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How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines
How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines
How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines
Audiobook9 hours

How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines

Written by Thomas C. Foster

Narrated by David de Vries

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

The go-to bestselling guide to help young people navigate from a middle school book report to English Comp 101

In How to Read Literature Like a Professor: For Kids, New York Times bestselling author and professor Thomas C. Foster gives tweens the tools they need to become thoughtful readers.

With funny insights and a conversational style, he explains the way writers use symbol, metaphor, characterization, setting, plot, and other key techniques to make a story come to life.

From that very first middle school book report to that first college course, kids need to be able to understand the layers of meaning in literature. Foster makes learning this important skill fun and exciting by using examples from How the Grinch Stole Christmas to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, from short stories and poems to movie scripts.

This go-to guide unlocks all the hidden secrets to reading, making it entertaining and satisfying.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperAudio
Release dateDec 11, 2012
ISBN9780062266330
How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines
Author

Thomas C. Foster

Thomas C. Foster is the author of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, How to Write Like a Writer, How to Read Nonfiction Like a Professor, and other works. He is professor emeritus of English at the University of Michigan, Flint, where he taught classes in contemporary fiction, drama, and poetry as well as creative writing and freelance writing. He is also the author of several books on twentieth-century British and Irish literature and poetry.

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Reviews for How to Read Literature Like a Professor

Rating: 4.205673758865248 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a great guide for all of us who love to read but whose education was at the other end of the campus. His style is informal, chatty and humorous -- now that he has the cautiously curious in his room, he doesn't want to scare us off with concepts that seem dry or irrelevant. He wants to show us how to apply these ideas so that our deeper understanding of the book will take our enjoyment of it to a new plane. "Reading literature is a highly intellectual activity, but it also involves affect and instinct to a large degree. Much of what we think about literature, we feel first. Having instincts, though, doesn’t automatically mean they work at their highest level. Dogs are instinctual swimmers, but not every pup hits the water understanding what to do with that instinct. Reading is like that, too. The more you exercise the symbolic imagination, the better and quicker it works."
    He illustrates his ideas with numerous works of different types, and doesn't restrict them to the classics. Popular modern books (eg Inspector Banks) are as easily discussed as the traditional classics and are mixed in with occasional movies too.
    "... when writers send characters south, it’s so they can run amok....Conrad’s visionaries, Lawrence’s searchers, Hemingway’s hunters, Kerouac’s hipsters, Paul Bowles’s down-and-outers and seekers, Forster’s tourists, Durrell’s libertines—all head south, in more senses than one".
    For instance, vampires and other monsters are explained in terms of "...exploitation in its many forms. Using other people to get what we want. Denying someone else’s right to live in the face of our overwhelming demands. Placing our desires, particularly our uglier ones, above the needs of another." The vampire/monster thinks, ' In order to remain undead, I must steal the life force of someone whose fate matters less to me than my own.' Foster says, "I’ve always supposed that Wall Street traders utter essentially the same sentence. My guess is that as long as people act toward their fellows in exploitative and selfish ways, the vampire will be with us."
    You can't go wrong with someone who can so easily link vampires with Wall Street.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I recommend this book to my incoming 10th grade Honors American Lit classes because it's one of the few books that covers archetypes, motifs, literary theory, and other important literary elements that's actually readable. Throughout the course of the year, we will put all of his chapters to use using varied works, and they will see how viable the information he provides actually is. I love too that Foster repeats that much of literary analysis has to do with "feeling" that there's something important about a certain aspect of a novel, because reading should be an emotional journey as well as a cerebral one.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    As a fairly new teacher of high school English I thought this title might suggest some ideas for my students. In fact, it's probably a bit advanced for my sophomores, but left me with a few ideas nonetheless. Foster focuses on the idea of symbolism in literature and then goes on to suggest themes and specific examples. While this would normally be a fairly dry topic, he writes with wit and sarcasm that makes it all a bit more fun. The last chapter gives the reader an opportunity to discern themes and examples of symbolism in an Elizabeth Mansfield story. Included is an annotated list of great literature.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Now that I've read this book, you may as well not bother trying to read my book reviews; yes, that's right, I will now be examining themes and motifs and character motivation and other things like that and I'll probably be writing such amazing stuff that no one else will be able to understand me. Like a professor, right? No, my days of "Uh, I liked it" or "Well, I don't know" are over; I'll be finding things like water imagery and mother archetypes and references to obscure lines from Ulysses. So if you want to try to understand even a glimmer of what I'm writing about, you may need to read this book, too. ;->
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    My chief complaint, although more my fault than the “non textbook, with How to Read Literature Like a Professor is that most of the novel, plays, and poems Foster discusses I have not read. In fact, I only recognized three of the works he mentioned; Animal Farm, Hamlet, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Therefore, I found it hard to understand exactly what Foster was trying to say through his examples and his connections from one example to another.And I feel like, since this was required reading for my advanced/gifted and talented English IV class, this book would have served as a better introduction to literature and been more helpful, as it has many tips and tricks for recognizing common symbolism and other literary techniques, the connotations of which can be easily missed, if this “non textbook” would have been required for Language Arts in eighth grade or, at least, Freshman English. Since “reading between the lines” has always come somewhat naturally to me, and for my “gifted and talented” classmates, How to Read Literature Like a Professor was some what lost on me. And it is my belief that even people seeking help wouldn’t appreciate the italicized text that supposedly voices the reader’s confused and helpless thoughtThat said, How to Read Literature Like a Professor served as a nice refresher on critical reading. As an added bonus, Foster’s writing style makes him easy to understand, not patronizing or intimidating. In fact, some of what he writes received a chuckle from me here and there. “When they’re writing about other things, they really mean sex, and when they write about sex, they really mean something else. If they write about sex and mean strictly sex, we have a word for that. Pornography.” {pg. 144}
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Foster provides a basic but interesting primer on symbolism in literature. He uses fairly standard classics to provide examples, but still makes them interesting and witty.Not for the very learned, and not for the novice reader. This book would be most helpful for the college freshman or the adult reader who's decided to look at books a bit more seriously but still have fun reading.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is a nice primer on literary analysis. Individual chapters could be very useful in high school literature classes, especially when reading classics that most students don't relate to--such "The Old Man and the Sea".
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    As advertised- an extremely well-presented and interesting exploration of symbolism, allusion and thematic tropes that will illuminate any reader's experience of literature. Should be mandatory reading for all English majors, but would also appeal to anyone looking to fully experience the nuances that many would miss without Fosters humorous advice.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I liked it. I learned a lot. Fyi. Spoiler alert on some stories
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    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.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great book! A ton of insite and resources to reference as one reads for school. Make sure you down load the PDF and read the appendix. Good list of books to read!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a great book because it shows very simply why all stories as vitally connected. Stories refer and allude to one another, always. I will never approach novels the same way again because I will remember to look for others who have told similar stories, and remember that others inspired the work.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Foster, an English professor at the University of Michigan, writes about literature with an endearing, self-deprecating style, which allows the reader to be entertained while being, if not educated, than at least encouraged in her reading.The main thrust of Foster's book is that the reader should watch for patterns and symbols while reading and that things such as weather, food, sex and violence rarely mean only one thing. In other words, writers are always trying to say more than one thing at a time. Subtext and allegory. Symbol and irony.While he may not bring anything terribly new to the discussion of literature, this is a book I would recommend to any young person who wants to deepen their reading or, for that matter, any reader who wants to graduate from pop fiction to something with a little more meat on its bones.The reader list Foster provides at the end of the book is a fine one.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a very entertaining book. My daughter had to read it in her Junior year of high school, and it has become one of my favorites. It opens up the worlld of literature for the common man.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is not a book for Literature majors, but attempts to distill-out some of the major themes and symbols in literature for the rest of us. Well written, funny, relatively jargon-free. I recommend it if you like to read and want to understand better what you are reading.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Whether you're a relatively new reader of literature or you have decades of reading experience under your belt, you're sure to learn something from this book to enrich your future reading experience. Although I'm convinced that I will never achieve Foster's depth of analysis, Foster has also convinced me that reading is a skill that I can improve through practice. Foster reassures his readers/students that ”if the story is good and the characters work but you don't catch allusions and references and parallels, then you've done nothing worse than read a good story with memorable characters. If you begin to pick up on some of these other elements, these parallels and analogies, however, you'll find your understanding of the novel deepens and becomes more meaningful, more complex.” So, it's not like I've been reading the wrong way all these years, but I can work at becoming a better reader and have a better appreciation of what I read. I'll be referring to this book often from here on out. Highly recommended.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A book about finding common themes in literature may sound extremely boring, but this book is anything but that.The author approaches the topic in an interesting, and often hilarious way that made me look forward to each new chapter.From meals to water to sex, all sorts of themes are covered with examples, explanations, and humor.If you want to have a deeper understanding of everything from required reading to your own "just for fun" books, this is a must-read - highly recommended!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The book could have easily been part of the series of "Idiot's Guide to...". It is an introductory course in literary analysis and examines major myths, themes, symbols, motifs and intertextuality in literature. It's good and entertaining, as promised, but makes it sound like everything ever written neatly follows a pattern, or patterns and we should be analyzing everything accordingly. Consequently, he oversimplifies the issues a tad too much.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    My wife's been after me to read this one and I finally got round to it. I was put off by the title thinking it would be a boorish, condescending exercise in Harold Bloom-like pretentiousness. It's quite the opposite. Foster does a very good job of deflating the myth that only a Ph.D. can really appreciate and understand literature. His approach is accessible, practical, and frequently entertaining. He draws some great comparisons between the classics and familiar films and TV series. He also doesn't hold his nose at contemporary popular writers. I can see why this book frequently appears on lists of recommended reading for high school students.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book will single-handedly change the way you read literature. You'll never have to wonder anymore if you're "getting it" because Foster tells you all the tricks you need to know.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Originally Posted on bellesbeautifulbooks.blogspot.comWhat I Thought:Most of the book seemed unnecessary, and somewhat obvious. Having said that it was somewhat helpful, and should help me in my future studies.The Good:Will help me with school.Some new things that I haven't been taught before.ShortThe Bad:He would go on long tangents about specific books that I haven't ever heard of or ever plan to read and that just seemed unnecessary.Overall just boring.Recommend?:I would recommend reading this if you're having trouble subtextually analyzing books, or if you have to read it for school, but if you don't fall into either category I would say it is not needed.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Ever had an English class where you wondered, "How on earth does the professor come up with this interpretation stuff?" Though Thomas Foster himself is a college professor, he clearly remembers what it was like to be a high school or college undergrad reader. In short chapters, he engagingly and clearly explains the motifs, symbols, and patterns one can look for and expect when reading.I truly wish that I had read this informative and entertaining book when I was in college. I was an English major, but I didn't buy a good fourth of what I wrote in my papers, feeling like I was reading too much between the lines. The main issue for me was "How could the author have possibly meant ---- or been reacting to ---- ? How do you know?" I never felt that my English professors answered this satisfactorily, but in one chapter, Foster does: since stories are, at their core, interconnected, an author may have read (and reacted to) one book that was informed by a previous one. Even if the author never intended the connection to the original story, his/her writing has indeed been affected by it because of that later book (I'm not explaining this very well, but trust me, Foster does).I may never read quite like an English professor (I think it would take multiple readings of any text to do so). His attitude that it's OK to enjoy the story at its most literal level and not pick up on every nuance or have exactly his interpretation made me think that I could be a better reader than I have been, and has inspired me to read more texts that take a reader's effort to fully appreciate.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I enjoyed this guide to reading literature. The author is a college professor and this book is a short course in how to study and appreciate literature. It gives the reader a broad overview of literature; the origins, themes and motifs, narrative devices. He uses poems, short story, plays, movies, and songs. So I guess it is fitting to give the Nobel for literature to a song writer. Finally you get to practice what you've learned on the short story The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield. I've read that particular short story for a total of 3 times now since reading this book. The book also contains a list of novels, poems, and plays that he recommends to the reader. This book will add to your tbr.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I read this mostly out of curiosity -- with my BA behind me and my MA in progress, I didn't have much to learn from Foster. To me it's obvious that a garden will conjure up Eden, that the sharing of food is a kind of communion, that a lot of things are metaphors for sex. It doesn't seem to require professorial level training to me, though I went to university in the UK and this book is very explicitly aimed at people from the US. So maybe the expectations for the skill set for a graduate are different. I think for people in the UK it'd be a more useful leg-up for people doing GCSE and A Level -- if they're interested in being A* students, anyway. Once you get to university, this level of reading is expected.

    The tone of the book is a little condescending, but otherwise it seems pretty good, anyway. Surprisingly, it doesn't just draw examples from the canon of dead white men, which was good. The allusive nature of it requires quite a wide frame of reference to avoid getting lost and bored, though -- it's hard to learn to see a book in a whole different light when you haven't read it in the first place.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In a lifetime of avid reading, I honestly never put much thought into what anything meant beyond the basic story itself. Not even the required English courses in high school and college provided me with the tools to search for symbolism or allegories or the like. I'm sure that teachers dutifully brought up the question of "so, what does this story mean?". Whether it was their fault, or mine -- my curiosity was never sparked enough to go beyond the surface layer of a story (be it a short story, a play, poetry, literature or a novel). How to Read Literature Like a Professor (note: I read the first edition, not the new revised edition) was an eye-opener for me. While it's not the be-all/end-all resource for literary concepts, it has been a very good introduction to the topic. I will probably be reading literature with a new eye from now on. It doesn't mean, though, that henceforth all books I read will be discussed in this way. As Professor Foster does point out by quoting Freud's statement "sometimes a cigar is just a cigar", yes sometimes a story is just there for the sake of story-telling. That's fine. However, Foster convinces me that one's reading can be enriched otherwise when looking beyond the basics; it's like unlocking a treasure box. Not only does Foster touch upon varied devices such as symbolic references to Greek mythology, he also gives a good reminder: "don't read with your own eyes" (p. 228). What does the latter mean? It means that we need to try to read the work as it was intended by the author. He gives the example of "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin -- we need to try to read it as it was meant to be read back in 1957, and especially not from the perspective of whether addiction is good or bad, because it was meant to be about a relationship between two brothers. I plan to pick up his other book, How to Read Novels like a Professor (and I'm sure he'll discuss the difference between "novels" and "literature").
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    It seems to me that this book is a great wake-up call in a world where critical thinking seems to be a thing of the past. Everything is done passively; no one takes responsibility for their own actions, for their thoughts. Thomas C Foster tells you that you should be interacting with the author when you read their stories. Your past experiences, your culture, makes the stories deeper, denser and make you relate to each story in your own way, perhaps in a way that the author intended, or perhaps not. Does the story have a familiar ring to it? Is it a variation on a theme from Shakespeare or the bible? Did the geography or the weather matter to the plot? How would the story have changed if say it took place in a desert instead of a mountain top or if it was raining instead of snowing?Oh, and it is not as mind numbingly boring as the title would suggest. I would recommend this book.DS
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Just picked it up on a whim, its always on reading lists. Not bad, but nothing earth-shattering if you are a constant reader...
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Recommend for anyone taking any AP English courses or enjoy analyzing literature and the author's ambiguous meanings. Not too bad considering the statute of its topic, since the author often gives comic examples that keep your attention.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Breaks down some of the major elements of literature and how to identify them in order to appreciate more of what you're reading. A great book for my AP students!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Do you remember when you were in English or literature in school and the teacher told you that a specific literary element was symbolic for what-have-you, and you wondered what part of the air the teacher pulled that from? If you did, this book can help you understand the deeper meaning behind literary elements. For example, if the protagonist is going on a journey this may mean that he or she is going on a quest of self-discovery. What if the protagonist falls into the river and re-emerges? Could this be symbolic of new life and renewal? The author provides an entertaining analysis of symbols in various stories and their underlying meaning. Now that I have completed the book, I will never read another book without mining it for deeper meanings.