Reading Literature

Literature refers to books, letters, reports, articles, essays, poems, short stories, novels, and biographies which:

• Represent high quality writing
• Talk about familiar human problems
• Highlight truths about the “human experience”
• Clarifies our position in the world

Some types of literature are easier to read than others. The reading difficulty of a book, poem, or essay depends on your ability to use the basic reading skills, your previous experience reading a specific type of literature, your familiarity with the vocabulary, your familiarity with the writer’s style, your familiarity with literary devices, and your attitude.

Reading quality literature, even if it is a challenge at first, will improve your reading skills, increase your vocabulary, improve your thinking skills, and improve your writing skills. Reading carefully and evaluating the literature of skilled writers will guide you in developing your own writing style

As you study this section on reading literature, pay attention to the differences between the types of literature. Read carefully to find differences in how each type of literature is structured, how words are used, the author’s message, the effectiveness of the type of literature in communicating the author’s message. You will also find similarities. Literature from a specific time in history, region, or culture will often have similarities in topics, style, structure, or other aspects of literature.