Why Good Books Should be Read Twice (or more)

I fell in love with reading when I was in first grade and have spent hours reading ever since. Whether I was on road trips, in my room, or later outside on the college quad, I always had a book with me, and I would usually read every chance I got. Some of my favorite books I’ve read over a dozen times. I went into English in undergrad and grad schools because I wanted to be a writer, and because I liked to read. I went on to teach writing and literature at the college level for eight years.

That said, I now realize that I never learned to read, at least not in an organized way.

When I was in junior high, I met a professor who had been born in Belgium, educated at the University of Chicago, and was now teaching at a college where my parents had gone to school. He challenged me to read Shakespeare when I was in 7^th grade. A few pages into The Merchant of Venice, I felt like I was reading a foreign language and quit. It would be another 3-4 years until I tackled Shakespeare again, and even then it would take seeing it on stage before I actually felt like I could gain entry into that world.

Over the years, though, I’ve bought a number of books this professor had previously read. I noticed the pages were thickly highlighted and theme words would be indexed at the back of the book with page numbers. I knew that he read differently, but it still didn’t connect that I could do so. It took a moment a few days ago, poring over a number of sample answers on a study guide website, to see how to read on a whole different level. Here’s what I learned:

The First Reading

Typically, when I’ve read a book in the past, I’ve let the story “wash over me.” I just want to enjoy the story, and I feel like I’m along for the ride. Sometimes I’m trying to figure out what’s happening, who the characters are, but that sometimes distracts me from the story itself. I am only focused on the characters and plot specifically when it’s complex, slow building, or poorly written. Some books I only read once, or don’t manage to get through. Some of them are poorly written, others either don’t grab my attention or I’m not ready for them yet. Regardless, they don’t stick.

The good books, however, stay with me for days, weeks, months, even years. I want to return to that world, think more about the characters, or imagine what other scenarios outside of the story would look like. I even find them making their way into my dreams. The “classics” and good books should be worth reading again. They say something significant about life or circumstances, or about the world that resonates and sticks with us. These are the books that should be read again.

The Second Reading

The second reading is the systematic read. Here’s where you highlight passages in the text and index them in the white spaces at the end of a book, or keep a notebook or journal, or separate pieces of paper that can go neatly inside the jacket of your book. If you’re reading a book (novel) for class, are teaching it, or want to go more in depth, here are some things to take note of:

1. Characters

First of all, the characters are the people or things that move the story. Characters don’t even have to be people (rabbits in Watership Down; Frog, Toad, etc. in The Wind in the Willows), but they are who the story is about. You have main characters who are with you for most of the story and supporting (minor) characters who only appear in a few scenes or quickly make an exit (sometimes as cannon fodder). You also have a main character whose eyes you’re often seeing the story through (the protagonist) who has a goal or desire he or she (or it) is wanting to accomplish. You also have a person, people, circumstances, or things (antagonists) that are trying to prevent your main character(s) from reaching the goal.

2. Setting

Setting is the where and when of the story. Why does the setting matter? Even though this is the “backdrop” to the events of the story, the setting still matters. It shapes or limits the possibilities of what can happen. For example, when a story begins in a small country village and then raiders come through, burning everything down, this communicates a sense of loss, that something good has been destroyed, far more deeply than if it took place in a war zone. A battle in a larger war, while no less devastating, is almost expected. A battle in a peaceful village that was unprepared is not expected and is therefore shocking.

3. Plot

Plot, in essence, is what drives the story forward, the what’s happening. The plot is driven by the goal or desire of the main character(s). What do they want to accomplish? How are they going to get there? This desire, while it moves the plot forward, also tells about the characters (and later themes) we’re following. For Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, after a tornado rips her from her home in Kansas, she embarks on a single-minded quest to get back; for Frodo in Lord of the Rings, he has to destroy the Ring of Power so Middle earth can be safe again; for Luke Skywalker, he longs for an adventure (significance) and gets caught up in saving a princess and fighting the Empire. For Oedipus, he wants to find out why a plague has fallen on Thebes.

4. Point of View (POV)

The point of view is important, because it creates our relationship as the reader with the characters in the story. If the point of view is first person, we essentially are inside the main character, intimately aware of their thoughts and feelings. What happens to them is vicariously happening to us. In a third person omniscient (all knowing) perspective, we’re above the story, looking down on the events unfolding, playing the role of “gods” who are observing an event unfold, but not taking part in it. One perspective is intimate and visceral, the other detached and (possibly) more cerebral. Different points of view fit different types of stories, but it’s important to recognize the kind of relationship being created.

5. Themes

Themes become the overall ideas of the book. Maybe the story is about growing up, coming of age, the problem of good and evil, a struggle for significance. These ideas are significant to the plot of the story and help drive the story forward, but they can also transcend the story and speak to our own situation as well. What does love look like in Romeo and Juliet? Is it truly romantic, self-sacrificing, impulsive and reckless, and how do these definitions of love play out? When Hamlet wants to avenge his father’s death, will it bring healing to himself and Denmark, or will he destroy everything around him? Is revenge worth the price? What role does friendship play in the quest to destroy the Ring? Or to defeat Voldemort?

6. Symbolism

For me, symbolism plays a more minor role, and can possibly be tied to the ideas of theme. However, symbols can also still be key pieces in a story. The three animals Dante confronts at the entrance to Hell are more than random animals, but represent stages of life and key temptations during those stages; the stolen silver in Les Miserables becomes a kind of “blood money” to redeem one man’s soul; the Ring in Lord of the Rings is not just jewelry but evil embodied.

7. Key Passages

Key passages are the significant scenes and conversations between characters that illustrate themes, plot, character, or major events in the book. Key passages are significant in that they help illustrate your idea. They’re the “sound bites” of the story that show rather than tell. They’re especially helpful when you’re writing a research paper, or want to illustrate an idea through an example you’re teaching through. This is where the key ideas move from generalities to specifics. While this takes some extra work and planning, identifying key passages in the text can really help communicate the overall idea.  One of my favorite passages that illustrates grace comes from The Fellowship of the Ring, where Gandalf is recounting to Frodo Gollum’s finding of the ring and the problems he has created for Bilbo and the Shire. Frodo says, “‘What a pity that Bilbo did not stab that vile creature, when he had a chance!

                ‘Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity and Mercy: not to strike without need. And he has been well rewarded, Frodo.’”

I still love reading just to get wrapped up in the story, but taking note of these key ideas in the second reading really helps organize my thoughts when it comes to research papers, teaching, or simply going more in-depth when talking about a book. Hopefully it will help your reading experiences as well!

Writing as a House: On Organization and Coherence

Over the last ten years I have taught a lot of writing classes and have also worked with students one-on-one with their papers. When I talk about structuring writing, I often use the analogy of a house. It has seemed to work really well, and I’d like to share two ideas about this (organization, coherence) with you as well.

Organization

First, imagine when you walk into your own house and step into the kitchen, what do you expect to find? Typically, you’ll see a fridge, microwave, stove, sink, cabinets, drawers, and other things. What is the purpose of the kitchen? To eat, of course! Actually, to be more accurate, the kitchen has to do with food: the preparing of it, the storing of it, the cleaning of it, the storing of dishes that serve food . . . but food is the main theme of the room. All of the main furniture that goes into this room supports the main purpose of the kitchen, which has to do with food.

Now, let’s step into the living room. Again, what do you typically see? You may see a TV, a couch, stereo, lamps, bookshelves, family pictures, a lazy boy, etc. What do you think the purpose of the living room is? When I ask this question, people will say, “To relax, to have friends over, to chill.” So again, the living room has a main purpose, which is to relax and to hang out with friends and family. All the furniture here, from the couch to the TV to the lights is intended to fit this main purpose.

We could move to the bedroom, the bathroom, and other rooms of the house and quickly identify the main purpose of the room (the bathroom: to get clean; the bedroom: to sleep, to have personal space) and we would find most of the furniture is there to fit that purpose. In a well-organized house, nearly everything in each room fits the main purpose of the room, and in a cluttered or disorganized house, we find furniture in rooms that don’t fit, or we find too much furniture . . . or too little.

So how does this relate to writing? I’m glad you asked. In the same way that the rooms of a house each have a purpose and the furniture in those rooms fits that main purpose, an essay has a similar structure. Think of the essay as its own house. The paragraphs are the rooms in the house.  Each paragraph should be about one idea. The supporting details, examples, and evidence are the furniture that are related to the main purpose of that paragraph. If there are too few details and examples, the room isn’t comfortable. If there are too many, the room can begin to become cluttered, or starts to spill over into trying to fill too many purposes. Many writing instructors suggest creating paragraphs that are between 3-8 sentences. There is no magic to this, and this is not set in stone. The idea BEHIND it, though, is this: your paragraph should be about one idea and you need enough supporting “furniture” in the room to comfortably fill this function.

Coherence (Flow)

Now that we’ve talked about organization of the rooms, let’s talk about flow. Yes, there’s a kind of Feng Shui or flow that should exist in your papers as well. If we were to take a tour of your house, we might start out in the living room, then move to the kitchen, and so on, throughout the house. Imagine that someone in the group was busy looking at the fridge and didn’t hear that the rest of the group had moved on. Suddenly, they look up and they’re all alone, wondering how they missed the cue that the group was done with the kitchen and had gone somewhere else. It’s important to have markers, or sign posts, in your writing that signal to the reader that you’re done with one idea and are beginning a new one (moving from room to room).

Some good markers include, but aren’t limited to, the following:

First,

Second,

In addition,

On the other hand,

Also,

Finally,

However,

Meanwhile,

Next,

In contrast,

You probably get the picture.

Another way I talk about this idea of coherence, or flow, is that it’s like going on a road trip. You’re not in danger of getting lost on the straightaways, but it’s the turns, the “forks in the road,” the choices you have to make, to go right or left, when you can miss your cue and find yourself lost.  As a reader, you need to work hard to make the signage clear. The above markers are the equivalent to, “Stop here, Road Out Ahead, Turn Right.” They help our reader make the journey without getting lost.

One final point about coherence, and then I’ll move on: avoid writing overly confusing sentences if you want your reader to track with you. Watch for double negatives (test makers love using them, but they’re not good for clear communication). Also, watch wordy phrases and too many passive sentences (we’ll talk about that another time).

When you’re in the drafting stage of your writing, you may not be thinking about the organization and coherence ideas we’ve talked about, and that’s okay. The main purpose of the draft is to get your ideas down on paper as quickly as possible. You’re “unpacking the truck” into your house in the drafting phase. But in the revision phase, ask yourself whether each of your paragraphs serves one purpose (rooms) and whether the furniture (supporting ideas) is in the right room or not. In other words, do your dirty dishes belong in the bedroom or in the kitchen? Does your shower towel belong in the living room or in the bathroom? You may need to spend some time “cleaning house” by moving around ideas into the right rooms/paragraphs.

We’ve covered a couple ideas about writing today, and I hope it’s helpful. If nothing else, many of my students have said the house analogy has “stuck” with them months and years after we talked about it. If this has been helpful, let me know, and feel free to send me what’s been helpful for you. I’ll look forward to hearing from you!