Vladimir Nabokov, in “Good Readers and Good Writers” describes a good reader as one who “should notice and fondle details”. The reader should approach a written work with no preconceived notions of what he or she thinks the piece is going to deliver. There must be an aloofness and objectivity in reading while also entering into the imagination of the writer and bringing one’s own imagination into it. Nabokov says that the best that one can bring to a reading is an impersonal imagination and artistic delight. There should exist “an artistic harmonious balance between the reader’s mind and the author’s mind”.
I agree largely with what Nabokov says makes for a good reader, especially the bit about leaving out preconceived notions about what I think an author is going to say. This is the best way to miss every subtlety and mystery that the author has to offer. To be a good reader, one must be able to know the difference between cheap, emotional entertainment and an art form that is calling the reader outside of his or her own self and offering a view of humanity at its deepest. And then the reader must receive what has been revealed. I strive to read in this way, but I believe it is something that one must work diligently toward everyday.
(Here is an article on how modern romance novels, Christian and secular, are akin to emotional porn)
Hi Autumn,
ReplyDeleteI chose to comment on your post because of this excerpt:
"To be a good reader, one must be able to know the difference between cheap, emotional entertainment and an art form that is calling the reader outside of his or her own self and offering a view of humanity at its deepest. And then the reader must receive what has been revealed."
I love the way you put this into words. I have found myself thinking this same thing. A lot of the reading that is popular in our culture features characters that exactly shadow the intended audience. The author is writing for love struck/brooding teenagers, so all the characters are love struck/brooding teenagers. I personally think it's great when younger people choose to read a book over television or another form of media, but you have to wonder how much of their imagination actually is engaged when the characters they read about are just slightly more interesting versions of themselves.
All the books that I have come to truly love and value have taken me out of my comfort zone. They've made me put myself into different cultures and generations and points of view and contemplate the human experience from the oddest angles imaginable. There needs to be more books like that.