Too Much Caffine...

The first image that pops into my head when I think of the term ‘literary reading’ is of struggling through Heart of Darkness in my highschool AP English class. I read that book with pen, pencil, and highlighter in hand so I could make a quick note of the foreshadowing, irony, and whatever other literary elements and insights I was supposed to be picking up from the story. All I remember about the book now, is that it was a pain-in-the-ass to read. I think that is the general image of literary reading that most students have. It’s reading that you do to find the right answers, or the right meaning, or to make sure you know exactly what the author meant by every word and phrase of the story.

It surprised me that I had such an immediate, negative reaction to that term because I’ve always loved to read. From the time I learned how to read, I’ve always preferred it to watching tv (except when the OC is on), or playing video games, or listening to music or any other solitary form of entertainment. There were, and still are, many nights that I stay up waaaaaay too late because I just want to finish what I’m reading. But throw the word ‘literary’ in there, and reading suddenly becomes work or study, not pleasure.

Our wonderful text book (that I was 'literarily' reading last night, highliter in hand) makes a distinction between efferent reading and aesthetic reading. Efferent reading being the practice of studying a text, finding the right answers, and learning the ‘correct’ interpretation of it - what I first thought of when I thought of literary reading. Aesthetic reading is more about relating to the text; finding your own meaning and discovering what and how a text makes you feel. That seems more like the “fun” reading that I enjoy. The point is made in the book that both are valid forms of reading and should both be taught and encouraged in the classroom as models of how to read.

However, I think that the majority of students, including myself, only encounter efferent reading in a school setting. It’s all about filling out that worksheet, or finishing the book report, or analyzing some character’s role in the development of blah blah blah...Nobody cares if you enjoy what you are reading in the classroom or if it relates to your life in any way, or if you learn any valuable lesson from it as long as you can complete an accurate story diagram.

Luckily for me, encountering the practice of classroom reading never diminished my love of reading, but it did make that huge distinction in my mind between the literary or ‘studying’ reading that I do, and the reading that I do for pleasure. I think an important question, one that alludes to a shift from strictly efferent reading in the classroom, is which has been more valuable in my life? I know that I got an A in that AP English class, but I don’t recall enjoying anything we read and probably couldn’t tell you what any of the books were about. However, in something I’ve read in an aesthetic manner I can tell you exactly what I’ve learned, what the text meant to me, what emotions, memories, aspirations I’ve experienced. I can recall the author’s name and usually know a little about their life. I can identify twists in the plot, each character’s role in the story, and usually have a pretty good idea of what message the author was trying to present to the reader. I usually finish the book with a desire to keep reading, instead of feeling relief that I’ve finished and panic that I didn’t get the ‘right’ answers from the story.

So, back to the question of what literary reading is...My best answer is that it's a combination of the two. Having an understanding of what the author is trying to communicate to the reader, but also freeing yourself enough to enjoy the book fits my definition of literary reading.