How to Learn From the Heaviest of Books

I love reading, but I’ll settle for writing instead. Reading has so many benefits, but it takes effort to understand how or why. There’s a reason why my favorite class in college was Milton, and it’s not because the author was blind while writing the epic. The way the author took three chapters from the Bible and turned it into an epic is phenomenal. The fully-fledged background and characteristics of Lucifer and hell to setting the not-so-perfect ideas of the Garden of Eden brings a lively story soon after the fall. I would not have appreciated any of this if it had not been for the fantastic professor guiding the course. Graduation is long gone, and I still have the annotated book on my bookshelf, along with the bragging rights, yet the most important lesson I learned from the English Renaissance poet was not how important the author’s work was but how I approached his work. There are books I want to read later in life that will take longer to finish than my usual choices. While I can enroll online for most books, I can still use what I learned in my Milton class to read any book and take more from what I get out of it. Readers can use these methods for both fiction and nonfiction books.

My first advice is to read intentionally and understand the author’s intentions as you read the story or text. Let’s start with what most people need after the book’s title, the summary. Summaries give the first impression of the book. The trailer for the upcoming movie you’re about to watch. Written well, they give you a brief glimpse of what the story or textbook has in store. For stories, they can show the plot, the conflict in an otherwise utopia, in a rich setting filled with riveting characters, all without revealing the twist in the story. Here’s a summary from Elle Cosimano’s Finlay Donovan is Killing It:

“Fast-paced, deliciously witty, and wholeheartedly authentic in depicting the frustrations and triumphs of motherhood in all its messiness, hilarity, and heartfelt moment, Finlay Donovan is Killing It is the first in a brilliant new series from YA Edgar Award nominee Elle Cosimano.” Forty-two words, one sentence: what does this summary store when you read the book? The first thing to point out is the writing, not from the summary but from the book. “Fast-paced,” “witty,” and “authentic in depicting the frustrations and triumphs of motherhood” means we are in store for a mystery/thriller novel through the lenses of a mother. We can also tell that the main character will go through hilarious and thoughtful moments as she tries to make a killing. Lastly, you’ll notice that the author has been nominated for an award in the past, meaning she has experience writing novels and Cosimano was recognized for her efforts. This paragraph is enough to tell that you are in for a treat if you read Cosimano’s novel.

What about nonfiction? What about books on self-help, memoirs, or even textbooks? Self-help books and memoirs follow the same rules as fictional books because the authors offer personal experiences and ideas that readers can infer from; some conflicts may vary. Academic textbooks can show an overly simplified outline of what the author(s) expects the readers to learn after following the textbooks. Let’s look at one paragraph from Ambitious Science Teaching by Mark Windschitl, Jessica Thompson, and Melissa Braaten, published in 2018.

“Drawing on the emerging research on core teaching practices and their extensive work with preservice and in-service teachers, Ambitious Science Teaching presents a coherent and aligned set of resources for educators striving to meet the considerable challenges that have been set for them.”

This section of the summary shows that the authors provided recent research and practices that could help upcoming educators deal with the challenges they’ll run into, thanks to the author’s extensive work.

Books can be worth the hype or overrated. There have been popular books in the past where I DNF’d because the writing wasn’t for me. The reasons were plenty and multiplied every time I tried to reread the books. One book I dropped at first was Yellow Face by R.F. Kwan; I didn’t want to read about a bitter, washed-out writer trying to make it in the publishing industry with her friend’s work. I didn’t see the appeal at first; months later, after watching a video by WithCindy, I realized there was more to Kwan’s book than I realized. That’s why I recommend reading blogs or watching videos from influencers who have read the book. It can help shed light on why the book you dropped is celebrated by many, or they can share your sympathies.

Reading about reading can be corny, so why am I writing about it? I’m writing for the readers who want to squeeze every drop out of the books they’re reading. I’m writing for people who can’t get enough out of life so they go to books instead. Books are always fun but the more you can get out of it, the better.