Ways of Reading: Advanced Reading Skills for Students of English Literature by Martin Montgomery, et al

Rated: Two stars

Publisher: Routledge

Published: December 5th 2012

Edition: 4th (first published July 23rd 1992)

My two stars rating is especially unfortunate as I was eager to delve into what promised to be some good learning. Alas, it did seem I had my hopes up. Ways of Reading was on my required reading for a college course four years ago, I almost forgot about it until I repacked the bookshelf.

I’m working to improve my writing with my refocus on my blogs and I figured better reading made for better writing. I’m primarily a pleasure reader, and while general comprehension and critical reading skills have sharpened over time I wasn’t fully prepared for the likes of Shakespeare, The Odyssey and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

My initial flip-through revealed significant chunks of text but I was somewhat reassured by the clear arrangement of sections and units that outlined specific topics I’d been struggling with like metaphors and intended meanings. This was looking good.