Hi, Zina. You mention a number of links to PDFS -- but I cannot find the links. This Spring I'm taking Joshua Hren's course on Catholic Imagination in American literature -- and I'm a bit intimidated. OK, I'm WAY intimidated. They're gonna find out that I'm an illiterate. Any tools will help. I have avoided fiction most of my adult life, and I'm jumping into the deep end of the pool next week. Thanks in Advance.
Thanks for the tips. I just finished reading CiRCE guide, at your recommendation, and have downloaded the David Shea outlines. Great tools. Maybe I'll make it through the semester.
I am sure you will make it through. Are there any particular works you are nervous about? I may know some guides that may help you. I really like the Seah outline pages.
Wonderful. Thank you so very much. It’s exactly the sort of thing they don’t give you in psychology graduate school. I had read Gioia’s Substack and figured I just needed to start all over and live a different life. The materials you list here today have given me new hope. Thanks again, Chris.
Thanks for sharing these tips and references to stay engaged. Giving myself the permission to create the space to really embrace literature so the mental transport can start to occur. For me, it is eliminating all of life's other distractions that is the biggest hurdle. You share some great ideas and tools.
Thank you! The idea of embracing literature (for my purposes here, I mean fiction) is interesting because I find that so many people read for different reasons. Some for self-improvement (becoming well-read and knowledgeable), others for social reasons (book clubs), and then there are the ones who use stories as a means of escape (beach reads, unwinding at night). We can read for all sorts of reasons, but it seems like those who “embrace” literature find enjoyment in the very act of reading. It could be any book or genre. There is an excitement to reading, like meeting a new and interesting person. However, you put a lover of reading against a deadline and it’s easy to make the experience less…embraceable. The quick reading I wrote about tries to make the reading for content more efficient and less stressful while still trying to preserve the enjoyment of the book as much as possible.
Thanks for all of the resources. Any advice for those of us who read everything slowly—even a substack post? I ow I read more efficiently when I take a break from screens but that is difficult with a job that requires me to sit in front of a screen 40+ hours a week. Maybe they still teach speed reading? I’ll look.
Hi Emily! The best way to read is to get into a daily rhythm of reading. It is the same thing with writing. You will also find that you have different energy for particular tasks during the day. And once you know what you do best at those times then reading will be more efficient and enjoyable.
I personally find that I read at different speeds at different parts of the day. I can only read long form in the evening when I am too tired to get out of my bed. That's when reading Russian literature happens. Almost all my creative writing happens in the morning. I can do short bursts of reading between appointments or work breaks. I am completely useless for any reading or writing between the times of 1pm and 3:30pm. I listen to audio books while cooking dinner and while driving to and from appointments.
But the other thing I think is important is that you should read what you love. Or find a way to love what you read. You *cannot read every great thing*! It is just impossible. You have to pick and choose, and sometimes you have to let God's Providence point you to a work or an author. I personally make an effort to read my friends' work, whether that be their sub stacks or their chapbooks or what have you. Will that mean that Dr. Zhivago stays on the shelf a bit longer? Yup, probably.
And all that said, I really appreciate that you have taken the time to read my posts. I hope you find my work useful. Reading is always a decision. Time is finite and precious and I am always thankful when readers spend it with my writing.
Hi, Zina. You mention a number of links to PDFS -- but I cannot find the links. This Spring I'm taking Joshua Hren's course on Catholic Imagination in American literature -- and I'm a bit intimidated. OK, I'm WAY intimidated. They're gonna find out that I'm an illiterate. Any tools will help. I have avoided fiction most of my adult life, and I'm jumping into the deep end of the pool next week. Thanks in Advance.
Chris
I would say that the most helpful tool is Seah’s fast book outliners. https://davidseah.com/node/the-fast-book-outliner/
I use them all the time.
I also like CIRCE’s guide to reading, though I often mark my books in one color pencil. Learning to scan pages and note transitions helps. It’s a slim book. https://circeinstitute.org/product/a-circe-guide-to-reading/
Thanks for the tips. I just finished reading CiRCE guide, at your recommendation, and have downloaded the David Shea outlines. Great tools. Maybe I'll make it through the semester.
I am sure you will make it through. Are there any particular works you are nervous about? I may know some guides that may help you. I really like the Seah outline pages.
Wonderful. Thank you so very much. It’s exactly the sort of thing they don’t give you in psychology graduate school. I had read Gioia’s Substack and figured I just needed to start all over and live a different life. The materials you list here today have given me new hope. Thanks again, Chris.
Thanks for sharing these tips and references to stay engaged. Giving myself the permission to create the space to really embrace literature so the mental transport can start to occur. For me, it is eliminating all of life's other distractions that is the biggest hurdle. You share some great ideas and tools.
Thank you! The idea of embracing literature (for my purposes here, I mean fiction) is interesting because I find that so many people read for different reasons. Some for self-improvement (becoming well-read and knowledgeable), others for social reasons (book clubs), and then there are the ones who use stories as a means of escape (beach reads, unwinding at night). We can read for all sorts of reasons, but it seems like those who “embrace” literature find enjoyment in the very act of reading. It could be any book or genre. There is an excitement to reading, like meeting a new and interesting person. However, you put a lover of reading against a deadline and it’s easy to make the experience less…embraceable. The quick reading I wrote about tries to make the reading for content more efficient and less stressful while still trying to preserve the enjoyment of the book as much as possible.
Thanks for all of the resources. Any advice for those of us who read everything slowly—even a substack post? I ow I read more efficiently when I take a break from screens but that is difficult with a job that requires me to sit in front of a screen 40+ hours a week. Maybe they still teach speed reading? I’ll look.
Hi Emily! The best way to read is to get into a daily rhythm of reading. It is the same thing with writing. You will also find that you have different energy for particular tasks during the day. And once you know what you do best at those times then reading will be more efficient and enjoyable.
I personally find that I read at different speeds at different parts of the day. I can only read long form in the evening when I am too tired to get out of my bed. That's when reading Russian literature happens. Almost all my creative writing happens in the morning. I can do short bursts of reading between appointments or work breaks. I am completely useless for any reading or writing between the times of 1pm and 3:30pm. I listen to audio books while cooking dinner and while driving to and from appointments.
But the other thing I think is important is that you should read what you love. Or find a way to love what you read. You *cannot read every great thing*! It is just impossible. You have to pick and choose, and sometimes you have to let God's Providence point you to a work or an author. I personally make an effort to read my friends' work, whether that be their sub stacks or their chapbooks or what have you. Will that mean that Dr. Zhivago stays on the shelf a bit longer? Yup, probably.
And all that said, I really appreciate that you have taken the time to read my posts. I hope you find my work useful. Reading is always a decision. Time is finite and precious and I am always thankful when readers spend it with my writing.