Off The Shelf discussion

I've started a series of lectures from Great Courses, entitled "The Art of Reading". It has a TON of great ideas for use in book discussion and general reading enjoyment. I'll be posting some of these tips and tidbits on my blog, if you want to follow along:

http://kbnelson.wordpress.com/2012/01...

The first few points that I liked...

1) When you think about reading as an art, you begin to take it a little more seriously.

2) The idea of artful reading suggests that there is a difference between reading and reading well.

3) Artful reading suggests that you are doing something for its own sake, and is its own reward.

And a helpful tip for all of us trying new genres, authors, and titles...

Reader Tip: Give every book the 50-Page Test. Read the first fifty pages of a new book without making judgments, or giving up. If you haven’t connected with the characters or language by then, feel free to set it aside. But don’t write it off altogether – many readers return to a book they rejected earlier (even years before), only to find that now, they enjoy it immensely.

That's why I was so glad to find this course about the Art of Reading. I've had plenty of college course in English, Writing, etc. - but most of us have never really learned how to enjoy a book on multiple levels outside of a classroom.

It's typical of today's society that people have a very egocentric view of the world. If THEY don't like it, then it is no good. I think it is important to cultivate an objective viewpoint; to be able to say, "That wasn't for me, but I can appreciate this aspect of it..." Once we begin to understand one another, all prejudice, pretense, and negativity can fall away. But it takes courage. It takes a lot of courage and patience with yourself (and everyone else!) to get there.

I'm so glad that we have such a number of people that are truly willing to jump in and discover new facets of literature - and ultimately, of themselves!