The Art of Reading, Transcript Book

by Timothy Spurgin

"The ability to savor the sometimes hidden details and nuances in a novel is an art that can be taught. These lectures demonstrate how to read fiction carefully for full enjoyment. The lectures begin with basic concepts from simpler stories before progressing into books famous for their complexity. The lectures explain literary devices such as irony and foreshadowing and show how skilled authors have used such devices to great effects in classic works of literature" back cover

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Books About Books, Literature, Writing, Education, Literary Criticism

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Jason Koivu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like particular deodorants, this is strong enough for a writer, but made for a reader.

I don't usually add these "Great Courses" by the Teaching Company to my list of books read. For one, they're audiobooks and secondly, they're not actually books. They're recorded lectures given by college/university professors. But they're darn informative, and this one in particular applies to what we all do here, which is to read. Bet you didn't see that one coming, but it's true! Unless you're an author here to spam Goodreads' users with unsolicited requests to read your book or if you're a woman from Ghana with poor English skills trying to solicit dates, you are here to read and talk about what you've read.

So as a bookworm, wouldn't you like to become a more savvy reader? Of course you would! Get The Art of Reading. By dissecting classic literature, amazing short stories, and the occasional turd, it shows you how to read closer, what you can get out of a closer reading and how to squeeze as much insight and joy from whatever books you choose to delve into.

If you are one of those spamming authors or African jezebels, you too might get a little out of The Art of Reading, because much of its subject matter is about what goes into the making of good writing. Read between the lines and perhaps it will help your lines to be more widely read.

[Murzic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Checklist of Artful Reader Toolbox
- pre-reading: how much pages, how book divided into chapters, cover, title, etc.
- 50-page test: give book the benefit of a doubt for first 50 (more like 10-20% for me) pages
- destabilizing event: event that sets plot in motion
- master plots: Hero Takes A Journey or Stranger Comes To Town
- scene (dialog) vs summary (exposition)
- plot (delivery) vs story (set of events that happen in chronological order)
- free indirect discourse: characters' thoughts, feelings, and words are expressed through the third-person narrator (character's voice partly mediated by the voice of the author / character speaks through the voice of the narrator)
- take stop (around 1/3 of the book) and make predictions, think about characters, their motives and possible ways that story might develop
- reread first chapter or first few pages: how they feel this time?
- close reading: why this words and why in such order?
- matafiction (fiction about fiction) and metafictional elements
- flat (predictable) vs round (complex) characters and flat pretending to be round (they surprise but do not convince us)
- subtexts, motives and secrets:"If the scene is about what the scene is about, you're in deep shit." Robert McKee

[Gearóid · Rating 5 out of 5]

This lecture was really very interesting.
Made me realise why I love reading and
how to get more out of reading.
The whole series of lectures are really good
especially the literature lectures.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished Part I last night. Besides the excellent material, I think it's terrific that this course includes a transcription of the lecture in addition to the DVD. So you can read the lecture instead of watching it -- a definite plus as my DVD watching time is limited. Also, the course book is great for future reference.

If you're interested in getting more out of your reading experience, then you've come to the right place. These lectures are filled with a rich toolkit to enrich your reading. I especially liked how he turned some of the questions into a game you can play with others, e.g., What master plot does the story follow? Can I tell from pre-reading or reading only a few paragraphs what the book is going to be about? I wish I had come across these tools during high school, and I look forward to Part II.

Here are some of the tools in the reading toolbox (from the Part II coursebook):

-pre-reading: Eyeball the entire work to get a sense of its larger design. How is the work divided? How many parts are there? Are the parts marked in any way (numbered or titled)? Is the arrangement of parts symmetrical?

-the 50-page test, i.e., read about 50 pages or so and then decide whether to keep on reading. Oftentimes the success of the book depends on the reader more than the writer.

-look for the destabilizing event. What knocks the characters off balance?

-Play the master plot game: Stranger comes to town? Or hero takes a journey (should be a literal journey)?

-Book clubs: beyond venturing opinions, work on generating great questions; questions that show a willingness to learn from others (such as open-ended questions). How are we supposed to feel about this character? What is going on in this passage? Were you surprised by the ending?

-Another game: describe the same thing (e.g., feeding the dog or washing the car) using three different writing styles. Write a new version but this time bring the subtext to the surface. (Screenwriter game) Imagine you've been hired to turn this book into a movie. What would you do?

-Stop one third of the way through and take stock, formulate questions, and make predictions.

A) Think about the characters. What do they want? What do they want to want? What kind of trouble are they getting into? And how much of it is their own fault? What would it take to make them happy, and are they likely to get it?

B) Think about the plot. Which events -- besides the destabilizer -- are the most important? What else has to happen before the story can be resolved? What events are you dreading and why?

C) Take time to reread the first chapter (or first 10 pages). Do these pages seem different this time? How do they anticipate or foreshadow later events? How do they help to introduce important themes?

-Close reading. Looking at a passage and thinking about the language. Why these words and not others? What would happen if we changed the words or arranged them differently? What if this sentence were cut in two? What if these sentences were combined? [the "What if" game:]

--Finally, what are the benefits of artful reading?
1. You're sensitized to language and more alert of the use of words, which feeds back into your own writing.

2. You're forced to confront yourself.

3. You're helped to accept yourself in all your ambiguities, irony, and complexity.

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy listening to people talk about books or reading or just about any combination. I also enjoy just about anything produced by “The Learning Company” and this was no exception. Professor Timothy Spurgin brings great credentials, a smooth and articulate speaking voice, and a real enthusiasm for reading great literature. His goal is to introduce us to the concept of reading literary works as an art form in itself, and not just as a cover-to-cover exercise.

The lecture series is broken down into two parts. We start with the basics of structure, summary, plot, characters, dialog, etc., establishing the building blocks for the second half of the course. I don’t think I really learned too much here. It was a lot like what you might hear in a high school AP English course. The idea of pre-reading is emphasized as a way to prepare yourself for what you are about to encounter. Similarly, the concept of re-reading is presented not as an option but more as a necessity to truly appreciate great fiction.

The second half of the lecture series delved into more esoteric themes and spent a lot of time on case studies including entire lectures on specific books such as The Age of Innocence, War and Peace, etc., always with the end goal in mind, that of assisting us to develop habits in gaining more enlightenment and not be intimidated when we read such works.

My only negative comment about these lectures is there is a little bit of “looking down our nose” at “lesser literature”. I had absolutely no problem when Professor Spurgin used Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code as a way to illustrate poor dialogue. He is spot on in his analysis. But by putting down that book, there is an unmistakable branding of all popular and even genre fiction as simply not worth our time. It’s as if there is no “art” associated with reading what I choose to read approximately 95 percent of the time. When he does choose one “genre” book to delve into, it is HG Wells’ The War of the Worlds and even then, while he praises its merits, he implies its quality is an exception to genre fiction.

All in all this was fun to listen to and served to reinforce my own theories.

[William Adam Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second Great Course I've listened to from Professor Spurgin. His other course I've heard was "The English Novel". Professor Spurgin speaks clearly and is very knowledgeable about his subject matter. He even sprinkles in some humor on occasion without it seeming forced or cringeworthy.

The Art of Reading discusses the characteristics that make up skilled reading and offers lessons on how to become a better, more attentive reader. Lectures cover topics such as plotting, the difference between round and flat characters, how authors use irony and ambiguity, scene and summary, how adaptations occur, as well as giving examples of each of these topics during each lecture. I was actually surprised how much I learned from these lectures. I believe his suggestions will help me to become a more attentive reader. I also enjoyed being introduced to a few authors that I have not gotten around to reading yet, such as Alice Munro and Jorge Luis Borges, and look forward to reading some of their works in the near future.

Not quite as good as his course on "The English Novel" but I'm a huge fan of Victorian Literature, so that is not a criticism of this course. I wish Professor Spurgin had made more courses, he is a gifted educator!!

[Martina Bila · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐
Timothy Spurgin je láska. Tak by som chcela vedieť čítať, prednášať a učiť. Aj keď argumentuje za kreatívne čítanie, toto je príručka pre každodenného čitateľa, ktorý chce nejaké nástroje, ktoré pri čítaní môže používať. Prechádya od dialógov, kapitol, scén, sumárov a iných literarárnych elementov, ktoré potom používa pri konkrétnej textovej analýze. Stretneme teda Jane Austen, Dana Browna, Alice Munrone, Edith Wharton a iných, ktorých diela budeme spolu so Spurginom analyzovať.

[Feng Ouyang · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Art of Reading by Timothy Spurgin
This is a “great courses” lecture series. Formally, the lectures are divided into two parts, with 12 30-minute lectures each.
The first part deals with various parts of a literary work. The author covers the role of author and narrator, the characters and plots, etc. This part builds the foundation for understanding the necessary writing skills. The second part covers several sperate topics, from the handling of language and description styles to the overall structure of work. The author then gets into more details about several interesting fictions works to demonstrate how to use the learned tools in actual reading.
The knowledge covered by the book tends to be technical. The author often takes the angle of writing a book rather than reading it. On the other hand, the author does present some valuable reading skills, such as games, where the reader imagines writing the same part with a different style or a different approach. Through games, the reader can better understand the impact of the author’s choice and the reasons behind the decision. Another interesting skill is pre-reading. Before going into the chapters, a reader can first scan through the book to know something about the characters and the structure of the book. Pre-reading also provides clues on the style and approach of the book. Such knowledge helps the reader to follow and understand the author’s intentions.
In addition to the content, the lectures themselves serve as excellent examples of great writing, although they are non-fiction. Each lecture begins with a short summary of the last lecture, which leads to the current topic. It then provides a roadmap of the lecture, which usually contains two or three parts. The transitions among the parts are clearly demarcated for the readers to follow. And the lectures end with succinct summaries. Even with such a structured and disciplined approach, the lectures do not feel mechanical, as the introductions, transitions, and summaries are done with variable styles and vocabulary. The language of the lectures is carefully crafted to be both effective and pleasing. Furthermore, essential concepts and skills are cross-referenced for reinforcement. So the professor demonstrates outstanding teaching skills.
More details summary can be found at the Great Course web page: https://www.thegreatcourses.com/cours...

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Timothy Spurgin, Professor of English Literature at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, developed The Art of Reading as a lecture course that was provided by the Teaching Company in 2009. It consists of 24 half hour lectures and a 120 page guidebook. Dr. Spurgin stated at the beginning of the course the following:

"We all know how to read, but how many of us know how to read well? This course is designed to encourage the habit of artful reading. Its purpose is not so much to impart information as to
sharpen skills and inspire confidence. By the end of the course, you should be ready to dive into almost any work of fiction—no matter who the author may be—since you will have gained a deeper understanding of how such works can be approached and enjoyed."

In other words, the professor provides each student a set of useful tools in reading any book, but, as he says, he mostly emphasizes works of fiction written by authors of the classics such as Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Edith Wharton, Virginia Wolfe and Ernest Hemingway to name a few. Some of the tools that Dr. Spurgin professes will help each reader include Prereading, the 50-page test, stopping a third of the way through to take stock of the novel, and "close reading" to list some. For some of us, these activities may seem burdensome or a waste of time, and the professor even suggests that we not use these tool for every book, but for some books we may want to tackle such as War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy or anything by William Faulkner it would be highly recommended.

For any reader, I believe this course and the associated guidebook were very informative and valuable. Professor Spurgin is a very accomplished lecturer. He is very interesting and, in some cases, entertaining. Because of this course, I proceeded using some of the tools he suggested with "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton which is one of the novels he covers. I found the tools very helpful, and, in fact, it made that classic book much more enjoyable and enlightening. For anyone that enjoys reading, particularly the classics, I highly recommend this course. I don't believe you will be sorry.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This audiobook is for readers who want to understand what makes a book good, bad, slow, fast, etc. It's like a wine-tasting class for drinkers - to expand your vocabulary to describe your experience. For example, an exercise you can do is to write down when characters appear in each chapter. Who appears frequently? Who did you think was an important character but only appeared in a few scenes? Another exercise is to note the point of view (POV). Who is talking? Is the person's view trustworthy? Is the story different when told by someone else (such as an adventure told by Dr. Watson versus Sherlock Holmes).

[Harry Collier IV]

So much misinformation is thrown around by Spurgin.
Also, he continually references E. M. Forster's The Art of the Novel. I have so far read the introduction to Forster's book and it upsets me greatly that while Spurgin had no problem go on and on about Forster's book and its sheer brillance, he took none of the advice offered.
SKIP THIS and just buy the Forster. You will be glad that you did!

[Jimbo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have loved to get this course when I started reading a lot 10+ years ago.

I was introduced to several stories I never heard of that I need to add to my list now.

If you like reading, and you weren't an English major, and you like learning new things, this would be a great use of your time. I was an English major and English Teacher, so I have a bias, and I really enjoyed the lectures.

This would also make a great writing resources. The analysis is very applicable to writing.

[Sohail · Rating 2 out of 5]

These lectures are exact replicates of the most traditional university courses on Western literature. Limited only to the canon, very PC, rife with overinterpretation, and full of spoilers.

[BookSweetie · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are twenty-four 30 minute lectures in this Great Courses (with great professors) class that aim to help enrich the reading of literary fiction. They do. I really enjoyed this particular non-flashy series that fills in some gaps that I imagine a college literature foundation class or literary criticism introductory course may have provided, although since I was not an English major that is just a guess. I chose not to listen on CDs, but to watch the DVD. The subject actually lends itself to the auditory only option -- primarily because the professor is amazingly articulate and fluent with excellent voice quality and diction, with no filler ums and ahs and you knows, so little would be lost if someone chose the CD option over the DVD one that has a few summary lists, author pictures, and book titles with dates of publication. In addition to being a gifted speaker, the professor also does a bang up job of being organized and coherent, recycling past concepts and information naturally into relevant places in later lectures. The focus is upon helping to enrich the reading experience by providing skills and tools that are then applied for practice to various literary works of increasing length. So, this class needs to be evaluated with its specific purpose in mind, so that means asking: will my reading experiences be enriched as an outcome of this class? Without hesitation, I will answer YES. A bonus is the occasional reference to ideas to enhance book group experiences.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This course really surprised me--before starting it I used to think I was a good reader. Now I know better. Reading a lot doesn't necessarily mean reading meritoriously. Not only did I learn new language for understanding my instinctive attractions and aversions I learned techniques for having a better reading experience.

What was highly reassuring is that most readers do not necessarily walk away with greater insight than I do (helas, my deepest insecurity as a reader.) Up to the present I have had a tendency to be conservative in my forays in great literature because I want to understand absolutely everything I read--in the past I've hesitated with some books because I didn't think I could do them justice i.e. Moby Dick or Ulysses. Yes, I am anal--I read even the tiniest footnote. I only buy Shakespeare plays in Signet Classics editions because textual explanations are printed on the same page as the text which saves hours of flipping back and forth to the appendices. I loathe NOT KNOWING STUFF. But now I feel emboldened to try some of these classics afresh. I desire to be a fearless reader. Thanks, Mr. Spurgin.

[M0rningstar · Rating 2 out of 5]

These lectures were too long for what they were.

They did introduce some concepts that were new to me, but overall they were slow and shallow, not differing much from high school material. For example, an entire lecture was spent on the difference between dialogue and non-dialogue (summary is the term used in the course.) In contrast, subtext, a comparatively knotty subject, was allotted far less time, its section concluding with the suggestion to make an exercise of imagining a book as if it were written with subtext made explicit, all without explaining how to actually extract the subtext from the plain text.

The lethargic pace was further exacerbated by the lecturer's deliberate delivery, the frequent use of conversational fillers (e.g. "well, that's what *I* think", "let's play a game", etc), and an exaggerated emphasis at the end of every. Other. Sentence. Like. This.

[André Gomes · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those who like to read fiction this is treasury!

You will never look at books the same way you did before. ;)

This course helped me to see many aspects of a fiction story that once were hidden to me.

[Tammy V · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have finished book 1 of this pair from The Great Courses (the text). I think so far that for anyone who hasn't done a lot of reading this could be helpful or just cause them to give up because of all the instructions about how to read. Pre read? reread after you're in 30 pages? Who does that? Maybe for a course so you don't miss anything, but I've done an M.A. in story and social change and am working on an MFA in writing, and I do NOT do all of that extra work and do not feel my reding and comprehension are the worse for it (and certainly final grades of 100 in multiple course would indicate I'm not dreaming my reading ability).

If you would like to review what a story should be about and how you can pull it apart to understand it better, if that's your goal, you might find this helpful. I will note that Spurgin uses classics, not post modern writers so if you are interested in Haruki Murakami, for instance, I doubt you will find much help here.

Finally, Spurgin as a person seems less than someone I'd spend any time with. His reading of betrayal as irony ("Bliss"). This story opens with a women obviously in a happy place and ends with her being betrayed by her husband and she's sees it and he says "Are we glad that she's finally facing reality, finally acting her age?" Just wow.

Later, speaking of "Jane Eyre" and the children of Mrs. Reed, he defines those children as not likeable at all, "They are, for the records, just dreadful: fat, spoiled, greedy, stupid - they're awful." Note that he includes "fat" as an attribute of being "just awful."

For readers who know what they like, and who don't tolerate what they don't in a book, his recommendation to give every book a 50-page chance may be too much.

Reading the books for an on-line course in reading that I'm taking.

[Theo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Audiobook is a recording from 'The Great Courses' and is a set of lectures, with a pdf, on the subject of reading. I'm in two minds about this audiobook; On the positive side I believe I learnt many things on how to become a better reader, and this was the main reason for listening. Examples include, the two main master plots (the stranger and the journey), the difference between scene and summary, adaptation of books to film (the difficulties involved), and better assessment of dialogue.

On the negative side, the 'course' is very specifically narrowed to 'English Literature' and the author makes it clear he does not include fantasy, science fiction, mystery, or other 'genre fiction' to be needing of 'close reading' (the term he uses for those who apply 'the art of reading'). Soooooo, around lecture 3 or 4 when he makes this clear I seriously considered just leaving it there; But, rather than have a narrow view like that of the author I persevered. Unfortunately, though the content of the lectures are good, and applicable to science fiction (which I prefer to read); all the examples are english literature that the author considers 'worthy'. In addition, the 'Course Guidebook' that typically come with the Great Courses audiobooks are usually very good but this one is limited (around 3 pages per lecture) and does not provide much in the way of additional examples to read.

[Brett Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

For those who enjoy the Great Courses lectures, akin to audiobooks, this series would make a good listen if one’s interest were the art of writing fiction (non-fiction is not treated)—and it never hurts for writers to review. Ditto, if they are readers interested in the mechanics and many nuances of writing, like plot, story, style, scene, voice, character development, and the like. The series provided an occasional twist on the same topics one can find in the old Writer’s Digest sequence of 6 or 8 books on the Elements of Fiction Writing, or any number of other “how to write” books. But while this series may add to reader appreciation for the art of writing—and who would be opposed to that?—to practice what the professor urges readers to practice while reading struck me as the opposite of a positive reader experience. For example, stop reading, take some lines from the novel you read and rewrite or reimagine them in Ernest Hemingway’s sparse style, then do it again with William Faulkner’s florid descriptions—a standard course exercise for writers. To be carried away by a well-written book would be repeatedly interrupted, pulled from the page to try this or that task as advised by “The Art of Reading,” which seemed like a bad way to wreck a good book.

[Jack Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listen to these lectures mainly from my car while driving. Because of this, I miss some of the important lessons The Art of Reading offers.

Timothy Spurgin uses many classics to point out examples of his lesson for each chapter. Content and structure are not the only discussions. Why we read what we read and how we treat the written word is also a subject upon which the author touches. Tools for approaching the varieties of books, journals, magazines, and papers can assist us to get through what seems tedious at first.

I enjoy the description of style in certain pieces of literature and understand, now, why an author writes the way he or she does. I appreciate the necessary rules for plot to maintain the integrity of a story. Finally, the difficulty of adapting a book to a movie explains why so many movies fail to deliver the true essence and tone that a book shares. To capture a book's intent on film is truly an art form.

The purpose of this course is to educate us about reading so it can be more enjoyable. Even though the lectures can be a bit stuffy at times, I believe this course succeeds in achieving that purpose.

[David Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lecture 20 on Evaluating Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited was exceptional for its nuance on the themes of conversion and friendship, the positive and negative detail particularly when comparing to Waugh's earlier comic novels. Waugh made a methodology change like Dylan in '65 and the reaction from fans was similar. Both enlarged their audience and alienated original followers. The other 23 lectures I found pedestrian by comparison with material padded out to fill the time. More examples ---bad as well as good -should have been introduced for each topic. Using Conan Doyle was too high school. The Teaching Company should apply grade level ratings to each offering such as: lower division, upper division and graduate. The term "Introduction" in the title of some of their courses is a good indicator. If you have familiarity with the subject matter, skip the introductory titled courses or use only as a brushoff on the subject.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember dissecting passages from books for English classes and I don't think they were ever this interesting. Maybe because I like reading more now? I don't know.

These lectures give you great methods on how to tackle stories, long and short, that seem a bit daunting and hard to understand. I know for myself I'll use a few of them for 100 years of solitude and as I lay dying.

The only draw back is that it's for paper books and because I've been listening to more books I don't think it'll translate well.

To pre-read you need to look at the structure of the book. Chapters, how long they are...etc. Most audio books don't have that structure.

Like I said I'll try these out with paper books that are daunting and confusing for me and hopefully I'll have a better appreciation for them.

[Don Mario · Rating 4 out of 5]

I consider myself an expert reader and I came to this book just for curiosity, not really meaning to listen to all of it. Instead I found it greatly interesting.

It made me discover the possibility of a far deeper enjoyment of reading, especially referred to literary works. Spurgin insisted that his principles can be applied at least to any kind of fiction, but I'm pretty sure that going so deep as he suggests with a light reading would not repay the effort.

He goes through the analysis of many -- mostly brief -- works of major authors, and it made me really appreciate writers I knew, and made me want to read more of them and of the others he refers to.

One principle is absolutely fundamental: reading must be an enjoyable activity, and has all the potential to be a very enjoyable one!

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who is fond of the Great Courses collection [1], this audiobook was quite a striking one.  Those people who saw me with this audiobook pondered why someone who reads as much as I do would want to read a book on the art of reading.  Obviously, I know how to read, and read well.  What does someone who reads and reads well get out of a book like this?  Well, this book is all about artful reading, the sort of reading one can do in a rewarding fashion for classic literature.  The instructor shows that he is not a snob in praising good genre fiction (like the Sherlock Holmes detective stories) as well as in his last lecture when he tries to clear up any misunderstandings the listener of this course will have, but the general assumption of the professor is that one engages in extractive reading when one reads nonfiction but can use artful reading to make the reading of literature more enjoyable in a complex fashion.  The instructor appears ignorant, though, of the fact that there is a considerable variation among nonfiction, where some nonfiction, very good nonfiction, can be read in a very artful fashion with profitability, but where other nonfiction is not profitable to read artfully at all.  The author's own reading appears to have avoided the more artful types of nonfiction reading, though, unfortunately.

That said, one of the most impressive aspects of this particular course is the way it is structured and paced.  Overall there are twenty four lectures over twelve discs, and each of the lectures itself has a clear flow and structure that follows a strong focus on beginning, middle, and end.  That said, there is also a clear focus on a good structure overall for the class as well.  The instructor begins by comparing artful reading and everyday reading, then moves into questions of the real and implied author as well as the narrators, and then goes on to discuss characters and their dimensions and descriptions of people, places, and things.  Then different kinds of writing are explored, from minimalists to maximalists to lyricists, before the author discusses irony and ambiguity and plots.  The discussion of plots involves the three act structure of a story as well as master plots (namely the stranger and the journey) and the importance of plots to mysteries (specifically the Sherlock Holmes stories), the thickening of the plot in Scott and Bronte and the vanishing of plot in Faulkner and Woolf.  After this the professor moves on to areas of chapters, patterns, and rhythms, to scene and summary, and to close reading in order to gain an understanding of subtexts, motives, and secrets.  The instructor then discusses dialogue, metafiction, and adaptation in an attempt to understand what makes fiction and fiction about fiction so important, and what makes books better than film adaptations.  The instructor's comments on four types of realism courtesy of C.S. Lewis' literary criticism and expansions from that follows, and then the instructor moves into the home stretch by talking about interpretation and evaluation before giving a case study in three lectures on a long short story ("Runaway"), a classic novel ("The Age of Innocence") and a massive novel ("War And Peace") before ending with an encouragement to readers to use tools like pre-reading, close reading, and various outlining schemes to become better readers.

What benefit does someone get out of this course if they already read at an expert level?  Many of the techniques utilized by the instructor and encouraged for listeners are techniques that will either be known implicitly by intuitive readers used to close reading or those who read and review books on a regular basis.  Nevertheless, even where this information is implicitly known, there can be a benefit in viewing matters explicitly as well, and putting one's reading techniques under close scrutiny, to know what one knows and to openly acknowledge it and reflect on it.  Also, this book is good at providing varied case studies for excellent literature to read.  It has certainly encouraged me to read a few books I would not have made a very high priority among literary fiction, particularly the choices for metafiction and some of the modernist or contemporary fiction I do not tend to pay close attention to.  The professor is a big fan of Jane Austen, and Persuasion and Sense & Sensibility appear a few times in this book to the general pleasure of the student who happens to be as fond of her writing as I am.  So, if you are a fan of the "Great Books" and want to know if you rank as an elite reader or want to know what sort of techniques you may be using without even knowing it, this is a good course to take, and at twelve hours it does not present a great burden upon the listener while providing a great deal of enjoyment in listening to a discussion on good books.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...

[Trevor Price · Rating 4 out of 5]

Artful readers are made, not born, argues the professor.

He provides a number of tools or reading strategies that can yield better experiences whether reading pulp fiction or (especially) the classics.

The proof is in the pudding, I suppose. I haven't really tried his techniques out yet, much less honed them. So we'll see how it goes. But I feel like I'm much better prepared to do so.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think part of the reason I enjoyed this lecture series so much was because I watched it with my dad and we would pause and discuss the topics.

It's clear there is a passion behind reading for Spurgin and that he wants to share it with anyone who will listen. I was surprised to learn that I already employed many of the tools in my own reading.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, but I hated the way Spurgin would have spoilers for the stories that he was encouraging his audience to read. Because of this I only got a few lectures in. Probably a great series of lectures, but I am going to wait until I have read most of the pieces he is talking about, just so that I don't spoil them.

[James Tomasino · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting course. On the one hand much of the subject matter is made up of things covered in high school english courses. On the other, these aren't skills I've practiced much intentionally since that time. There's also a bit of new terminology, and some exposure to new works that I hadn't considered before.

I'm taking away an action item: read some Alice Munro.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not to be too condescending--but this is more "The Basics of Analytical Reading" rather than an "Art of". The course has some great selections and excerpts, but ultimately it doesn't add much to someone who is an avid reader and purposefully attempts diverse selections.