1. Home
  2. Education
  3. Classic Literature

How to Read Books & Literature

To read is to study and grasp the meaning of words and sentences. Reading literature is pleasurable, but it also has the side-effect of teaching us about life, the universe, and about ourselves. In reading, we discover the dreams of the world's greatest writers.
Born of Books
How does encouraging reading affect the development of a young girl? Here's an essay from Katharine Swan.
Find a Reading Spot
Here's a quick tip.
Give Up on Reading
Before you give up on reading a classic, or give up on reading all together, take a look at these quick tips.
How to Become a Critical Reader
Whether you are reading for pleasure or academia, it's important to understand basic structural and content elements about the text you are studying. These questions and idea generators should help you to become a more critical reader. Understand and retain what you read! Read on.
How to Determine a Reading Schedule
Despite your best efforts, it's sometimes difficult to stick with your plan to finish that list of books. Other projects get in the way. You may find yourself overwhelmed by the size of the book you've chosen. You may just let the habit of reading slide or slip until you've forgotten much of the plot and/or characters; and, you feel that you might as well just start over. Here's a solution: Set up a reading schedule to get you through those books!
How to Find Your Reading Spot
A reading spot is a place where you can be comfortable and read, but how do you find it? Read on.
How to Improve Reading and Literacy -- Encourage Reading
Millions of people have difficulty reading. That's because, despite what many people think, literacy issues are not just relegated to children and young adults. To improve literacy in America, we must consider readers of all ages and backgrounds. Here are some tips to help you improve and encourage reading and literacy.
How to Improve Your Reading Speed
Reading can be fun, but it can also be time-consuming if your speed is not as fast as you'd like. An average reading speed can range from 200 to 350 words per minute, but that rate can vary depending on the material and your reading experience. Here are a few tips to help you improve your reading speed.
How to Keep a Reading Log
A reading log is a great place to react to what you read. You can find out exactly how you feel about the characters; you may gain insight about the theme and plot; and you can expand your overall enjoyment of the literature.
How to Live With Books
How do you live with books? It's not always as easy as it may seem. Books take up space; they sometimes need to be repaired; and how do you find the one you want out of the many on your shelves? Read more about it!
How to Plan Out Your Summer Reading List - - Make a List
The months of summer can be a time when lots of activities are taking place. You may be going on vacation, or to the beach, or hiking, or biking, or you may be participating in all sorts of other activities. Whether you're staying home, or traveling near or far, you'll want to have a summer reading list that's perfect for your needs. Here are some tips!
How to Read a Difficult Book
Even if you have lots of experience in reading books, you will likely come across books that are just difficult to get through. Here are some tips...
How to Remember What You Read
Reading is important. But, the next step is making sure that you remember what you've read! Memory is sometimes a tricky thing. You may have just read the text, and the concepts and ideas of the poem or novel may not catch on... The images may just fly right out of your head. Here are are a few tricks for remembering what you read.
Journals
Journals are a great way to track what you read, and record what your impressions. Some of these journals also offer prompts and questions related to your reading experience. Enjoy your reading experience even more by writing about it! You'll also have great ideas and specific examples for essays, reports, studying, or just for your own personal enjoyment. Remember what you read!
Literary Classics: Who is Failing?
Recently, a number of schools in the United Kingdom refused to stock English literary classics in their libraries on the grounds that their pupils have no taste for such books and most of them find these books boring to read. Read on.
Literature in Time - Selected Reading List
Here's a literature reading list, which includes some of the greatest classics of all time. Read on.
Use a Dictionary
Here's a quick tip.
When I Read the Book - Walt Whitman
Read "When I Read the Book," a poem by Walt Whitman.
Why We Don't Read
Americans just don't read literature. That fact has been proven by studies conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts. But, the question I always want to ask is, "Why don't we read?" Are there solutions that we can come up with to reverse the problem and make reading literature a more popular activity? Here are a few reasons I've heard people use when they explain why they haven't picked up a good book in months (or even years).
What to Read
If you're wondering what great classics you should read, here are some books that will help. These books list hundreds of works from Homer through Edgar Allan Poe and Gustave Flaubert to Virginia Woolf and Franz Kafka. Read more about what to read in literature.

Explore Classic Literature

More from About.com

  1. Home
  2. Education
  3. Classic Literature
  4. Reading Guides & Advice
  5. How to Read

©2008 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.