reading critically

you read more. all those "how to read" books just outline what regular readers pick up through practice.

All you actually need to do is stop and think for a second while reading.
All that book will do is give questions to ask yourself while reading and some tips on general symbolism that won't work for hard literature, I guarantee you.

>>9354336
>>9354338
If it really is just a matter of "stopping and thinking" then what are literature graduates being taught? Is there not some sort of theoretical framework that allows you to analyse books in greater depth?

>>9354348
They're just wasting time there tbqhwyf.
If you really want to go beyond stopping and thinking you can get some stupid ideology like structuralism or whatever and roll with it, but it won't change much.

>>9354321
Start with an ideology and consciously view each work you read as exegesis and/or criticism of it. Allow your views to evolve through this process and ultimately transcend the ideology.

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835KB, 1183x1200px

>>9354371
What exactly is your process when reading a book? This question goes out to anyone else reading this also.

Do you all read criticism of something like Shakespeare before or after a play?
If I read before then parts of the play are spoiled but I have a better understanding while reading.
But if I read after I will miss a lot while reading, and will probably realistic lay not retread to get everything.

>>9354636
>realistic lay
how the fuck do you even manage to make that typo

>>9354388
I actually did this unconsciously but with political and social criticism as well. By being in turn a Marxist and then transcending it through its own dialectic I have reached a power level beyond most people

>>9354321
Read criticism and theory. Work out an ethos of criticism that works for you. Practice close readings of individual chapters/poems. Read carefully. Take notes. Write reviews.

>I've published a few reviews of novels and a collection of poetry

>>9354849
>Read criticism and theory
do you have any advice where to get started with this sort of thing? Are there websites containing various criticisms I can download? What sort of theory am I supposed to be reading?

>>9354879
Well, criticism and theory are really just things that should inform the way you read, if that makes any sense. There's no set theory that you're supposed to be reading, it's just that reading theorists can make you a better, more engaged reader. Just look look into getting a secondary introductory text (the only one that I can think of off hand is Terry Eagleton's Literary Theory: An Introduction) that will help you understand how theory relates to the reading of texts, and how it can be used as a tool to help you become a better a critic. From there, you can look into various schools of criticism that interest you and particular theorists and their work, or just get something general like the Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism.

This is all, of course, only useful if you want to write serious book reviews & analyses that you're interested in submitting to Journals and such.

However, I should probably back up and say that when you're first learning how to be an active, serious reader, the first thing you're probably going to want to do is just start gradually reading more challenging literature, which can be done using some of the charts and stuff you can get off lit. Once you understand what literatures you're interested in, you'll naturally start to learn to read them better. Annotate. Take notes. Write out your thoughts and responses even outside of formal reviews. Make it a habit while reading. Start out this way, then move into theory and criticism. Also read lots of lay-criticism, which are the types of reviews you can get from major magazines that still publish book reviews.

Also, if you intend to publish reviews of contemporary works, I would recommend subscribing to at least one or two literary journals, as that will allow you to keep tabs on what's considered the most current trends in literature.

>>9354939
This is great stuff anon, it's exactly the sort of advice I was looking for when I started this thread. While I may not necessarily want to pursue it as a full time career, maybe getting some sort of review published would be a good long term goal to work towards. Thank you.

>>9355011
No problem, I hope it helps. The only writing I still do now is criticism, so I take it pretty seriously, but it's also not something I pursue full time either. Just a hobby.

Enjoy the rabbit hole.

>>9354388

This is a good post. I like this post, this one right here.

>>9354321
I've had this same question too, not for anything particular but more for personal enjoyment and the ability to "read better".

Like other anons have said though I sometimes stop and think while I'm reading and ask myself questions or see if a certain paragraph or sentence has some sort of symbolic meaning. Then I'll try and reference it with something else I've picked up from another source and see if I agree with what the author was trying to say.

Something like that.

>>9354321

Don't read "how to read literature like a professor". That's for fucking faggots who want to be told how to think.

Read "How to Read a Book" by Mortimer Adler (nonfiction) and "The Art of Fiction" by David Lodge (fiction). These two books will help you get accustomed to reading as a practice and as a means of communication. You seem to want habits, and these two can give your the basics.

Then read this shit if you want to go down the academic wormhole: >>9354939. Otherwise, just start reading books on your own time, and develop your own note-taking system.

See if you can find some discussion of the book you're reading online. Either lectures or even just some douchebag with a podcast. I find that being exposed to other opinions about a book will stimulate me to better articulate my own opinions.

t. STEM autist who reads

>>9354321
literary criticism is a post-facto falsification of the authentic reaction the reader has during the act of reading

>>9354803
Phone autocorrect senpai

Yale has a free course on the theory of literature.

http://oyc.yale.edu/english/engl-300

I'm a STEM guy and this course was pretty useful for me.