As a person who doesn’t like to read long, boring books, I find it really hard for me to focus and comprehend the text. The biggest challenge for me while reading is analyzing the text because sometimes when I read something, I simply don’t understand what’s going on, so I start reading over and over until I get the idea. When it comes to writing, I overthink a lot about choice of words, and structure. So, before writing an essay, for example, I make little notes on my paper and then decide if I’ll use it or not. While reading “How to read like a writer”, I had an urge to check my social media apps since I was reading through the phone. However, I kept reading because I knew that if I will finish now, I will be free later. Once I was on “RLW” part, it was very interesting to me to learn new stuff that I didn’t really think about before, when I used to be in AP English.
   When I used to be in AP English, we wrote lots of rhetorical analysis essays, and I only tried to find the rhetorical devices, tone and etc. and explain it. But, I never attempted to question myself as an author. The most useful thing that I found in Bunn’s essay, is to question yourself “…train yourself to formulate questions as you read based on whatever you notice in the text. Your own reactions to what you’re reading will help determine the kinds of questions to ask.”(p.84, Bunn).  This is really helpful advice because you never know why the author adds something to a context. In page 71, he started off with describing about his early college life,  work and how hard it was to focus on reading while he was working, then he transitioned to his experience about “RLW”. The details in introduction helps the audience to understand why he described his workplace, and why it mattered, it shows the connection between his experiences. Questions suggested by Bunn: “How does the author move from one idea to another in the writing? Are the transitions between the ideas effective?“
In the  “The Reader as Artist”, Toni Morrison talks about 2 types of reading. One is skill reading, and another one is reading as an art. I think, when Morrison says “skill” reading, she means a simple reading like read;comprehend; think about some scenarios. But when she talks about reading as an “art”, she means using imagination, thinking deeply, question yourself and have your own perspective. Reading as an “art” changes the whole interpretation, it’s sort of brings new meaning(the meaning that you’d never think about as if you skill read). “Sometimes the experience is profound, harrowing, beautiful; other times enraging, contemptible, unrewarding.“ This summarizes the idea of skill reading vs reading as an art,
I like when you said, “The biggest challenge for me while reading is analyzing the text because sometimes when I read something, I simply don’t understand what’s going on, so I start reading over and over until I get the idea.”
YES! I’m so glad to hear that you read over and over again to get the idea! This is such an important thing to do, but it takes discipline.
I enjoyed reading about your habits as a writer (making little notes before you begin) and also how you struggled against the urge to check social media apps!
Yes, questioning the author or the text as you read will really help you to absorb the material.
Great observations about Morrison’s work. I like this phrase that you’ve written: “…she means using imagination, thinking deeply, question yourself and have your own perspective.”
Nice work!