How to Read a Hard Book
Some books are harder to read than others. Whether its because of challenging subject matter, archaic word usage, or dense passages, some books make you feel like your brain just smacked into a wall.
That’s okay. It doesn't mean you’re a dummy who will never know the joy of being able to brag that you've read Atlas Shrugged and the entire works of Dostoyevsky. It’s not you. Some books, especially a lot of classic literature, are straight up hard to read. Don’t get discouraged and give up on reading forever. Reading is fun, y’all, I promise. If you’re having a tough time slogging through a book that's difficult to understand, here are some tips to help your brain:
1.) Don’t heap a bunch of pressure on yourself. Trying to read something and not getting it is better than not trying at all.
2.) Let go of the idea that there is something definitive or specific that you’re supposed to be getting out of what you’re reading. There isn't a ‘right answer’. Thinking that is just going to mess you all up.
I blame school for this one. Teachers tend to give the impression that classic books were written in some kind of secret code of symbolism that has to be cracked before we can derive any kind of meaning from the text, but as the saying goes, sometimes a snake is just a snake. Sure, sometimes there are secrets hidden in a text like a movie Easter egg, but for the most part, the book can be understood even if all the symbolism goes right over your head.
Realize that the book was written to be entertaining, not to provide high schoolers a lesson in ‘theme’ or ‘motifs’.
3.) Remember that nothing you read is gospel. It was written by human being who was just as confused by life as you.
4.) When you start reading anything, take your own thoughts and experiences with you and let them fill in the space between the lines. Relate what you’re reading to your own life. That’s the real key to extracting meaning from a book. Understand it as it relates to you and what you know.
5.) If you get to part of the book that’s just not making sense, or if you can’t figure out what it’s supposed to mean, just moooooove on.
Maybe it’ll make more sense in retrospect. It could click after another couple of chapters, or maybe even years and years later when you've had different life experiences. Or maybe it won’t ever make sense to you. Who cares? You don’t have to understand everything. Even Sherlock Holmes only had so much room in his brain to fill with knowledge. He didn't know the Earth revolved around the sun and he also didn't care because it effected his life and line of work nil.
6.) Maybe the whole book just seems like garbage to you. That’s fine. You aren't required to like everything and you don‘t have to find something meaningful just because other people do. Just make sure you’re not just saying the book was garbage because you were too lazy to read more than two chapters. If you didn't put the effort in to understand something, don’t try to have an opinion on it, you annoying twat.
7.) If you've done all the above and you’re still having trouble, you might want to take a time out and read up on what you’re reading. Sometimes context is everything. A lot of classic literature was written a long time ago when times were different. Knowing something about the time period the story takes place in might make the book make more sense. It can also help to know a bit about the author’s life and personality. Sylvia Plath suffered from severe depression; that’s why her work tends to be such a downer. But maybe knowing that can help you connect with her a bit more. Try and put your head into the same place she was and then read The Bell Jar.
8.) Most importantly, know this: no one in the world has secret knowledge that you cannot access.
Reading something that’s challenging can make you feel like you’re just too dumb to ‘get it’. You might start thinking that there are people who are smarter than you and that you could never understand Fitzgerald the way they do because their brain in on a higher level. But that’s not true. Intelligence is a tricky thing. I’m not going to tell you that no one is smarter than you, because that might not be true, but certainly no one on earth has access to knowledge that you don’t have access to.
The point is: Don’t be intimidated. Not by smart people. Not by smart books.
