Do you think, you are a good reader?

[Can]

:dupe::dupe:All of you like reading because you are a member of this forum. Then I want to ask why you like reading??? Also I want to ask what must a reader do? (wHİLE READİNG)

[Charles Darnay]

I think your (possibly inadvertent) grammatical error in the title wraps up this question very neatly.

[cacian]

no such a thing as bad or good reader.
It is all about good or bad writing.
I will read if I think the topic if worth it, if not I won't bother.
Good reading if you really want an answer is about knowing what you want to read, how you want to read it and why.
The rest is just that, words.

[Can]

I think your (possibly inadvertent) grammatical error in the title wraps up this question very neatly.

I think you are right. So I have to correct my mistake. If someone is a good reader what must he or she can do?

[cyberbob]

I think that a good reader should constantly be on the lookout for imagery, metaphors, symbolism, and allegory, and should read into everything as a psychobiographical manifestation of the author's subconscious mind.

:D Just kidding.

I think that good reading (if there is such a thing) is actually paying attention to what you are reading and enjoying the experience rather than just slogging through it because you want to be able to say (aka brag) that you read that work.

[aruncroll]

I think that a good reader reads actively by giving the words of the text their full attention and "talking back" with questions, doubts, and comments, as though having a conversation. When a good reader comes across an image, they visualize it, and paint out the action in the theater of their mind; when a good reader comes across something curious and unexpected, they consider its significance; when a good reader reads a new word, they look it up. A good reader does not use a book as a means of escape from the world, but rather as a way of enriching and changing their life. Therefore, I think that to read well is like ingesting a nourishing meal—when we read and think, our lives should becomes healthier.

[Can]

I think that a good reader should constantly be on the lookout for imagery, metaphors, symbolism, and allegory, and should read into everything as a psychobiographical manifestation of the author's subconscious mind.

:D Just kidding.

I think that good reading (if there is such a thing) is actually paying attention to what you are reading and enjoying the experience rather than just slogging through it because you want to be able to say (aka brag) that you read that work.

I am totally agree with you :D

[Climacus]

no such a thing as bad or good reader.
It is all about good or bad writing.


I disagree. Readership differs qualitatively, I think, good and bad. Simply put: A good reader is an attentive, receptive reader. A bad reader is an inattentive, unreceptive reader. Good writing permits or - better - encourages good reading. Bad writing permits or - worse - encourages bad reading.

On this theme, C.S. Lewis' An Experiment in Criticism is very thought-provoking.

[Climacus]

I think that a good reader reads actively by giving the words of the text their full attention and "talking back" with questions, doubts, and comments, as though having a conversation.
That's critical reading. Critical reading should be reserved for second or third rather than first reading, I think. We need to listen and understand before we talk back. We need first to soak in a book, interpreting it in light of the author's view-point rather than our own.


A good reader does not use a book as a means of escape from the world, but rather as a way of enriching and changing their life.

Escape needn't necessitate escapism. All reading is escape, in a sense.

[Darcy88]

I'm an okay reader. I often have to re-read paragraphs several times to really pull them apart and get at the meaning. I am guilty of often coasting thoughtlessly through a book, merely admiring the style and getting pulled along by the plot. I sometimes find myself finishing a novel and not having anything intelligent to say about it.

I like to think I'm a better reader of poetry and philosophy. Then I really have to make an effort to engage the text, get my brain firing on all cylinders, juggling the arguments and metaphors.

There are times when I'm really focused on a book and I'll zone right in and every sentence is poignant and laden with significance. I just read The Immoralist by Gide and the experience was much like this.

[Can]

I think, there iws no such kind of thing; good reader because if someone knows reading and thinking he/she can be a good reader ... It is just about that point

[KCurtis]

I think I am a good reader but could be better. Nabokov wrote that a good reader should have a dictionary close by, and refer to it while reading. I always thought this was a no-no, until I read what he said. My father told me he uses a dictionary when reading, and I was impressed!
I think I am a good reader because I appreciate great writers and their use of language; prose, imagery, metaphors, subtle inferences regarding character development, etc. I don't read just to see what happens, I read because I want a great story, but I also want to read great writing-don't ask me what that is, but I know it when I see it.

[irishpixieb]

I think that there is such thing as a good reader. A good reader is able to see past just the words on the page. They are able to determine the author's true meaning and understand it in its fullest. "How to Read a Book" is a book that talks about this in great length.

[stlukesguild]

no such a thing as bad or good reader.
It is all about good or bad writing.

Really?

Some people can read War and Peace and come away thinking it's a simple adventure story. Others can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe.- Lex Luthor, Superman

I will read if I think the topic if worth it, if not I won't bother.

Does that make you a "good reader"? Is "good writing" limited solely to the topics that you find interesting?

Good reading if you really want an answer is about knowing what you want to read, how you want to read it and why.

Again, is "good reading" solely limited to that which you have some preconceived notion about... a theme you are interested in, etc...? Have you never read something that was brilliantly written that was completely unexpected... not at all about a subject matter or theme that you found of great interest before picking up the book? Have you never discovered the brilliantly written book in which you find you almost completely disagree with all the author has to say?

[Dark Muse]

I think that as long as the reader gets whatever they are personally looking for in their reading experience than they are a good reader. I do not think there is any right or wrong way to read. There are those who read predominately for their own enjoyment, entertainment, to escape reality, and if their desires are fulfilled in their reading, than they are a good reader. While there are others who prefer to seek out the deeper meaning behind what they read, to grasp a fuller understanding, to analyze, and or criticize, but I would not say they are "better" readers. Just different readings, having different goals in their own reading experience.

All that matters is that the individual is satisfied with their own reading experiences, and they feel they are getting all they want out of what they read.

[ChicagoReader]

I try to distance myself from the book I'm reading so as not to get too hung up on the plot, sometimes I believe the plot can distract the reader from what is really going on. I also use this distance to evaluate the ongoing syntax and how it contributes to the themes of the novel. I think a good reader needs to be able to disconnect their personal opinions, to an extent, in order to look at the novel objectively.

[cyberbob]

I try to distance myself from the book I'm reading so as not to get too hung up on the plot, sometimes I believe the plot can distract the reader from what is really going on. I also use this distance to evaluate the ongoing syntax and how it contributes to the themes of the novel. I think a good reader needs to be able to disconnect their personal opinions, to an extent, in order to look at the novel objectively.

What do you mean you distance yourself from the book? You read from across the room with a pair of binoculars? lol

[mona amon]

In answer to the title of the thread, yes, I think I'm a really good reader. It's probably one of the few things I do really well, and when I 'get' a book in ways that others seem to have missed, what a feeling of superiority that gives me! :biggrin5:

[Alexander III]

I don't know if there is a good reader and bad reader per se, but I have learned that there are drasticaly different readers.

Studying literature at university I would wager to say that 70% of the academics read in a more objective scientific manner, and the other 30% read with sensation first and foremost. With all my heart I would desire to say that reading objectivley and sicentificaly leads to horrible ways to view the text, ala highschool literature teacher

"the curtain is blue"

what the author meant: the curtain is ****ing blue

What highschool english teacher thinks: Blue is a color of sadness, the curtain is a symbol for sadness.


But then again to each his own.

[ChicagoReader]

What do you mean you distance yourself from the book? You read from across the room with a pair of binoculars? lol

By distance, I mean that I try not to get too absorbed in the plot/characters so that I will be able to notice ongoing themes and such. I try to read a book with the whole work in mind.

[KCurtis]

What do you mean you distance yourself from the book? You read from across the room with a pair of binoculars? lol

:lol: