Acquire the Book You Want to Read

In library: it is free and easy if you have a membership card. The drawback with libraries is that you may have to wait several weeks or months down the waiting list for the copy of a most wanted book. Buy the book: the advantage is that the book is yours. You can write in, underline in, etc which you would not do in a book borrowed from a library or a friend. In this last specific case, make sure then that you are spending your money on a book that will be useful to you. This can be done by information you have about author, table of content, the cover page etc. It is even wiser to read a few pages of the book in the store. Today it is possible to purchase a book electronically. We have portable e-readers and smartphones, electronically published editions
of print books. Borrow the book (from friends, relatives, classmates, etc). In such a case, you are not supposed to leave any marks in it. You should be careful to keep it in a clean and good state. Don’t keep it until its owner called you to order. Read it as
fast as possible and take all the information so as not to have to come back to him again for the same book. If you get the reputation of not taking care of the books that you are entrusted with, nobody will be happy to lend you his books or to inform you that they have the books you are asking for. The same goes with the reputation of not giving back the book you borrow on your own.

Read the book

Read in comfortable seat in a place which is ideally well aired, with good lighting. Find a location where nobody will find you. Such a place will be cool, calm, silent. a library (if you are like me, though, avoid libraries or public parks no matter how calm people try to be as reading locations. I always find it difficult to concentrate in a library with all these movements of people, whispering and making me curious to hear what they are whispering, etc), under a tree, in a park, etc It is not a good idea to read in front of the TV set or radio set on. The mind needs calm to take in every important information. Set the reading environment: physical posture and environment will influence your ability to take in information. If you feel negative or unwell, it may affect
your reading so it makes sense to set up the conditions to give you the best positive reading environment. Where possible, read or study in natural daylight. Read only when you are in the right mood. If you are preoccupied, distracted, angry, worried, concentration to understand will fail you. You won’t get much out of what you read and probably won’t remember any of it the next day. The mind functions like a filter. If you are not in the ideal condition, the mind is not open to comprehension and does not function to its maximum. After a certain time, make a good break to unwind and relax. Avoid reading difficult material or materials that require detailed comprehension and processing in bed as body and mind tend to relax. Such a location (bed) could ruin your need of rest as some books will prevent you from sleeping if too much is demanded from the mind. Or you might just be wasting your time as you won’t learn anything in these conditions. All things considered, you gain nothing from such a position. Only light magazine can be tolerated in such places. If you happen to live with a partner, he/she might not welcome such an attitude unless
you have the same habit of taking your activities into your bed.

Adapt your reading speed. We do not read a contract the way we read a newspaper. Immersive reading materials which require detailed understanding and deep comprehension such as contracts are a few examples of where you may want to read at a slower pace. Decide whether or not to read the front material: acknowledgements, forward, preface, introduction, etc. Generally acknowledgements are not read by most readers. The foreword is written to explain generally how and why the book was written. In the introduction, the author presents the intent of the book, announce the structure and rouse the interest of readers by building excitement to read it. There are introductions only in non-fiction materials. End materials (cover pages: positive feed backs to the book through essays or editorials. It is optional to read front and end materials unless you are about deciding if you must take the book or not.

Rules for book reviewing

Stick to the goal of the writer. Do not blame him for not achieving something he never aims to do. Write quotes or passages from the book: strong statements, topic sentences. This allows readers to form their own opinion on the writer and the book. Make a plot summary without giving away the ending. Expressing personal appreciation on the book. You may mention the deficiencies of the book; give an example. Try to understand and explain that deficiency. Say why you consider the book as good or bad (strengths and weaknesses of the book) You can make such a work by comparing (relation of similarity and opposition) the book to other books you have read.

Making Notes on fiction and non fiction works.

All books have authors and it is well advised to start by providing enough elements on the authors, biographical and bibliographical elements. This may help include him into a genre, a type or category of books. Sometimes these information can impact comprehension of the book. These include: name, date of birth/death, title of book, context (space where is the story taking place? and time: when?) These can constitute the paratextual elements, ie elements found out of the text itsef of the book. ex: preface acknowledgement coverpage, editor, publishing house, year of publication, epigraph, etc. What is the book about? the general theme/topic.

Reviewing a fiction is a subjective work, a personal assessment: consider the following

The story the characters (the hero (in), the other characters (flat or round), their contributions to the development of plot– the plot (what was before the crisis, what disrupted the normal life, what after the denouement: exposition, the conflict, the climax and the denouement) – stylistic and linguistic innovation and explorations. At the start, give a few biographical and bibliographical elements on the author. It may be wise to include the book into a genre, a type of books. Generally a fiction needs to be read through to understand the story line. In a collection of poems, it is possible to jump into the book and pick one that sounds interesting and flip through it. But in a novel, this will hardly help you enjoy the full story as any detail will have a big impact on the development of the plot.

For non-fiction works, consider the subject, how the author handled the research

Organized and structured the material. Structure: introduction – Part I – Part II, Conclusion. Normally this part should answer the question “What is the thesis statement?” Skim the table of contents and index. This facilitates quickly jumping to a particular piece. Index list keywords, important terms along with page numbers. Rather than starting at the beginning, you may jump into the part that seems interesting to you. Here we must also highlight the main arguments, the strong statements, the essential
reflexions. In structure we main address the main concepts, main and secondary ideas, demonstrations, conclusions and interpretations. Note taking: as we generally read to get information. Such textbook materials has much clearly organized information on many topics. It is up to you to organize these ideas. Keep a notepad open while you read. Stop and make a note on paragraphs in one or two quick phrases or sentences. Then review your results at the end. Read your notes again to make
sure they make sense. Read for interest: It is not necessary to read a textbook through from start to end. You can jump from section to section. In this case, it will be a good idea to read the introduction which generally presents the articulation of the work to decide on the section or chapters to read.