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How to Read a Novel
How to Read a Novel: A User's Guide | John Sutherland
6 posts | 7 read | 5 to read
"Do we still know how to read a novel?" John Sutherland, Chairman of the 2005 Booker Prize Committee, asks. His disheartened answer is an unequivocal, "No." But Sutherland has not given up hope. With acerbic wit and intellect, he traces the history of what it used to mean to be well-read and tells readers what it still means today. Using this delightful book as a means to an end, he reminds readers how the delicate charms of fiction can be at once wonderful and inspired and infuriating. On one level this is a book about novels: how they work, what they're about, what makes them good or bad, and how to talk about them. At a deeper level, this is a book in which one of the most intimate tte--ttes is describedone in which a reader meets a novel. Will a great love affair begin? Will the rendezvous end in disappointment? Who can say? In order for the relationship to take its appropriate course all the details must be clearly acknowledged and understood for their complexities: plot, point of view, character, style, pace, first and last sentences, and even beauty. Still, Sutherland knows a true understanding of fiction is more than a flirtation with text and styleit is a business. Taking his readers on a trip to the bookshop, he helps them judge a book by its cover based on design and color, wondering aloud what genre might be best, even going so far as to analyze one of the latest American bestsellers to further help the buying reader choose the novel that is right for him or her. In a book that is as wry and humorous as it is learned and opinionated, John Sutherland tells you everything you always wanted to know about how to read fiction better than you do now (but, were afraid to ask).
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vivastory
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"Novels can do many things. They can instruct, enlighten, confuse, mislead, soothe, excite, indoctrinate, misinform, educate & waste time. Each novel has its own rewards, or frustrations. And, at their highest pitch of achievement, novels can indeed be the one bright book of life."
Published in 2006, Sutherland's book begins with a diatribe. Unlike many books published during this time, he wasn't sounding the death knell of literacy & ?

vivastory the publishing industry due to the digital age. Rather the opening of this book is about the overwhelming amount of titles & how a reader is supposed to choose from amongst them & in the choosing define themselves. Sutherland uses Woolf's, "The only advice, indeed, that one person can give another about reading, is to take no advice" as a guiding principle. He doesn't provide a list to be well-read, instead he writes about a broad range of ? 5y
vivastory book related issues, such as film adaptations, book reviews, literary awards, copyright, marginalia, the importance of a distinctive narrative voice. I checked out a couple of his other books from the library today & I am really looking forward to reading them. 5y
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vivastory
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This is a really interesting book & I was really struck by Sutherland's notion of genre fiction as group preference novels. He argues in the preceding pages that a lot of sci-fi & fantasy fiction is at heart conservative. I haven't read it, but I believe this is the basic premise of Peter Biskind's latest book "The Sky Is Falling." I understand the argument, but I'm not convinced. Sutherland's not against genre fiction, earlier in the book he?

vivastory says that Raymond Chandler is a greater author than Fitzgerald & in the following paragraph of what I have posted he gives a brief chronology of his favorite genre authors. He ends the chapter with this great line, "Who knows, old man, there may be something in the teen fiction racks; after all, Philip Pullman is there." 5y
Leftcoastzen I love Fitzgerald but I also think both Hammett and Chandler are better than most and push boundaries of being called genre. 5y
batsy I like that point about the difference between "knowing what you like" vs "knowing yourself"—and how sticking to closely to the former can limit one's reading experiences. 5y
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vivastory @Leftcoastzen Agree 100% Especially Chandler 5y
vivastory @batsy I was really struck by that, too. Some of my favorite books have really challenged me and were not easy reads. Pamuk's "My Name Is Red" & Hustvedt's "Blazing World" immediately come to mind. Although I enjoy spending time with Dame Agatha, I also want to be challenged. I find it immensely satisfying. 5y
batsy I agree completely! Just like the recent buddy read of The Fight Club; it was an uncomfortable, disconcerting experience, but I'm glad to have read it. 5y
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wanderinglynn
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#25inFive starts today! I‘m currently reading The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy & aim to finish it today. The other two are next up in the tbr hopper.

I was able to read about 15 minutes before work this morning, so 24 hours & 45 minutes left to go! 😉🙌🏻 w00t!

Andrew65 Every minute counts 😂 6y
wanderinglynn @Andrew65 I‘m really enjoying it. I loved Harold‘s story & it‘s great to now read Queenie‘s story. 😀 6y
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Andrew65 @wanderinglynn I‘m looking forward to starting her latest book 6y
Sophoclessweetheart Good luck! Xx 6y
Kaye I just picked up the Queenie one the other day. Loved Harold Fry so now I have to find out Queenie‘s story. 6y
wanderinglynn @Kaye I think you‘ll enjoy it. Let me know! 😀 6y
Kaye Will do. I saved your post to remind me. Not sure when I‘ll get to it. Made 2 huge library hails this week too ! 6y
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Donna_sBookMinute
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I'm posting another #ReadingEquipment photo for my Nook. But, thanks to @BookBabe 's post, I was reminded of my trusty, comfy recliner.
☑️Nook Glowlight Plus
☑️Bluetooth speaker for soft music
☑️Afghan
☑️Fuzzy socks
☑️Journal, pen, pencil
☑️Something to drink
☑️Hard candy
☑️Spectacles
#JanuaryRead

JSW Fuzzy socks sisters forever 😘❤❤❤❤ 7y
Donna_sBookMinute @JSW -- 🐏 (couldn't find any socks). So I went with the source. This is a sheep, right? Can't tell on my phone screen. 😊 7y
BookBabe 😊🙌🏻 Nice! Happy to help. Of course after I posted mine I thought of a bunch of other things I could've added. Oh well, c'est la vie! 7y
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Blaire
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#readjanuary #readingequipment Here are some of the things I need to read: a pen, my bullet journal, my beloved kindle, a paperback (in case of kindle malfunction or battery loss, I'm almost always reading an ebook and a paperback), my charger, and something hot to drink (this morning it's earl grey).

RealLifeReading Mm earl grey! 7y
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GoneFishing

Unlike baked beans, loaves of breads or Fuji apples, books once consumed, do not disappear.

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