How to Become a Better Reader, With Librarian Margaret H. Willison
This week we will learn how to become a better reader with the help of librarian and podcaster Margaret H. Willison. Hear Margaret share how we should rethink our definitions of what it means to be a “good” or “well-read” reader, and tactics we can use to improve our own reading game, from using audiobooks to rejecting books that just not interested at the moment.
In addition to being a librarian, Margaret is a frequent visitor to NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour and co-host of the Appointment Television podcast. She is also a co-author of the Two Bossy Dames newsletter.
After talking to Margaret, we get some more tips from librarian Nancy Pearl on how to find a book you like. Nancy is an award-winning librarian and can often be heard on NPR’s Morning Issue; she also hosts a monthly Seattle television show called Book Lust with Nancy Pearl and is the author of George and Lizzie .
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Highlights from this week’s series
From an interview with Margaret H. Willison
On the benefits of audiobooks:
I also recommend that people treat audiobooks like reading. I think a lot of people are thinking, oh, if I’m listening to a book, I haven’t read it. And these are different processing experiences, but none of them is more or less reliable than the other. And I find audiobooks a lot easier to fit into my schedule because I can clean my room and turn on the audiobook. I can go for a walk with an audiobook. And especially now that making time for yourself is so hard, it can be a really good way to find new writers.
On a simple trick to help you develop a better reading habit:
[I] It’s great to start with a reread, because if you skip a sentence but already know the story, you won’t have the same degraded storytelling experience as if it was new to you. And then, once you get into the habit, you can branch out, and they will always be writers who are not very good at it.
On why you should give up if you just aren’t attracted to the book:
[I] fa the thing doesn’t work for you, also feel free to refuse it. You know, your reading experience is subjective. This is a conversation between you and the book where you say, you know, I’ve tried Infinite Jest three times. I haven’t gotten through yet. I’m still sure I’ll read this someday. I just need to find the right time, the right mood, to read this book at its conclusion. I haven’t yet. And if you keep pushing it with a book you don’t like, that is not fair to you, [and] it is also not fair to the book. You think you are doing the book a favor by not ditching it. But if you are not in the right place to enjoy it, you reduce the chances for this book to hammer its clues into you in the future.
From an interview with Nancy Pearl
What is the best way to quickly find a fast-paced, story-driven novel:
[T] The way to find a fast moving book is to go to a section like the regular art section of a bookstore or library, or go to the mysteries section, open the book and see how much empty space there is. page. If there is a lot of white space on a page, it means that this book will progress very quickly, because a large amount of white space on the page indicates intense conversation. And when there is a lot of talk, everything moves very quickly.
On how easy it is to find a character oriented book:
If you are looking for a character oriented book, there are two places you can find at a bookstore or library. One of them is the art section. And in the fiction section, look for books in which the heading represents the names of the characters or the heading describes the characters. For example, my novel ” George and Lizzie” is very similar to characters … I titled the book ” George and Lizzie” to warn people that this is a character-based book. Nick Hornby’s novel About a Boy is another really good example of a character-based novel. Ruth Dun McDougall’s novel Cheerleader is a wonderful character-based novel. So you’re looking for books that feature characters and that will help you find a character-based novel. Another place to find books with characters, albeit not novels, is to look in the memoir or biography section. These books are by definition about characters, about people.
For more tips on how to improve your reading habit and find books you enjoy, we recommend listening to the entire issue!
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