01/10/2006

Literary Reading

One of the definitions of the word literary is versed in or fond of literature or learning. When applying this idea to reading, one might find reading combined with enjoyment. It is this type of reading that you like to do, not something that you have to do. It goes back to when books were fun, and the endings were always a mystery that you just can’t wait to find out. Little kids love that kind of intrigue and it’s why they get so caught up when they read or are read to. They involve themselves with the story at hand. Literary reading is this exact same thing.

It is immersing yourself within a book and escaping everything else in your world. It’s enjoying what you’re reading, to the point of losing yourself in it. A person can get so caught up with a story that they loose track of time and may read for hours. A good book can engulf its reader, and make the reader forget about their worries, their concerns, and their problems. It can be relief from everything else in the world. On that same note, it can also enrich everyday life and make the reader examine things outside the book with things from inside it. Good writing can help a person learn from that situation described, and it can give them guidelines that they might apply to real life.

It may also give them a new way to look at the world or appreciate it in a new light. It can change a person’s attitude about something or deeply education them about something else. It can be a solution to a problem, or can raise an awareness of a problem that needs a solution. By getting the reader involved, it can push them to get involved in so much more that life has to offer. But there’s more to writing than simply the plot.

Literary Reading can also give the reader an appreciation of its actual words. Each piece of writing is unique, and words have the power to inspire. They give the reader the ability to explore new combinations of lyric, and enrich vocabulary. They also can give clues, hints, symbolism, and imagery that enrich a person’s enjoyment of the story. They use words to describe a character and give it its personality, or enhance the details of the setting. They can use words to draw the reader in, and use wording tricks to develop the creativity of a piece of writing. It’s not only enjoying your book, but finding things in the text that makes the reader appreciate it more, and makes the reader want to keep reading. It’s this ability that authors have to spin a world that sucks you in and captures your interest with their words.

Writing is supposed to captivate readers and make them enjoy what they are doing and it makes reading, for some, a pastime that is irreplaceable. It gives them worlds to escape to when they can’t deal with their own, and gives them lives to dream about. But most of all, it’s an enriching experience that can give the reader enjoyment that has no comparison.

00:20 Posted in Notebook | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this

Comments

Erin,

Very solid first entry. I see a progression here: you begin claiming that literary reading is mostly about enjoyment, but end by saying that finding meaning hidden in the text is also part of literary reading. The enjoyment of literature and the study of literature are often competing forces, particularly among reluctant readers. How do you plan to reconcile them?

I might like to see you link to some outside resources here. Certainly the popularity of sites like Sparknotes illustrate that the "finding hidden meaning" model of literary reading dominates in secondary schools and universities. What else could you find on the web?

Posted by: RR | 01/15/2006

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