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How To Read A Boring Book
There are many reasons and many occasions, that we have to read a
specific book, whose subject we might not enjoy reading, or we might
know very little about the particular topic, but we have to write a book
report about it, or if the book was given as a gift, we want to be able
to thank the buyer, and converse with them about it. This wikiHow is
here to help.
Quickly scan through the book, to get the general idea of what it is about.
Do the math. Just because a book looks long, doesn't
mean it has to be. Check how many days you have until the book report is
due, and then divide that by how many pages are in the book. For
example, if you have 12 nights to read a 200 page novel, then you only
have to read 17 pages a night, which is much less intimidating.
Read a summary of the book by reading the back cover. You can get an idea of the main idea of the book.
Assuming that the book is for a book report in school,
buy the condensed book, which gives main ideas but leaves out
superfluous information and specific details.
Google the title. See if you can find information
about the characters and the plot by searching specific facts. But don't
rely on the internet as your only source. Take online summaries and
electronic footnotes with a grain of salt. Think of the internet as a
calculator in math class, it's there to check your work not be your only source of information. The best source is the book itself.
Search the online bookstores. Check out most of them, because they will each have different review and reviewers who have already read the book.
Remove distractions. If you are in a room with a lot
of distractions, like TV, music playing, or people talking, unplug all
of the electronics and try to remove everything else. Do not start to
day dream. Just get it done
- Even if you do not know how to speed read,
sit in a quiet room, in a comfortable chair, and read the pages. Scan
through quickly, but concentrate, and pick up most of the important
ideas of the story line.
- Give the book a chance. You might just enjoy reading it.
- Don't put it off! Whatever you do, don't put off the work; if you
do, you will just force yourself to read even more of the book at once
later on.
- Other people in class have your same problem, so try starting a
group to read the book with you. You could help each other understand it
better.
- Ask your teacher what sort of things they consider most important to
know. For example, do they emphasize the characters, symbolism, the
plot, or something else? When you read through a chapter, look for the
things the teacher said are important, and take notes. This will not
only keep you awake while reading, it will also give you an easy study
tool for the tests!
- If you can't get rid of everything that distracts you from reading,
create a special "study time" for everything to be quiet, at least in
your room or wherever you usually study. Tell your family so they know
not to interrupt you during that time.
- SparkNotes and CliffsNotes can help you understand what you're
reading, but don't read them instead of the book itself. Your teacher
may want you to know things in the book that the Notes don't mention.
Use these only to help you understand confusing parts of the book.
- Listen to the book on an iPod, MP3 player, etc. Downloadable MP3s of
books are usually not too hard find, especially old ones,but they can
cost some money. You can rest and close your eyes, have a walk or have
something eat, all the while listening to the text being read at a
consistent pace. Convert the text into speech using a Text To Speech
program. Get the actual book if possible so you can make references for
reports and exams; have a pen or pencil and some paper at the ready to
quickly take while listening.
- Do not attempt to write a book report, unless you really know the
beginning, middle and end of the book. Your teacher will know that you
did not read it, if you leave out important facts.
- If the book was a gift, and you want to thank the person who gave it
to you, make sure you have some idea of the subject matter. Do not go
into too many details, just a brief 'thank you', and that you were happy
to get the book. Then change the subject.
- If the book has a movie version, don't watch it; the movies are
usually completely different from the book, so watching it won't help
you at all.
- If you have an upcoming test, most teachers know about Sparknotes so the information on that site might be avoided on the test.
- A boring book.
- MP3 files of a boring book.
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