Comments about Books and Reading

Mother Daughter Book Clubs Teach the “Art” of Reading

I’m constantly looking for ways to maximize my time....sometimes while driving, I just “zone out” but a friend introduced me to “The Great Courses.These are CDs or DVDs on every imaginable subject. I perused the ones on sale and “The Art of Reading” caught my eye.  I couldn’t resist.  Who ever thought there was an “art” to reading/!  We learn to read, some of us learn easier than others and than thats it, right?  Well....yes and no….

According to Professor Timothy Spurgin at Lawrence University, there are different types of reading....there is “everyday” reading which you use to understand directions or follow a recipe.  The second type is “artful” reading.  This is the type of reading when you “stop to take note of an elegant phrase or a striking image” says professor Spurgin.  It is when you think about the story, how it relates to your life, how the characters interact with each other, how the author uses various techniques, etc.  It occurred to me that is what we are teaching our daughters to do in a Mother Daughter Book Club.  We are teaching them the “art of reading.”  We are enhancing their thinking and analyzing skills.  We are expanding their minds and teaching them to be read “beyond the words,” to appreciate a story at a deeper level.  What a gift we are giving them!