Any short lit courses around?

[mlundq]

Has anyone run across something out there that provides a brief overview of how to evaluate literature?

I'm a member of a local reading group. Problem is most of us don't know much about literature in order to talk about it in a meaningful way.

There are some really good book discussion guides on the web. But they all talk about specific books; they're not a general guide to reading literature. Any ideas?

mlundq

[Wild Apple]

Adler and Van Doren's book How to Read a Book (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0671212095/sr=1-1/qid=1154594476/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-0632380-1648731?ie=UTF8&s=books) has been a famous choice for people in your situation for many years.

I've never read it myself so I can't offer you an original opinion, but to give you a better idea of what it is about, here are the first few lines: "This is a book for readers and for those who wish to become readers. Particularly, it is for readers of books. Even more particularly, it is for those whose main purpose in reading books is to gain increased understanding."

[Jean-Baptiste]

This may not be helpful, but my lit discussion group started off by looking into a book called The Socrates Cafe by Christopher Phillips. It's supposed to be an arrangement for discussing philosophic topics in a group setting, but that can easily be translated to a book discussion. I didn't care for the book necessarily, but the concept was helpful. As for actually discussing literature, I've found that technical knowledge of criticism does not always make for the most edifying conversations. Whether your group uses the proper terms or not, you can still enjoy the discussion by simply participating, listening, and contributing your ideas. Basically, say what you like and dislike about the book--you'll be surprised at the level of inherent logic that we humans can demonstrate in some situations.
Let us know how it turns out.

[spendle]

I would strongly suggest looking into English composition textbooks. Pearson/Prentice Hall is the publisher that my college uses for its textbooks, I have used two of them in the past year, and have gained a tremendous amount from both of the texts I have read. "Reading Literature and Writing Argument" by Missy James and Alan Merickel is a textbook that I found useful.