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Title: How to Read Literature Like a Professor : A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas C. Foster ISBN: 0-06-000942-X Publisher: Quill Pub. Date: 01 March, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (11 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: practical guide to reading
Comment: Foster tackles Literature from a symbolic metaphorical side, delving into Myths, symbols, and the connectedness of all Literature etc.
In a lively and entertaining manner he shows the reader how to draw parallels between texts and explores poetic metaphors effectively.
The weakness of the book is that the author doesn't really delve deeply enough into other important aspects such as Character development, Plot devices, structure of the novel among other things. He's thematic discussions, too, are at times somewhat shallow,
Nonetheless, it is a worthwhile book that certainly deserves to read.
Rating: 5
Summary: Informative and Memorable
Comment: This is a super introduction to reading literature critically. Foster writes in a relaxed, conversational manner so the reader feels like a participant in the classroom. His book is geared for beginners, so don't look for a huge vocabulary or philosophical overtones. A fun and quick read even for literary masters, because we sometimes lose sight of the basics. Highly recommended.
Rating: 2
Summary: An Aptly Named but Disappointing Book
Comment: There is a well-known scene in the film "Dead Poets Society" where an English professor instructs his students to rip a bland scholarly essay on poetry from their textbooks. This book is the spiritual heir to those ripped out and discarded pages... what makes this all the more depressing is that the author clearly had the opposite intent in mind.
The book is an acceptable introduction to literary themes and symbolic thinking, well-suited to budding writers and English majors; despite the publisher's claims, however, I find it neither "lively" nor "engaging" enough to gain wide appeal outside those circles. Indeed, Professor Foster seems to have written the book precisely for that audience, as he assumes a broad literary knowledge on the part of the reader, but insists on repeatedly hammering home trivial concepts (like submersion in water being symbolic of baptism) that anyone "well-read" enough to follow him should already know. This tone, and the frequent return to themes and topics already covered in great detail - oh, look, another Toni Morrison reference - make reading this book feel like an assigned task. Since there will be no quiz later, I can not recommend the book.
I really wanted to like this book. Professor Foster seems a charming and intelligent fellow, and I would probably enjoy taking his classes. Nonetheless, I find this dry and repetitive contribution to "the ur-story" lacking... the reader that would benefit the most from it would likely enjoy it least. The praise of the book by English professors shows that the converse is also true.
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Title: Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss ISBN: 1592400876 Publisher: Gotham Books Pub. Date: 12 April, 2004 List Price(USD): $17.50 |
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Title: Teaching Literature by Elaine Showalter ISBN: 0631226249 Publisher: Blackwell Publishers Pub. Date: December, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had by Susan Wise Bauer ISBN: 0393050947 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: August, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: The New York Times Dictionary of Misunderstood, Misused, Mispronounced Words by Laurence Urdang ISBN: 1579120601 Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Pub List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: A Scream Goes Through the House : What Literature Teaches Us About Life by ARNOLD WEINSTEIN ISBN: 0375506241 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 05 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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