What qualities make a good reader? In Vladimir Nabokov's "Good Readers and Good Writers," some qualities may surprise you. Nabokov states "...the good reader is one who has imagination, memory, a dictionary, and some artistic sense..."(615) He also states that a good reader is a rereader. I agree with Nabokov.
Imagination is vital to being a good reader as well as open mindedness. Without imagination, how could the author transport you to his created time and place? Without open mindedness you rob yourself of new experiences. I was pleased to see that a dictionary makes a good reader. I usually have a dictionary close by when I read as my curiosity inhibits me from moving forward until I have my best comprehension of the sentence. It never occurred to me that this is a quality of a good reader. A rereader is a wonderful quality for a reader to have. Rereading gives kudos to the author and renewed pleasure to the reader when he desires to revisit what the author created.
I enjoy reading but I consider myself to be a marginal reader. I often have trouble engaging in the beginning of books and remembering bits of the foundational framework of the story. Usually after about page fifty I am hooked. A bad habit I have when reading a good book is to accelerate my reading. In my excitement I miss details by skimming over them too fast.
Hello, just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed your post on what makes a good reader. I love the portion at the end of your post where you got rather reflective about your own personal writing style. I guess that got to me because I am the same way (especially when you mentioned that by page 50 you are “hooked.”) Rereading is also something that stuck out to me in Nabokov's narrative; I think that this trait really is a must for “good readers.” Well, I just wanted to let you know that I think you did a great job on your post. Keep up the good work, I look forward to seeing more of your posts!
ReplyDeleteStacey