How to Read Novel: Detailed Guide
Want to know how to read novel? then lets explore this detailed guide. We have tried to cover everthing in some simple steps.
There are four different ways on How to read Novel:
- This is exactly what it says on the tin. It’s what we study in primary school, and it brings us to the point where we can read and understand the words on a page, as well as follow a basic narrative or line of comprehension.
- Inspectional — This is essentially the same as skimming. You skim over the highlights, read the beginning and end, and try to grasp as much as possible about the author’s point of view. I’m sure you did this a lot in high school with reading assignments; I know I did.
- Analytical – This is where you truly go into a piece of writing. You read slowly and carefully, taking notes, looking up words or allusions you don’t understand, and attempting to put yourself in the author’s shoes to fully comprehend what is being stated.
- Syntopical — This is a term that is usually used by academics and writers. It’s when you study several books on a particular topic and compare and contrast the ideas of numerous other authors to build a thesis or original thought. This is time and research-intensive, and unless your work or passion requires it, you’re unlikely to pursue this type of reading much after graduation.
For the time being, we’ll concentrate on Inspectional and Analytical Reading:
Inspectional Reading
As previously said, there are situations when inspectional reading is necessary. It’s especially beneficial when you’re in the bookstore trying to decide which book to buy next and whether or not the unknown object in front of you is worth the money. When you’re attempting to learn something new quickly or just grasp the gist of something, this style of reading comes in useful.
It’s also great for the kind of reading you should be doing to stay current in your career; industry-specific books can be full of fluff and chapters that don’t apply to your specific job, and inspectional reading allows you to glean useful information without wasting time on irrelevant material.
An inspectional reading may frequently give you an excellent sense of a book if you follow the stages below: on how to read a novel
Look at the book’s front and back covers and read the title.
This may sound apparent, but if you pay attention, you might learn a lot more from the book’s cover than you might have expected. What’s the name of the book? Consider the title and subtitles for 10 seconds. What is it trying to tell you? We don’t pay attention to titles very often, although they often reveal a lot about the book’s significance. Is there a picture on the cover? What message may those images be sending? Cover art takes a lot of time and money to create, so don’t overlook it. You can also chek: Online Mock Test for NEET
What does the book’s back cover blurb say? We frequently skim these fast, but if we pay attention, they provide us with a terrific, brief plot that often exposes what the book is really about. It should be noted that while names, cover art, and blurbs are sometimes designed more for marketing and increasing sales than for accurately presenting the book’s ideas, they can nevertheless offer us useful information about the book’s substance.
Pay specific attention to the book’s initial few pages,
such as the table of contents, preface, and prologue. These are quite beneficial pages. The table of contents will offer you an overview of the entire book, and in nonfiction, it might tell you a lot of what you need to know right away. With fiction, it’s a little more difficult, and many books don’t have a table of contents, so take advantage of those that do. You’ll often find a variety of openers and prefaces to classic novels, especially if they’re regarded masterpieces.
When reading nonfiction,
skim the headings and read the last chapter. In most non-fiction books, the titles will tell you the majority of what you need to know. The material behind the headings is frequently only a continuation of the main idea or theme. You can also read the conclusion to gain a sense of what the author considered the book’s major goal or point. With fiction, this is a little more difficult because you don’t generally receive much in the way of headings.
Take a look at the book’s reviews.
Amazon is most likely to be your final destination. The top-rated Amazon review often contains a lot of information about the book, such as a summary and/or a list of the book’s virtues and weaknesses. Unfortunately, Amazon reviews must also be taken with a grain of salt. Some of the negative reviews are from people who only read a chapter and didn’t enjoy it, or who never read the book at all!
And there are situations when people simply have a grudge against the author and try to “sabotage” them. Unfortunately, when it comes to positive evaluations, authors and publishers are occasionally willing to pay for bogus reviews. So, check at the book’s overall rating, then read a few 5-star, 3-star, and 1-star reviews and evaluate their credibility to obtain a better overall idea of the book’s quality.
Reading Analytically
This type of reading isn’t required for just about everything. Only do it if you’re serious about getting the most out of the book in front of you.
Let’s see how we may make the most of what we read:
First, learn a little about the author and his or her other works.
This is a matter of personal preference. I nearly always look up the author and/or the book itself on Wikipedia before picking up a book. If it’s fiction, I’d like to know what some of his or her goals were, as well as how autobiographical it might be.
Do a cursory inspectional reading second.
Part of the reason I wanted to cover inspectional reading in the first place was because of this. It will be included in any excellent, thorough reading of a book. Look at the cover, read the first few pages, and so on. Too many individuals I know skip over the introductions and jump right to page one. You’re omitting crucial information that could influence how you interpret the book as a whole. You don’t have to read to the end, but you should get the most out of the cover and the first few pages.
Third, read the book from beginning to end as soon as possible.
You’re merely attempting to comprehend the book’s broader aim. Now, this does not always imply rapid reading. It also implies that you will not pause to consider the significance of each paragraph. Indicates that even if you’re caught in a difficult-to-understand situation, you’ll keep going. It means that when the plot slows down and becomes uninteresting, you don’t stop reading after 10 pages per day; instead, you keep going with the goal of grasping the book’s flow as quickly as possible.
You’re underlining, circling, or taking notes on items in this reading that you’re curious about, but you’re not going to dig into them just yet. When you’ve finished reading the book, go back over it and see what you underlined, circled, or made notes about. Make an effort to respond to a few of the questions you were asked. Re-read the entire thing if you have the time and inclination.
Fourth, only use aids if necessary.
If you don’t recognize a term, look at the context to see if you can figure out what it means. To get things started, use your thinking. Pull out the dictionary if there’s something you just can’t seem to get past, or if the word is just too significant for you to gloss over. If you notice a cultural reference that you think is crucial to comprehending the piece, Google it. The essential point is to use the tools available to you, but not to rely on them. Allow your brain to operate for a while before turning to Google.
Fifth, give your best answer to the following four questions.
These questions may have been placed as the first stage because you should think about them as soon as you begin reading. However, you won’t be able to answer them until you’ve finished reading the book.
What is the overall theme of the book?
This is essentially the blurb on the back cover. But don’t try to get away with it. Come up with a few sentences or maybe a paragraph that explains the book in your terms. This can be done on the surface; you don’t have to go too deep.
What is being said in-depth, and how is it being said?
This is the point at which you begin to delve a little further. When you’ve finished reading the book for the first time, Return to the book and skim through it briefly, reviving your recollection of the essential ideas. It could even be just a few words in novels with very short chapters. You simply follow the characters around and report what significant events occurred there.
What difference does it make?
What is the importance of this? What’s the lesson if the book is conveying anything true about the human experience? If something resonates with you but you don’t act on it, it is at least somewhat wasted. There’s something to be said for reading that stands alone as excellent literature, similar to art, but I’ve discovered that there’s nearly always a lesson. Or at the very least, a new way of thinking about the world.
Sixth, give feedback and share your ideas with others.
It’s worth noting that this is the last phase. You can only criticize or have meaningful discussions about the book once you’ve read the entire book and thoughtfully answered the questions above. When reading Amazon reviews, it’s easy to tell when someone posted a bad rating after only three chapters. When it comes to saying, “I understand the book,” be particularly cautious. You can certainly grasp sections of a book, but having no questions at all indicates that it wasn’t a decent book, to begin with, or that you are arrogant.
When talking, be specific about where you agree and where you differ. Saying something like “This is ridiculous” or “I don’t like it” adds nothing to a conversation. You should also be aware that you do not have to agree or disagree with everything in a book. Some portions may appeal to you, while others may not.
How to Read Novel: End Note
Now you’ve gotten your money’s worth out of a book! It would be tedious and time-consuming to follow all of these steps for every book you read. I’m sure it would reduce my enjoyment if I did this with every book I read. Take a handful of these ideas and apply them to your reading.
I determined to read all of the challenging books I come across (something I’ve never done before) and to keep a short log of every book I read that answers, at least in part, the four questions above.
