{"id":209,"date":"2005-07-27T20:34:31","date_gmt":"2005-07-27T20:34:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eclectic-bibliophile.com\/blog\/?p=209"},"modified":"2010-05-08T20:34:56","modified_gmt":"2010-05-08T20:34:56","slug":"does-analytical-reading-reduce-the-mystery-and-enjoyment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/eclectic-bibliophile.com\/blog\/does-analytical-reading-reduce-the-mystery-and-enjoyment\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Analytical Reading Reduce the Mystery and Enjoyment?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In response to my recommendation of How to Read a Book<\/em>, Maureen commented:<\/p>\n

Just wondering, don’t you find that these analytical approaches take away some of the wonderful mystery and enjoyment? Or does approaching certain books in certain ways add to your enjoyment of the book? I guess I just like to fall into them and let them work their magic on me!<\/em><\/p>\n

Maureen, that’s a fantastic question!<\/p>\n

My statement about getting more out of “every book you read” was probably a little misleading.<\/p>\n

I don’t apply this approach to every<\/span> book I read, and it probably works best for nonfiction books from which you truly want to learn as much as possible.\u00a0 (And, as I said, it’s time for me to reread How to Read a Book<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

I certainly don’t apply it when I’m reading fiction for pleasure as a “tired man” (see http:\/\/www.homeschoolblogger.com\/EclecticBibliophile\/8395\/<\/a> for motivations for reading as an “eager man” or a “tired man”).\u00a0 When I want to “fall into” books and “let them work their magic on me” (I love that description!) I just charge right ahead.<\/p>\n

However, if you are reading a literary classic for pleasure, you can greatly increase your enjoyment by reading it more analytically, perhaps the second time through, to explore the author’s style, structural design, and literary craftsmanship.\u00a0This can\u00a0actually increase the “magic” it works on you.<\/p>\n

How to Read a Book<\/em> does have a section on applying the approach to “imaginative literature” that may be helpful.<\/p>\n

Thanks for your comments!<\/p>\n

Mary Jo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In response to my recommendation of How to Read a Book, Maureen commented: Just wondering, don’t you find that these analytical approaches take away some of the wonderful mystery and enjoyment? Or does approaching certain books in certain ways add to your enjoyment of the book? I guess I just like to fall into them … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/eclectic-bibliophile.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/eclectic-bibliophile.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/eclectic-bibliophile.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eclectic-bibliophile.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eclectic-bibliophile.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/eclectic-bibliophile.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/eclectic-bibliophile.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eclectic-bibliophile.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eclectic-bibliophile.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}