Learning literature for adults?

[actuary]

So just a brief introduction - I am a young adult in my twenties (an actuary as my username suggests :)) , no kids, and I found these forums when I was looking for resources on self-education because I'd like to fill in some of the gaps in my own education.

 

So, I majored in math and economics in college. The last time I took an English class was in high school. I haven't read literature (anything fictional) since high school. I never really understood literary analysis in high school - I could do well enough in English class to get an A, but I hated it. And then I didn't have any general requirements in college so I avoided taking English, history, etc. in college.

 

But, from reading on these boards, it seems a lot of y'all are really enthusiastic about these non-mathematical subjects. So where do I start? How do I gain an appreciation for literature? If I try to just pick up a classic work, I feel overwhelmed by all the fancy language (I like my equations much better;)).

 

Is there some sort of good basic literary analysis book? Like something written at a high school level or a learning adult level but not an undergraduate level? Or should I be able to understand an undergraduate English textbook? I took AP English Lit my senior year of high school and I got a 4 on the exam but I don't remember anything from it which makes me think I should start with high school level English literature reading.

 

I guess I'd like to get to the point where I can read some more of the classics and kind of enjoy it. When I was little, I used to be a voracious reader - I would read huge stacks of novels every month. But somewhere along the line I lost my love of reading. I get bored reading now - I'd rather watch tv to relax instead of reading. Is that terrible?

 

I want to become more well-rounded, but I have no idea what I'm doing. Thanks so much! :001_smile:

[Kareni]

Two recommendations for you to consider:

 

The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had Susan Wise Bauer (the host of this board)

 

and

 

How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines

 

Regards,

Kareni

[actuary]

Two recommendations for you to consider:

 

The Well-Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had Susan Wise Bauer (the host of this board)

 

and

 

How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Thank you! :001_smile: and thanks for the links - I'm reading more about them now.

[Kendall]

I am a math major as well. I hated literature courses in high school, but loved to read. When my oldest started high school I dreaded reading the classics. I have enjoyed many of the ones I moaned about having to read. I have enjoyed the literature so much more than I expected.

 

One caution about applying the info in The Well Educated Mind (which I highly recommend)-don't get caught up in reading them in chronological order to the detriment of enjoyment.

 

You could also look at the recommendations in the Well Trained Mind for high school literature.

 

If you choose a particular book to start with you could come back to this forum and search for that title(or author) in the advanced search using search in title only. Sometimes there are threads on ways to approach particular works.

 

Do you have a decent library near you? If you want to read the Odyssey or the Iliad, The Teaching Company has sets by VanDiver(one set for each title) which are excellent and helped me to get more out of reading those books.

 

You could also ask for titles of non classic books that people have enjoyed. Sometimes I have an easier book going and a harder book. That might help to rekindle the love of reading for enjoyment.

 

Just a few random thoughts.

[actuary]

Kendall - glad to meet a fellow math major :)

 

Thanks for your thoughts - I really appreciate them.

 

Are there any non-classics you would recommend?

[Sunshine State Sue]

If you want to read the Odyssey or the Iliad, The Teaching Company has sets by VanDiver(one set for each title) which are excellent and helped me to get more out of reading those books.

:iagree: Vandiver's lectures were outstanding. I've only read junior high versions of these books.

 

Math and computer science major here. I must admit that, although I try, I don't seem to make a whole lot of progress in this area on my own.

 

This year, I pre-read many classics of American literature. The Teaching Company's Classics of American Literature by Arnold Weinstein was extremely helpful, enjoyable, and informative.

 

Check your library for Teaching Company.

[FrogMom5]

You asked about non-classic literature. If you go to the College Board, the SAT people, they have a list of books colleges like students to have read. Many of these books are good books but may not be considered part of the Great Books. Still worth reading though. If you can't find it, I'll try to dig it out for you.

 

Have a great time reading.

Denise

[actuary]

So I just checked out my local county library system's website to see what dvd's from the Teaching Company they had. They have what looks like at least 50 different lectures on dvd there? So it looks like I will be making a trip to my local library sometime this week...I'm so excited that the library has the dvd's so I can watch them for free - my favorite price ;)

 

I've also been poking around some more on Amazon, trying to figure out what types of books looked interesting. And then I saw the book Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I've heard a lot about it and it seems like it would be an interesting book, but maybe not too challenging for me to start with? I have trouble understanding books written a longer time ago where the sentence structure is less familiar to me (like Charles Dickens books throw me off more than books written in the twentieth century because I just have trouble understanding what Charles Dickens is trying to say). Sorry I'm not sure if I'm making much sense at all right now!?

 

Thanks for being so helpful :)

[Kendall]

I don't know where to start! Here are some very random non-classics, and a few classics snuck onto the following list:).

 

There was or still is a website called askjeeves. I had no idea where that came from until I read this book:

 

Carry On, Jeeves by Wodehouse (humorous, each chapter is mostly stands alone -)

Three Men in a Boat more British Humor (my 16 year old sons favorite book)

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (I think this is a classic, he was a Dickens contemporary, first mystery novel I think)

 

Then you can read To Say Nothing of the Dog by Collins which is a fairly recent book. (My husband enjoyed it without any of the above background)

 

science/math oriented but enjoyable for the non math person as well.

 

Atoms in the Family by Lauri Fermi (about Henri Fermi) enjoyable,

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman

The Thirty Nine Steps and others by John Buchan (novel, hard to put down)

 

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind recent autobiography, inspiring,

 

Uncle Tungston by Oliver Sacks (memoir, lots about chemistry)

 

What kinds of things/books do you/have you liked in the past? Then we could give you suggestions more tailored to your interests.

 

Have you read Pride and Prejudice? Another classic, but great to start with I think.

 

Some books you can preview of google books, there are also some online (Three Men in a Boat is free online somewhere-you could read a chapter and see what you think-some good books you have to get into a ways, but this one is funny from the start)

[actuary]

I don't know where to start! Here are some very random non-classics, and a few classics snuck onto the following list:).

 

There was or still is a website called askjeeves. I had no idea where that came from until I read this book:

 

Carry On, Jeeves by Wodehouse (humorous, each chapter is mostly stands alone -)

Three Men in a Boat more British Humor (my 16 year old sons favorite book)

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (I think this is a classic, he was a Dickens contemporary, first mystery novel I think)

 

Then you can read To Say Nothing of the Dog by Collins which is a fairly recent book. (My husband enjoyed it without any of the above background)

 

science/math oriented but enjoyable for the non math person as well.

 

Atoms in the Family by Lauri Fermi (about Henri Fermi) enjoyable,

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman

The Thirty Nine Steps and others by John Buchan (novel, hard to put down)

 

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind recent autobiography, inspiring,

 

Uncle Tungston by Oliver Sacks (memoir, lots about chemistry)

 

What kinds of things/books do you/have you liked in the past? Then we could give you suggestions more tailored to your interests.

 

Have you read Pride and Prejudice? Another classic, but great to start with I think.

 

Some books you can preview of google books, there are also some online (Three Men in a Boat is free online somewhere-you could read a chapter and see what you think-some good books you have to get into a ways, but this one is funny from the start)

 

Thanks Kendall!

 

I like books with a math bent or an economics side to them :) but way back in the day prior to my abandoning fiction I really liked the Dear America books - they were historical fiction (this was back in elementary school). In high school I remember liking some of John Grisham's novels. I like mysteries - well I really like watching mysteries on tv, so I think I'd like reading about them in books :tongue_smilie:

 

So I started reading Sense and Sensibility at one point and I remember liking it, but then I never got past the first few chapters. I read Jane Eyre my senior year of high school for my English class and I really liked it but I must confess that I skipped over some of the long descriptive parts because I would get kind of impatient (I wanted to know what happened next!).

 

Which leads me to a possibly incredibly stupid question but:

 

When you are reading a book, do you read every word? Or do you speed read? How do you read for enjoyment or to get the most out of reading? In high school I skimmed and used spark notes and in college I just skimmed econ textbooks and reading math textbooks was more about working through the examples and proofs for me than reading the actual words. When I try to sit down and read an actual book, I either stress myself out by trying to read every single word multiple times and getting neurotic about it or I start skimming and skipping over paragraphs to the point where I'm not really reading the book. So how do I find that good point where I am just reading and absorbing the words without being neurotic but not skimming and skipping paragraphs? I think this was intuitive for me when I was little but then somewhere along the line it stopped being intuitive?

[KAR120C]

When you are reading a book, do you read every word? Or do you speed read? How do you read for enjoyment or to get the most out of reading? In high school I skimmed and used spark notes and in college I just skimmed econ textbooks and reading math textbooks was more about working through the examples and proofs for me than reading the actual words. When I try to sit down and read an actual book, I either stress myself out by trying to read every single word multiple times and getting neurotic about it or I start skimming and skipping over paragraphs to the point where I'm not really reading the book. So how do I find that good point where I am just reading and absorbing the words without being neurotic but not skimming and skipping paragraphs? I think this was intuitive for me when I was little but then somewhere along the line it stopped being intuitive?

You might ease back into this with books on CD. Especially if the reader is extremely good, you start to really appreciate every single word and build up some patience for descriptive parts. :)

 

And I just had to put something in this thread because I'm a long-term book addict studying for actuarial exams. I think this is us "meeting" in the hall. LOL!

[actuary]

You might ease back into this with books on CD. Especially if the reader is extremely good, you start to really appreciate every single word and build up some patience for descriptive parts. :)

 

And I just had to put something in this thread because I'm a long-term book addict studying for actuarial exams. I think this is us "meeting" in the hall. LOL!

 

It's good to "meet" you :) I'm studying for exam C right now.

 

I have to admit I enjoy studying for actuarial exams - it's my inner nerd coming out :lol: Doing practice math problems is just kind of calming to me - not sure why!

[Julie in MN]

And then I saw the book Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I've heard a lot about it and it seems like it would be an interesting book, but maybe not too challenging for me to start with? I have trouble understanding books written a longer time ago

 

Atlas Shrugged isn't going to challenge you with Victorian English or a regional dialect.

 

It *is* a book with an "agenda" so I'd keep an eye out for whether you're picking that up along the way, or whether you could use some help from a guide or better yet, a couple different opinions. Interestingly, there is a guide from the publishers it looks like:

http://www.aynrand.org/site/DocServer/Atlas_Shrugged_Teacher_Guide_2009-10.pdf?docID=2461

 

I think it's helpful to have some kind of author background or something with themes and things to think about in a book. You can often find some ideas if you just google "guide" with a book's name. Here are some free guides for some fairly approachable but often good books:

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/

 

Julie

[Twigs]

Is there some sort of good basic literary analysis book? Like something written at a high school level or a learning adult level but not an undergraduate level? Or should I be able to understand an undergraduate English textbook?

 

 

Physics major here - I prefer equations, too!

 

I've used these 2 to help with literary analysis - both usable with elementary level (a good place for me!) (Teaching the Classics uses Peter Rabbit for its example - it's amazing what you can learn from a simple story.)

 

Deconstructing Penguins: http://www.amazon.com/Deconstructing-Penguins-Parents-Kids-Reading/dp/0812970284

 

Teaching the Classics: http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/tcs

 

I have trouble understanding books written a longer time ago where the sentence structure is less familiar to me (like Charles Dickens books throw me off more than books written in the twentieth century because I just have trouble understanding what Charles Dickens is trying to say).

 

Sometimes, wathching a movie, then reading the book helps. For example, I bought the movie Jane Eyre packaged with Emma. I had never read Emma, but after I watched the movie, I wanted to read the book. I think knowing the story from the movie made the book easier to follow.

 

Jane Eyre

book: http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Collectors-Library-Charlotte-Bronte/dp/190463303X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1305863563&sr=1-2

movie: http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Eyre-Timothy-Dalton/dp/B000784WMW/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1305863629&sr=1-1

 

Emma

book: http://www.amazon.com/Emma-Collectors-Library-Jane-Austen/dp/1904633005/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1305863596&sr=1-1

 

Jane Eyre / Emma double feature: http://www.amazon.com/Romance-Double-Feature-Emma-Jane/dp/B001TJYFRU/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1305863735&sr=1-1

 

Self-education is fun!!!

[KAR120C]

I'm still on P/1... I'm trying to aim to finish FM/2 at the same time as DS finishes homeschooling, so I should have a year or two. :)

Doing practice math problems is just kind of calming to me - not sure why!

I find it calming too! Right up to the point where I hit something I don't remember... LOL