The Complete Idiot's Guide to Critical Reading [Mass Market Paperback]

Amy Wall (Author), Regina Wall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 3, 2005 | Series: The Complete Idiot's Guide

The essential guide to looking at literature with your own two eyes.

What students know about Shakespeare, Orwell, Dickens, and Twain is primarily what their instructors tell them. Here’s a book that teaches the students how to move on to the next level—evaluate and read critically on their own, trust their own opinions, develop original ideas, analyze characters, and find a deeper appreciation for fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and more.

• Ideal companion for college students and accessible for the casual reader as well

• Covers fiction, poetry, narrative nonfiction, biographies and memoirs, essays and editorials, and newspapers, magazines, and journals

• Features examples from published writing

• Includes a reading list and a glossary of literary terms

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Amy Wall, an author and poet, studied literature, art, and theatre, earning a Master’s degree in English and American literature in 1994.

Regina Wall has taught creative writing at Michigan State University and American literature and art history at Vanier College in Montreal, Canada, and has conducted graduate seminars in literature at the University of Montreal.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Alpha (May 3, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592573401
• ISBN-13: 978-1592573400
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #536,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow - This is Great!, June 25, 2005

By 

Lara "Lara" (Montclair, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Critical Reading (Mass Market Paperback)

Finally! Someone found a way to tell people not only HOW to read, but WHY it is so important to read - something my high school teachers never managed to drill into my head. The authors really get into the nitty gritty about the importance of reading. It's not just to be smarter but for your own personal growth and understanding of the world. If you have never read a play or poetry, you'll want to try it. If you are a reader of fiction, you'll understand what to look for in your reading which will allow you to read your favorite books in a whole new way. I don't read magazines at all, but this book even gets into that. If you're in school, you HAVE TO GET THIS BOOK! If you're not in school, get it anyway. It's good for everyone. Many thanks to the authors for finally saying it straight.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally!, August 21, 2005

By 

TheCafeWriter (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Critical Reading (Mass Market Paperback)

Someone shows the way in a manner that's accessible and easy to understand.

What's different about this book from others on the topic is that it doesn't rely on taking a few specific works and analyzing each of them to death. (If that had worked in high school and college, I wouldn't have bought this book. All that did was suck the fun out of reading anything 'literary'.)

Instead They discuss the main points and suggest questions for you to consider as you read. For example, in a fictional work, what is the role of the comic relief character (assuming there is one)? How are he/she essential to the story?

This book provides the tools for really getting the most out of what you read on your own terms.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get this book!, December 3, 2005

By 

twinklestar (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Critical Reading (Mass Market Paperback)

This book really opened my eyes about how to read books. I was flipping through it in the book store and it grabbed my attention for two reasons - it was written by a Mom/Daughter team and it reads very well. This is the best book I've ever read regarding why anyone should read books.