Customer Reviews

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Critical Reading

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Critical Reading is a good introduction to learning the basics of how to get the most out of reading. It is easy to read and pretty concise. It helps to teach a reader how to approach the different types of genres of literature. Doesn't get bogged down in details.

I purchased this Idiot's Guide thinking it might have something to offer to students who have trouble reading and writing critically. It offered nothing but obvious, tried and not true methods. I returned it.