Reading Strategies: What makes reading an enjoyable experience.

This hub is in continuation with the other Reading Strategy hub of mine. I will elaborate on the other reading strategies that can be employed to enjoy a work of literature. While in the other hub i elaborated on the types and genres of books and the reading strategies that must be applied to them them, in this hub i will concentrate on some external factors that determine our reading experience. I will also, catch up on a few points that i left unexplained in the previous hub.

In the previous hub there was a reference to the ability of a creative reader to be able to classify the books and authors according to varied parameters and to know the time their reading will be best suited.

Time and mood are very important factors when it comes to reading, understanding and enjoying a work of literature. Sometimes we are not yet ready for the book we choose. The concept of growing on books is applied in a narrow sense when we classify books as children, adult and likewise. When in fact books can be categorized for readers at yet many stages of development, not necessarily physical but psychological, cognitive and emotional.

As was referred to the two kind of texts in which literary works can be classified: The Readerly and the Writerly, it is important for a reader to go through the phase of reading the Readerly texts to come to the next level of Writerly texts. It is only by swiftly moving from one experience to another can we make sense of both, a sudden leap into the more complex books will only prejudice the reader against the genre and will take him/her away from any attempts he/she might make into reading and enjoying the canonical and seminal texts.

The other way of looking into the time perspective is to talk about it in literal sense of word. I first read about something called Night books and Day books in a novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera (Read my Review of the book here). Whether or not we consider Kundera's character as his mouthpiece and delve into this classification with reference to Kundera's thought and philosophy is solely a different issue, but to concentrate on the dialogue and the context in which it emerges will be an interesting insight into the topic under discussion. Such a categorization may seem vague and off the mark, but cannot, must not be ignored as it is a source of interesting insight and discussion

The central character of Kundera's novel, Tereza talks of her time preferences when it comes to reading. So much so that she goes on to categorize books as day time books and night time books. She says It was there that I began to divide books into day books and night books, she went on. Really, there are books meant for daytime reading and books that can be read only at night (105). Well, Kundera leaves the debate to his readers as there are no other references to it in the novel.

Many serious and voracious readers might agree with Tereza.Truly there are books that have a certain distinct quality about them which makes them time specific. Don't we often have people categorizing books as winter read or summer read, weekday read or a weekend read and likewise. These are just ways to enhance the reading experience.

If you happen to pick up kundera, Grass, Kafka, Marquez, Doetovsky among others you would sure want to read them at night, have time to ponder about what you read, re-read it and delve into that web of interpretations and may be, it happens, would like to write before getting to the task of reading again. You wouldn't want yourself to be disturbed as you delve into the many possibilities of interpretations that transpire. And then there are other books that you read just for the fast moving plot, just because you must, just because you don't feel like doing any other thing, you might go for a day time read.

Reading postures is yet another aspect that governs the way we read and enjoy reading. I can only enjoy reading with my pillow comfortably adjusted on my back, without my parents and friends nagging me to sit straight or else I'll strain my eyes. It is one of these reasons i am very particular about the time and mood when it comes to picking up a book for next read.

I have always found reading scriptures or other Hindu religious texts problematic, not because of the language or any other formatting problems but the fact that my mother always insists on reading them sitting in a particular posture. If you have to read Ramayana you must sit on the red colored rug with the text placed in front of you. This is a very difficult feat for me to accomplish and i have never gotten myself to read the text and completely enjoy it.

Similarly i enjoy poetry only when i can read it aloud or have someone read it to me. When for some reason i have to read it silently without tapping my hand to the rhythm, i lose interest and understand or feel little of what is conveyed.

Audio Books and e books have changed the way we read today. To read a text/book displayed on the computer screen makes reading an entirely different reading experience. Many people still prefer reading books in hard copies. Listening to an audio book might make reading a lesser personal experience. When we have words read to us, there are other implications that come along. The tone of the voice, the accent, the pitch makes the implications of the writer clear and leaves little to the listener to comprehend and create. It can either enforce or hinder your reading/listening experience.

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/readingstrategy BY: tinarathore84