class). I don't know if I would recommend it or not, however, I'm sure that there is somebody out there that would absolutely adore this book.
karuzelanakoparce's review against another edition
2.0
Kupiona w Nowym Jorku, jeździła ze mną tydzień w Albanii na końskim grzbiecie. Czy było warto? Jeśli w ten sposób czytają książki akademiccy profesorowie, to chyba lepiej, żeby przebranżowili się na albańskich pasterzy kóz. Nie polecam.
willbefunorelse's review
4.0
For the full review (including a digression into Indiana Jones as literature), follow the link to That's What She Read.