Reading Reflection- April 15, 2015

             Depending on the type of person you are, reading can either be your favorite or most hated pastime. When I’m reading a novel for pleasure, I often have the feeling that I can’t put the book down because I am so intrigued. Luckily, I sometimes get this feeling with novels being read in English class. Other times, it feels extremely difficult to keep my eyes open when I have to read a textbook or a novel that does not interest me. I read books differently depending on whether or not I take joy in reading them. Something I believe makes me a good reader is that I can understand and process a novel even if I don’t enjoy reading it, but something that makes me a weak reader is that this takes a lot of time for me to completely focus.

          This year, my problem of focusing was assisted because of the requirement to annotate the novels we read. While this was not a totally new experience, I took more time to annotate than I had in past years because I realized the difference it made. When I was annotating, I found myself picking out the most important pieces of the novel and taking the time to fully understand them. It made my reading experience better because, although time consuming, it benefited me when it came time to write an essay or take a quiz. In addition, I actually enjoyed the process because of the way it made me appreciate the main ideas of the novel. I think that annotating causes students to become literate in a “disciplined” way; this is a label I would use on myself because interpreting the text and making connections to the world are the major goals when being taught how to read at a high level, and I feel that I accomplish these.

            The number one strategy that applies to me is having the "capacity for sustained focused attention" (Blau). Throughout the years, I have figured out that I need to be in a quiet place with no distractions while reading and annotating. Focusing on the text without distractions makes the material much easier to grasp. Another method I will take away from this article is challenging the text and tolerating uncertainty. When I read a novel, I usually feel like the author has to be right and everything has to be definite, but now I recognize that is not the case and its okay to take these risks. Another strategy I will continue to use is rereading, because that may be the most important tactic one can use in order to entirely comprehend a difficult novel. This article made me rethink my strategies while reading and I will definitely take away some new tactics from this piece that will help improve my literacy.