How do you define being well-read? I am not exactly sure. Am I myself a well-read person? Well, I haven’t read as many classics as I would have liked to say I have; I haven’t read any popular fiction since the Twilight era; I try to read the New York Times when I can, but I’m not a regular. So, according to WikiHow, which lists a requirement of just about every classic and every popular fictional series (i.e. Harry Potter and the like), I guess I’m not so well-read. Okay then.
But I have a decent knowledge of vocabulary words and writing skills. I mean I only go to Emma Willard School – I think it’s safe to say that I have been well educated. So, if having a good vocabulary is a sign of anything, I’d say I am pretty well-read, relatively speaking. But then again, maybe my extensive cache of vocabulary words is just the outcome of last-minute cramming for the SAT.
I do not have any proof of what research the writers of the article did, but it seems to me like they decided to answer the question of “how to be well-read” by generating an A-Z list of the “classic” works, picking out the ones that people would recognize most, and then throwing in a couple of popular fiction titles, just to make the process of learning how to “be well-read” a little less of a tedious undertaking.
I will say I respect the fact that they stressed the importance of genre variety in the books we choose to read. I guess I’ll give them that credit.
Now that I think about it, the writers of the articledo not really provide any evidence of how their three-part formula will make a person more well-read. They drop subtle hints here and there about how following their tips will lead to one being a better, more educated conversationalist. In my honest opinion, I do not think that one has to, in the words of William Faulkner, “Read, read, read. Read everything” in order to carry out a good conversation. As a matter of fact, I believe that if a person is truly well-read, people will tell just by the way that person talks and carries him/herself. The person won’t have to plop every name of every book in his casual conversation for someone to tell that he/she is well-read. It will simply shine through.
Lastly, I don’t think it is right for the writers to assume that a well-read person has read just about every book on their long list. I think rea ding is a subjective activity; individuals will choose books that personally intrigue them, and what one reader finds c hallenging may not match the challenges of another reader. Two separate high schools can have completely different lists of “required reading,” yet the graduates of both schools will equally be able to converse as well-read people.
Anyway, that’s just what I think.
But I have a decent knowledge of vocabulary words and writing skills. I mean I only go to Emma Willard School – I think it’s safe to say that I have been well educated. So, if having a good vocabulary is a sign of anything, I’d say I am pretty well-read, relatively speaking. But then again, maybe my extensive cache of vocabulary words is just the outcome of last-minute cramming for the SAT.
I do not have any proof of what research the writers of the article did, but it seems to me like they decided to answer the question of “how to be well-read” by generating an A-Z list of the “classic” works, picking out the ones that people would recognize most, and then throwing in a couple of popular fiction titles, just to make the process of learning how to “be well-read” a little less of a tedious undertaking.
I will say I respect the fact that they stressed the importance of genre variety in the books we choose to read. I guess I’ll give them that credit.
Now that I think about it, the writers of the articledo not really provide any evidence of how their three-part formula will make a person more well-read. They drop subtle hints here and there about how following their tips will lead to one being a better, more educated conversationalist. In my honest opinion, I do not think that one has to, in the words of William Faulkner, “Read, read, read. Read everything” in order to carry out a good conversation. As a matter of fact, I believe that if a person is truly well-read, people will tell just by the way that person talks and carries him/herself. The person won’t have to plop every name of every book in his casual conversation for someone to tell that he/she is well-read. It will simply shine through.
Lastly, I don’t think it is right for the writers to assume that a well-read person has read just about every book on their long list. I think rea ding is a subjective activity; individuals will choose books that personally intrigue them, and what one reader finds c hallenging may not match the challenges of another reader. Two separate high schools can have completely different lists of “required reading,” yet the graduates of both schools will equally be able to converse as well-read people.
Anyway, that’s just what I think.