How to Read Literature Like a Professor

This book was summer reading for my AP Lit Class. I am a little bit closer to understanding literary symbolism (this book is 100% about literary symbolism), but not nearly as proficient as Mr. Foster demonstrates himself to be. That's a little disappointing, but then again, I'm not an actual English professor, so I still have time.

Mr. Foster's narrative voice is funny and frank, but even so, this book nearly put me to sleep a couple of times. Mostly because each chapter, based on one idea in symbolism (the Christ-like figure, or the symbolism of seasons). He goes on for pages and pages listing where these symbols can be found in literature and what they mean in that context. This is very helpful, but also very repetitive. There's probably a SparkNotes outline that can clarify Mr. Foster's ideas for you without all of the bulk, and while you will lose some of the background info or concrete examples, that might not be such a loss. Honestly, you can get a pretty high percentage of the book's ideas from the chapter titles alone.

I wouldn't tell you to read this book for fun, but if you've got a good reason to be seeking information on literary symbolism, How To Read Literature Like A Professor is probably one of your better choices. And it's probably going to be a really good reference text for AP Lit this fall.

Interesting book but some flaws. The author never wants to say “X is Y” which I get, but he never says that “X is not Y” which would help one understand symbols and meanings. He works hard at a folksy, aw shucks “I'm a regular guy like you” mien which gets tiresome. Finally, not everyone is Christian and he could have explained some of the religious ideas.

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. ;->

I have been feeling like I needed to work on my reading skills. I listened to this on audio while working on my deck outside. There are lots of references to lots of books I have not read (and some that I have.)

The main focus of the book is how our reading is enhanced when we understand the cultural and literary references within books. Essentially there is only one great story and all other stories are variations. There is a chapter on biblical and theological references, Shakespeare, references to love and sex and other things. The main point could be fulfilled in a long article, but as a book length work it has more detail and illustration and I thought it was helpful. I couldn't help but notice literary references when I watched a few movies the weekend after I finished and I think I will be using some of the tools for a while.

My full review is on my blog http://bookwi.se/how-to-read-literature-like-a-professor/