How To Read Literature Like A Professor Essay

Dear Thomas Foster, I deeply enjoyed your book, How To Read Literature Like a Professor, and am writing to share my thoughts. My first credit to you is that this book is a giant reading list. You reference so many books from various genres. The excerpts used to identify literary concepts are like book summaries. I can’t wait to read several referred classics—such as Beowulf or The Tempest. Another credit is that this book is a great way to learn new vocabulary, such as the word “apocryphal,” which I’d never heard before. Finally, I have to congratulate your humor. Several statements throughout this book were hilarious, such as on page 21, “Somehow Pocahontas has received better PR,” or on page 35, “Plus, his quotes are like eligible persons of the other sex: all the good ones are taken.” When I first opened this book, I assumed this would be another “how-to” guide with tips and lists. I was pleasantly surprised …show more content…
Foster, is how frank your book is—especially in the sex chapters. There’s no smoothing or glancing over the details. You explain each segment professionally and expertly. The topic is not taboo here; I find it annoying when authors are condescending and secretive in literature. I never realized it before, but the reason “sex scenes” are so hard to write for authors is that our society has made sexuality so private and unspeakable. How can authors write and broadcast it to the world when it’s not even spoken about at home? Also while reading the chapters on sex, I liked the mention of how waves breaking on the beach or curtains billowing symbolize sex, on page 74. It amazes me how much readers can comprehend through juxtaposition, which we learned about in College Writing. If you want the reader to guess death and analyze what really happened, just use sounds of a gunshot—who shot it?—or a black rose to imply the meaning. I agree that implicit references keep the reader engaged with the story

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