42 replies

It's very simple. Fiction is read to understand people and life, scientific literature is read to understand phenomena and objects.

You're reading an astronomy textbook when you want to figure out where the M35 galaxy is, but you're too lazy to launch an orbital telescope yourself. In the same way, you read Dostoevsky, because Dostoevsky can suggest to you that the world will be saved by beauty, and thus save you from having to find out this the hard way - well, simply because technically launching a telescope may be more difficult, but emotionally after it you will still be able function - whereas how to find out for yourself that the world will be saved by beauty, you can only become the one who can say about it. And even if you can live without a telescope, it’s unlikely that you can live without beauty.

In other words, this is an indirect experience that does not replace one’s own, but shortens the distance. You still need your own, since the means to process all this information also need to be developed from somewhere - literature will not do everything for you, it rather helps not to die along the way.

You can, of course, be deceived by the fact that living without beauty is as easy as living without a telescope. It's a tempting thought. Moreover, if beauty could really save the world, then over the past 4 thousand years we certainly should have accumulated enough of this beauty to save it. But apparently the world is not saved all at once, but one person at a time - and it just so happens that for some reason this is exactly what a person still needs. Otherwise, literature wouldn't literally be the first thing we supposedly started doing as soon as we figured out the fire, the cave, and the stick. It’s just that this need does not arise as obviously as the need for fire and a cave - it is more like air, which is noticed only when there is too little of it.

This necessary thing can be put off at 20, and 30, and 40 years old, but sooner or later it will remind itself - in the form of a feeling that something was missed, something was missing, there was some thing somewhere , which could help, and it is not clear where she was or what she even was. And the main thing is that the longer it is postponed, the more painful the awakening turns out to be. So you can safely increase your knowledge - there will still be no less sorrow.

Well, if a person thinks that he has already understood everything and doesn’t need anything - well, then he may not read, for God’s sake, it’s still impossible to help him.

At one time I thought about a similar point of view. You can agree with her if you perceive your brain and yourself as a computer, incapable of feeling, remembering, admiring. I think that completely abandoning fiction is more expensive for oneself. But I don’t recommend reading it alone, it’s best to mix it up different styles, so the language is enriched, and it does not become boring. What is the meaning of fiction?

Fiction and fiction are different. Really good works can bring a lot of benefits, here are some examples:

1) Language. How to study foreign language, and for studying one’s own, fiction is useful in that it reflects phraseological units, metaphors, comparisons characteristic of a particular language. Moreover, it takes into account the literary norm of the language, which should be adhered to, especially in the initial stages of studying it. As an exception, only Arabic comes to my mind: I talked a lot with Arabs about their language, I really want to learn it, but everyone unanimously says that it is better to choose a specific dialect, because literary norm very few will understand

2) Culture, politics, history. You can cram textbooks on intercultural communication, history and cultural studies as much as you like, but it is fiction that will give you context, especially written by a representative of the country and era that interests you.

3) Immersion. Quite an interesting phenomenon, it is studied a lot in psychology (for reference, I can offer the work of Professor Dr. Arthur Jacobs). It consists of losing reality, immersing yourself in a book so much that you lose track of time and allowing your brain to experience sensations akin to any powerful drug. It is noteworthy that Harry Potter is the book with the highest rate of immersion among readers (link to the same Jacobs)

4) Salvation. I know it sounds trivial. But other people's fantasies can save you from sadness, find a new hobby in life, and renounce your worries for at least an hour.

I constantly asked myself this question. So far, at this level of understanding... The fact that these books are less informative in terms of encyclopedic knowledge, which is fashionable now, yes. Then the scientific pop is in your hands and everything is extremely simple and clear, the main thing is to understand it.
But, it seems to me, fiction is valuable in other ways, namely because when you read a certain book, become its main character, and the experience that the characters go through will undoubtedly affect you yourself.
Having recently read The Mysterious Murder of a Dog in the Night-Time, I realized how wonderful the life of an autistic person is. And these two days of reading, my “psychic” deviated a little from the abstract standard that we consider the norm. And there are others. And I “found myself” in his shoes.
Those. For me, a work of art is the experience of another person, experienced on myself. Virtual reality, but instead of a helmet there is a book.

Last time I heard this opinion from a person whose time spent usefully is with a bottle and a glass in front of the TV. This person - yes, does not need other people's fantasies.

For a small percentage of people, books are truly a waste of time. This applies to those who read in order to pay tribute to fashion.

Other people somehow benefit from every book they read. Firstly, fiction is not only fantasy (someone’s fantasies, so to speak), but also works based on real events, for example historical novels. In addition, Remarque’s works cannot be called historical, but they easily show the situation in Germany during World War I. "War and Peace" by Tolstoy gave me ideas about Patriotic War more than a history textbook (in fact, I’m good at history, don’t think so). Secondly, detective stories make you rack your brains along with the main characters, and works with understatement in the finale, oh, how they make you think. And, finally, fantasy does not work throughout the entire reading, how many images and landscapes we draw a shell in our thoughts.

No one forces you to read fiction if you don’t like it.
If we go through the pros, then:
1. Reading thin. literature develops imaginative thinking, which is precisely responsible for the creative component of human development.

2. Reading allows us to experience events with the characters, as in real life, get sensations in the situations in which the characters of the work find themselves. Sometimes this simply turns the reader’s life upside down, and he adjusts his attitude towards it.

3. Fiction, and literature in general, shapes our worldview by assessing the behavior of characters (if at least some analysis of what is happening is carried out, and not just reading letters), comparing other views on life.

4. Good literature develops spoken language.

5. Have a good time.

Fiction shapes life position, if the reading is conscious and not consumer. I knew people who read to pass the time, as if they were watching a stupid movie. I don’t understand such people, I think that if you’re going to read something, then take it seriously, like a philosophical treatise, look for deep meaning, otherwise, indeed, reading will be no different from watching stupid films.

It takes quite a long time, but it's worth it! And, especially, the more books a person reads, the more his reading speed increases!

A book... This is something more than the meaning inherent in this word... The emotions that a person receives when reading a book cannot be compared either with films, or with listening to audio books, or even, strangely, with the theater. Films and theater are how the director or producer sees the book. People who read the same book will never have the same impression! They may be similar, but still completely different. When a person reads a book, a picture of the action emerges in his imagination, and while reading, we roughly imagine what it all looks like. Consequently, the development of imagination is added to the benefits of reading!

And even despite the instructiveness, the advantage of the book is that it brings pleasure. Imagine! You are cozy under a blanket with a cup of tea with your favorite book! After all, this feeling cannot be transmitted with anything else!

If you don’t like it, it’s okay - Sherlock Holmes didn’t like it either and was an excellent specialist. You can’t force someone to love, there’s no point in reading through force if it doesn’t bring you pleasure. Develop in areas where you are motivated

I explain such statements to myself as very straightforward thinking. Such people may be smart and fulfilled, but for some reason (either an initial given, or they didn’t set themselves up in time) they are comfortable perceiving information without a filter. If, for example, you are experiencing communication problems, you can read direct advice and communication techniques. Apply something, discard something. Or you can read fiction, where, using the example of the lives of heroes, you will see similar situations, you will be able to analyze what you would do in their place, etc. I think it tastes better this way

This is the ABC of life. Why learn from your mistakes if most of them are archetypal? :))

Another thing is that not everyone is able to read the codes of works of art. This is another reason why you need to read the classics. “Encryption” must be comprehended consistently and in its entirety. Not a single segment or layer of culture will be understandable or useful to you without knowledge of other existing ones.

Classical literature is knowledge about the world, but unlike scientific literature- this is knowledge about inner world man, his nature, motives, quests.

Humanity is like a child - it grows, develops, experiences crises, and matures. The story of this growing up is classical literature and art in general.

Ps - I don’t think you should get hung up on must reads. You have the right to create your own list, take unknown classics if the usual plots irritate you and seem “washed out”. And yet the familiar is worth reading for yourself, because - believe me! - no retelling will give what it gives full text, and also in each classic book(probably that’s why it’s a classic) there is always at least a line addressed specifically to you and at that exact moment. The magic of genius, apparently :)

Good fiction is not written just like that - it necessarily answers a certain question, asked either by the author in the context of his own experience, or by society in the context of the historical process.

By reading classic literature or modern literary texts, you either adopt a certain experience, discover new images/systems of thinking that the author puts into the characters to reveal a personal problem, or get new look on the mentality of certain social groups specific historical periods, or a description of certain historical processes from the perspective of the person who experienced them.

In short, you educate yourself/expand your horizons.

P.S. Well, about the aesthetic pleasure of beautiful language must not be forgotten)

Fiction also develops the ability to analyze, since in the process of reading you begin to think out the plot, assume different options developments of events. Anatoly Wasserman spoke about this in detail. Of course, you can’t give up fiction, much less focus only on a certain direction.

1. Writing down someone's fantasies is not fiction in any way.

4. Fiction, like other arts, uses imaginative thinking as a (very effective) tool. Those. If you have not developed the instrumental (applied) function of imagination, then you will not do anything in art. Good example- Chernyshevsky. Brilliant counter and artistic impotence.

5. Present literary work is an exciting game. It's like good football match. If you understand the meaning of what is happening, it can give unforgettable experience.

Reading is an experience that we gain by giving our time. You can, of course, figure everything out with your own mind and your mistakes, but, as the popular proverb says, so smart people don't study. Sometimes a book can turn the entire course of life upside down and open up a whole ocean of possibilities that we didn’t even suspect about.

I read because I'm used to it. While studying at the university, we were loaded with huge lists of literature and studied domestic and foreign literature. How student years came to an end, there were no more lists, and it was as if I began to suffocate. I had to compose them myself :) Reading is like a sport - it keeps you on your toes.

There are so many heroes and stories in the world and I want to know as much as possible. Also, it’s very difficult for me to interact with people, but I want to communicate. So I’m reading.

Reading is a walk to new places, worlds, as well as new situations and acquaintances. This is why I open the book again and again :)

The most primitive way of reading, according to Nabokov, is to simply immerse yourself in the fabric of the plot and live for some time in this trance.

That is, the same function as other methods of forgetting. Pleasant oblivion.

To know yourself and the world around, for development, for the soul. By reading fiction, we gain experience that we cannot get in real life, we learn to imagine ourselves in the place of another person, and we develop our imagination.

Even if you ignore the fact that there is an error in the question itself, and proceed from the incorrect premise that fiction is nothing more than other people’s fantasies, then the answer is still “no.” These fantasies are one way or another built according to a certain principle. And this principle is that the development of the plot, using the example of events invented by the author, explains how people work and the relationships between them. And he explains more or less correctly. Otherwise, the work does not become popular and does not receive recognition. I don’t think that the process of gaining knowledge about how people work can be considered a waste of time. If this is a loss, then what is not? There is no knowledge that is more important in a practical sense. Without understanding this issue, it is hardly possible to achieve anything in life. And the only alternative way to gain such understanding is through personal experience. But this method is extremely ineffective.

You can cite concrete example. There is such a thing as love. The knowledge of what it is is transmitted only through the artistic form. For a long time it was only literature. Now there is an alternative in the form of films. You can also watch "House 2". But this is too vulgar. Even though it solves its problem, it is still not suitable for an educated person with good taste. So we don’t consider this option at all. Films can be counted with a stretch. They, of course, provide some basic understanding of the issue, but nothing more. In addition, a worthwhile film about love is usually based on a book, in relation to which the film itself is secondary. So, by and large, outside of fiction there is no adequate description of what love is. What does this mean in practice? And the fact is that if a person has not read at least several fiction books about love in his life, then he simply does not understand what it is. The word itself means nothing to him. He roughly guesses how it should be used, but does it purely mechanically, using template expressions that he has heard from other people. He doesn't understand the meaning of this word. When other people discuss this, he doesn’t understand what they’re talking about at all. Some even believe that love does not exist, that it is some kind of fake.

If we go a little beyond the scope of the question, then it is worth saying that not all literature, being artistic in form, is 100% fiction and fantasy. Works of fiction contain a lot of information that the author did not come up with himself, but gleaned from some sources. And at the same time, it is presented to the reader not in a boring academic form, but is carefully thrown in in small portions as an interesting plot develops. For example, Chase's detective stories take place in the United States, where he himself did not live. All information to describe the context of the events he invented was taken from documentary sources. Moreover, there are works that describe certain things so accurately and in detail that there is much more truth than fiction in them. If anyone is interested in how an airport, hospital, hotel or bank functions, then you can read the corresponding works of Arthur Haley. Formally, these are works of fiction with a plot, but as a result of reading, you learn a lot of nuances that are usually described in non-fiction texts. Or if you are wondering how an elite American university works, then Tom Wolfe’s book “I Am Charlotte Simmons” will answer all questions. It is clear that the author only came up with the plot. He carefully studied everything else and simply laid it out in artistic form. In general, fiction is not as fictional as it may seem.

I will add to what has already been said here: for the sake of developing my speech. Reading scientific literature, useful from an applied point of view, will help little in this matter, since only fiction provides an excellent example of describing various, often very real, plausible situations using linguistic means. Again, let's not forget the expansion vocabulary. Well, a person with good, competent speech (both oral and written) always looks advantageous, if only for the reason that he can clearly, distinctly, intelligibly and, at the same time, thoroughly formulate his thoughts.

Speech cannot be developed through literature, but it can be developed through the practice of speech itself. Watch every word you say, carefully think through designs, etc. - all this with practice will lead to excellent speech. And without literature, which plays no role in this. As for increasing vocabulary, it’s debatable. To remember a word, it is not enough to read it once somewhere. It must be repeated at least 10 times during the week. It's easier to look in a dictionary, it's faster and more practical

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The direct and clear answer to your question is no. I even to some extent adhere to the opposite point of view - it seems to me that nonfiction that is popular today (all these biographies, stories about a unique personal experience etc.) is in many ways castrated fiction. These stories, of course, can be exciting, they can carry some kind of unique experience, but at the same time they are devoid of the real work of the author - there is no composition, there are no defining details, there is no game between the author and the reader, and there are no several layers of meaning. In life and nonfiction based on it, details and events are random, whereas in fiction any movement, any meeting of characters, all the objects they use appear in the text to bring meaning, to play their clearly defined role, to show something. To see what and why is included in a work, you need skill, you need the work of the reader. To arrange things and characters so that they convey the desired meaning requires the work of the author. Thus, nonfiction is almost completely deprived of both components, leaving the text with one single, not even narrative, function - informational function.

It’s worth starting with what goals you are pursuing, decide on this first.

So, let’s look point by point at what fiction provides:

1. Expands vocabulary, improves speech, complicates syntactic structures, etc., which is associated with improved practical skills in the language.

2. Develops imaginative thinking. Tested from personal experience: together with mathematics, fiction produces incredible results - perception improves, thinking is much easier, conclusions are drawn faster.

3. Expanding your emotional horizon: you really experience the situations in which the characters find themselves (isn’t this life experience?).

And this is if we take practical benefits, but in addition there is the option of reading for pleasure, reading a good book in a pleasant environment.

Have fun setting your goals!

Of course it's worth it! Personally, I don’t see any disadvantages in this (except perhaps worsening vision), but there are a lot of advantages. So, reading in general is a very useful activity in itself; it develops thinking, erudition, attentiveness, perseverance, and imagination. When we read classical literature, we remember the spelling of words and the correct construction of sentences. Classics make us think, because the author offers us his vision of the world (problems, people, the meaning of life), we live with the hero of the book and try to solve his problems with him or find a way out situations. By reading classical literature, you get used to expressing your thoughts competently and beautifully, you gain useful experience and advice taken from books, you become more developed spiritually, you reconsider your views on life (love, family, friendship), you develop culturally. Besides, aren’t you interested in how people lived in the past? their conversations, everyday life, difficulties, joys?

Separately, I would like to note that every citizen of his country needs to read as much as possible classical works your compatriots, because they reflect the traditions and culture, problems and history of the formation of your country.

For me personally, classics are an inexhaustible source of patriotism. Yes, I agree, not all writers write interestingly and clearly, but you just need to find your own. For example, I am delighted with the novel “War and Peace” by L.N. Tolstoy, but I just can’t stand “Crime and Punishment” by F. Dostoevsky.

That's all :) read, develop and become better!

To broaden your horizons, if you read the classics, you can, for example, roughly imagine what life was like in the times when they lived. Yes, and vocabulary is greatly improved. In general, reading is useful, especially if it is not only bad literature.

Well, judge for yourself.

Fiction - like art in general - reflects the era in which it developed. That is, contains the core of culture and the shadow of history
Plus, the literature contains many ideas that reflect all values ​​of humanity.
In addition, reading literature is a replenishment of vocabulary, which in turn helps communicate more competently and pleasantly- both for yourself and for your interlocutors.
Well yes, if you suddenly want to write yourself- then there’s nowhere without reading, all the writers repeat this with one voice.

Something like that.

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If purely pragmatically, then for the most part it’s bad. works describe real life characters (as you know, people do not change, unlike physics and similar sciences). Those. After reading a novel, you can recognize the personality type of the characters and communicate with him correctly, without succumbing to his provocations. And you will communicate with people, because... man is a bio-social being.

It can also be noted that thin. works help to cope with the difficulties of life. If everything is bad in life, then you can read a book and lose yourself in this world or understand that your problems are worthless.

Well, and most importantly for many. You can enjoy both the plot of the books and the style and style of the author. Atypical plot twists, real characters, help in real life, enriching vocabulary - these are the goals of thin. literature that differs from the purposes of popular science.

It's like talking to interesting conversationalist. Especially when the author is already familiar. He reveals his thoughts to you, gives you information for thought, and sometimes reveals to you the sad truth. Literature is still a very intimate thing, we read the thoughts of great and not so great people, and they are ready to tell us everything they know.

Fiction and scientific, specialized literature are not the same thing. The perception of a work of art requires special knowledge, skills, and abilities from the reader. Nowadays it is difficult to meet a person who does not read fiction. artwork is designed to have a huge impact on the individual: to expand the mental horizon, to give an emotional experience that goes beyond what a person could acquire, to form artistic taste, deliver aesthetic pleasure.

But the most important thing is that, by forming deep “theoretical” feelings in people, fiction encourages them to think through and direct their real behavior. However, its impact on the individual depends on the depth of perception. Research recent years show that the quality of fiction is still low. The shortcomings in the perception of fiction are numerous and mostly typical. Many readers treat fiction as entertainment; although they read a lot, they read it unsystematically and chaotically. “whatever comes to hand.”

Such a reader, as a rule, perceives the book superficially, only at the level of plot, plot, without giving himself the trouble to think about the author’s reasoning, skipping descriptions of nature, the feelings of the characters, etc. For him, “Anna Karenina” is simply a novel about an unfaithful wife who abandoned under the wheels of a train. With such a perception of fiction, satiety, disappointment in it, and loss of interest in reading often sets in, since there are not many plot situations and it seems that the books repeat them. Readers often approach fiction with the wrong expectations. Such a reader considers a work of fiction, like a scientific book, only as a means of information about various aspects of life. “A scientific book writes about discoveries in the field of technology, medicine, etc.,” he says, “and an art book shows the life of the people in the old days and the life of our contemporary.” Such readers do not understand the artistic nature of the work - hence the limited assessments of literary works: “Fairy Tale” The Little Prince“I didn’t like St. Exupery - there is nothing new”; “I read I. Shamyakin’s novel “Heart in the Palm” with interest: for the first time I learned how heart surgery is done.”

Research shows that many readers, both young and adults, do not know how to correctly perceive more or less complex ordinary metaphors, words characteristic of many artists - Y. Olesha, B. Pasternak, etc. And this is one of the reasons that they they refuse to read truly works of fiction or perceive in such books only what allows them to grasp the development of the plot.

Such a reader does not like and does not understand poetry; in his opinion, it can be said about it “normally” - in prose; he doesn't pay attention to artistic features works, the style, language of the writer, he is not impressed by vivid comparisons, metaphors, figurative expressions. By noting the most characteristic shortcomings in the perception of works of art, we wanted to help readers evaluate their own perceptions and see their shortcomings. How to do this? First of all, it is necessary to understand how the perception of a work of art occurs, on what its completeness, depth, and integrity depend.

Fiction reproduces reality in figurative form. A literary artistic image expresses the general in the individual, uniquely specific. The author of a work of art has the right to speculation and creative imagination. The artistic image is embodied in the word; imagery and emotionality of style create the richness of language, literary devices etc. The more talented the writer, the more original the style. Style reflects the personality of the writer. You can’t confuse Leskov with Chekhov; you can always recognize the style of Hemingway, Babel, etc. The author of a work of fiction relies on the reader’s ability to recreate the event being described and to empathize with the characters.

A work of art has a strong emotional impact and requires emotional investment. The perception of fiction is a very subtle, complex process, not everything in it is clear to scientists, but some of its patterns have already been identified. As is known, knowledge develops from living contemplation to abstract thinking, and from it to practice. In the perception of fiction, three stages can be distinguished. The first is the direct perception of the work, that is, the reconstruction and experience of its images. As is known, V. G. Belinsky already identified this stage of perception and called it the “stage of delight,” believing that first one must perceive a work with the “heart” and then with the “mind.” Almost all readers go through the first stage of perceiving fiction. The first stage should be followed by a second, higher one - “from living contemplation to abstract thinking” (according to Belinsky - “the stage of true pleasure”).

Abstract thinking does not reduce the emotionality of perception, but deepens it. Not everyone goes through the second phase of perceiving a work of art. Many readers limit themselves to familiarizing themselves with the plot and “swallow” books without any desire to critically comprehend them. The third stage is the influence of a work of art on the reader’s personality. Of course, dividing the perception process into stages is somewhat arbitrary. But it is useful for solving our problem - learning to read fiction, increasing.

Research shows that the gradual perception of a work depends, on the one hand, on its artistic merits, and on the other, on the perceptual characteristics of the reader. This means that not only literary works can be truly artistic and non-artistic, but also the perception of readers can be artistic and non-artistic. A literary work is a multi-layered system. The first layer - the language of the work - requires the reader to understand the metaphorical nature, assumes that the reader has a certain linguistic baggage, has a linguistic flair. The next level is the reality described in the work: people, nature, facts of personal and public life. Understanding this layer requires the reader to have a certain stock of life experiences, an understanding of the psychology of people and characters. Third layer - ideological content works. To understand it, you need a certain level of development of the individual as a whole, the ability to generalize, think abstractly, and often require special knowledge, for example, from history, economics, etc.

So, some tips on how to read correctly. This is not about reading technique at all. Correct in in this case- this is with maximum benefit from what you read. Naturally, first of all, these tips relate to reading non-fiction literature - books on self-development, on the profession, educational and scientific literature, etc. That is, those from the reading of which some very specific benefit is expected: knowledge, skills, competencies. However, these “rules” can be successfully applied to fiction literature. After all, fiction, especially classical literature, is intended not so much to entertain the reader as to give him some new experience. Here's how to get the most of this experience and our advice will help.

1. Read regularly

Make it a rule to devote at least an hour a day to reading and do not deviate from this rule for anything. If it is impossible to carve out such a whole period of time in your daily routine, break this time into two 30-minute segments, or even three 20-minute segments. Taking time to read before bed is not too much good idea in terms of productivity. During the day, your brain gets tired and is saturated with information, it will be difficult for it, especially if you read non-fiction.

2. Read with a notepad handy

The ability to write down the necessary thoughts from a book, or your own thoughts that arise during reading, significantly increases the efficiency of reading. Using these notes, you can then easily recall the key points of the book in your memory; you can use them when the book is not at hand. Even just writing out quotes from a fiction book to bring great benefit. Some even advise compiling a “skeleton” or “outline” of a book in this way, but these are already details.

3. Read thoughtfully

"Read correctly“does not mean “read quickly”, rather the opposite. Never chase reading speed. The benefits of books “are determined not by the amount of what is read, but by the amount of what is understood.” It is better to re-read a complex or controversial passage again than to skim through without understanding anything. Don’t be lazy find out the meanings of unfamiliar words and terms (fortunately, now it’s very easy). Pay attention to the context. If the author refers to a theory or research that is unfamiliar to you, at least find out. general outline what is the essence of the theory or research. This, by the way, will help you with the next point.

4. Always look for books

It would seem, why look for them - there are so many of them. But most of these books are useless to you, they are just rubbish. In order not to fill your head with garbage, you need to take a responsible approach to choosing literature to read. Be sure to keep yourself a “to read” list. Follow the latest news in the area you are interested in, read. Determine in advance next book. In a word - plan your reading process.

5. Read different books

Sometimes it is very useful to read several books in a row on the same topic, compare them with each other, and look at the problem from different angles. But you shouldn’t dwell on the same thing. After books on self-development, read science fiction, after business literature, read Russian classics, etc. Some even advise doing this at the same time - reading one book “for benefit”, and another, fiction, for pleasure.

6. Go to e-books

Paper books are wonderful and I am not advocating giving them up. But the reality is that reading e-books from a tablet is much more convenient. The e-book market is developing and more and more new publications are available in electronic format. If you really want to read a lot and usefully, then e-books are an almost inevitable choice.

7. Draw conclusions about what you read

After you have turned the last page, it would be good to formulate your thoughts about what you read - to draw some conclusions for yourself. What do you understand, what do you agree/disagree with, what can be used. Even after reading a fiction book, it can be useful to structure your thoughts. If you followed the second point, then this will be quite simple. A good practice would be to write reviews and reviews of what you read.

We can definitely say that there is still no clear answer to this question. There are several different approaches possible here.

How to read fiction? There is a very simple answer to this question: as artistic. But after this, obviously, the following question arises: what is the artistry of literature? If you are interested in this question, we recommend reading a book that fully reveals this concept: Gay N.K. The Artistry of Literature. - M., 1975. In our book, only the main approaches to the problem will be discussed. It is not by chance that we are considering this issue, for there is literature called fiction, which, upon closer examination, is not such. In our opinion, it is very important to be able to understand this. To show the complexity and depth of the measurement problem artistic value, let's look at the graph shown in Fig. 41. This shows the dependence of the value of a work of art on a number of basic factors. Note that researchers led by the famous French scientist A. Mol consider this graph to be universal for all types of art: literature, music, fine arts etc.

Rice. 41. Graph of the dependence of the value of a work of art on a number of factors

As the graph shows, a work of art represents a message characterized by a degree of complexity or amount of information, which in turn depends on the culture of a given society. As shown in the graph, the value of a work varies depending on its complexity, following a curve that has a maximum at some point. This maximum is in progress historical development society and the growth of its culture is shifting. At the same time, it becomes blurred as a result of a more uniform distribution of cultural elements. In other words, the general evolution of art leads to the emergence of increasingly refined and difficult-to-understand combinations of elements, that is, what is called incomprehensible in every era. How can one disagree with Goethe’s famous statement:

Everyone sees the world in a different form,

And everyone is right -

It makes so much sense.

The science of art has long and persistently struggled to decipher the nature of artistic creation. Each writer, based on the specific content of the words, creates a literary text in which the combination of words is not arbitrary, but depends on the meaning and significance of the constituent elements. As a result, the word receives a special, no longer verbal, but figurative meaning, which distinguishes a literary text from a scientific one, where everything is subordinated to logic, and only to it. The poetic content of the word presupposes the existence in art world an infinite number of images. The essence of a truly artistic work is manifested in the fact that the word appears here not as a means of information or message, but as an actor in whom they see not himself, but the image that he embodies. When a writer writes: “There was an apple in the world. It shone in the foliage, rotated lightly, grabbed and turned with it pieces of the day, the blue of the garden, the frame of a window” (Yu. Olesha), then this is not the naming of objects in a word, but rather the transformation of words into objects, into visual images arising in the mind reader in the process of reading.

And here we come to the most important thing: what can quick reading do for the perception of fiction?

The main thing is not to accelerate the reading process, but to deepen the aesthetic impact through the development of visual, figurative components of thinking in the reading process. It is no coincidence that many schoolchildren, after completing speed reading courses, noted sharp increase visual components of the reading process. “It’s as if I’m not reading, but watching an interesting movie with all the characters, events, landscapes that are described in the book,” wrote one of our listeners.

M. Gorky, whose fast reading we talked about at the beginning of the book, read literary texts quickly precisely because he was distinguished by vivid imagery of perception. Even as a child, while reading books, Alyosha Peshkov imagined what he read so clearly that he was amazed by the magical power of the printed line and, not understanding the hidden artistic expression secrets, held the pages up to the light.

Is there an algorithm for reading works of fiction? Experts have developed three levels of penetration, or immersion, into a literary text, which are a kind of reading algorithms.

The first stage of immersion: understand the plot and plot. The writer resorts to plot to show what the hero does, what he does, how he acts. The reader’s task is to follow all this and not miss anything. This stage can be called “event” or “plot”. All readers master it. Researchers have noticed that at this stage of perception, when retelling, many people mainly use verbs denoting action. So, when retelling the film “Come to me, Mukhtar!” out of 175 words, there were 32 verbs denoting action, and only 1 - state. Up to 80% of young viewers are characterized by this level of perception.

Is it important to know the action - the plot? Undoubtedly. A good understanding of the plot and plot of a work means getting closer to understanding the psychology of the writer’s creativity and his skill.

The art of a writer to “tell” - special art, which requires that as the story progresses, the reader's interest constantly increases.

The second stage of immersion: the reader’s ability to identify himself with the character, to compare his fate with the vicissitudes of his fate. At this stage of perception, it is necessary to understand the complex structure of relationships between the characters, the motives of their likes and dislikes, actions and behavior - in artistic conflict works. This level can also be called “semantic”. The reader, as in the first case, shows interest in action-packed situations, but he is concerned not only with the fate of the heroes, but also with their experiences. He also feels more acutely his own feelings about the actions of the characters. Everything is etched into the memory: the landscape, the setting, and appearance characters. When talking about the book, the reader conveys not only the actions (left, came, hid), but also the experiences of the characters (hates, loves, doubts).

The central, and often the only figure of everything artistic creativity is a person. It is impossible to imagine a literary work without heroes, without characters, no matter what type it belongs to. In lyric poetry, the hero himself is the author; in epic and drama, there is always one or more heroes.

When reading a work of fiction, we almost never go beyond the boundaries of the human world, which is very similar to the real one, but at the same time is not a simple repetition of it. In convention literary images we have no doubt, but at times they acquire such reality for us that we consider them as truly existing.

The third stage of immersion: identification of the reader with the author-artist. It is called figurative and semantic. Its essence could be expressed in the famous words of L.N. Tolstoy, who said that the reader picks up a book in order to see what kind of person the author is and what he, the author, has in his soul.

A work of art always reflects the level of personal aesthetic knowledge of the writer. Creative knowledge is, first of all, self-knowledge. An artist, creating a work, to one degree or another expresses his vision of the world. This is one level. It can be described as a “small” world. The writer's attitude towards environment, time, contemporaries can conventionally be called the “average” world. This is another level. Great artist never stops at these levels. For him, both of them are the path leading to knowledge of the big world, the macrocosm - the universe, humanity. Having understood these levels of knowledge and determined their nature, we will come closer to understanding “the secret of the unity of the author with his heroes,” the secret of the process of personal creativity, and therefore we will be able to more accurately understand what the writer wanted to say to his reader. It is important to establish what the writer knew, what he understood and what remained beyond his consciousness, and what he, due to various reasons, I couldn’t figure it out.

At the end of this conversation, read test text No. 9. Try to read as quickly as possible, but, most importantly, awaken in your mind vivid visual images, ideas of what the author writes about. After finishing reading the text, do not rush to answer questions as usual, sit still, think, reflect. Check whether you have memorized all the blocks of the integral reading algorithm and whether there are any gaps.

Using the formula you know, calculate your reading speed and enter the result in a graph and table of your successes.

Newspapers occupy an important place in modern world. In our opinion, every schoolchild should read two or three newspapers every day. “Where can I get so much time,” you say. Of course, if you read each newspaper for an hour and a half, there won’t be enough time. You need to be able to read newspapers quickly and even very quickly.

The famous Soviet researcher in the field of psycholinguistics I. N. Gorelov gives the following recommendations.

Someone who regularly reads newspapers can easily learn a rational method of speed reading, and it will take him 8 to 10 times less time to scan a page than someone who is not familiar with this technique. Being aware of events, a regular reader, firstly, does not decipher the names, geographical names and many other newspaper terms. Secondly, he already has his own organized “data bank”, based on which he can deploy his anticipatory program about the possible development of events. Let us remind you that we discussed the phenomenon of anticipation in detail in the fourth conversation (p. 46). Thirdly, he can focus precisely on the material that interests him more than others. But here, too, everything is understood (no matter how new it may be) because there is a ready-made typology of situations, events, and knowledge of the essence of the matter.

Experienced publicists, feuilletonists, and report authors strive to present their text in such a way that it gives the impression of being fresh and interesting. Of course, the fact that is being reported can be interesting and fresh. But you can present it in different ways, starting with the title. The Soviet scientist N. G. Elina studied the typology of headings and found that they can be orienting (what? where? when?), explanatory and clarifying (for what? for what purpose or for what reason?), ascertaining (what happened? ) etc. Among other groups, misleading or vaguely orienting headings are interesting. For example, O. Henry's collection of short stories "Kings and Cabbages" is a typical misleading title, since the reader will not find any kings or cabbages under the cover.

A headline like “5000 years” may be of interest, but the text says that some ruins ancient city, according to experts and archaeologists, cannot be dated to the date of occurrence indicated in the title. It turns out that the initial hypothesis was unfounded, and in fact they excavated an abandoned building from the last century that had no value. The information would be of interest to those who previously knew about the hypothesis and about the excavations. But the journalist, who did not manage to submit the relevant material in a timely manner, did not want it to disappear after being refuted. This is how the intriguing title was invented. Who would read information entitled “A barn from the last century of no interest has been discovered”? According to journalists, it would have been better to call the information “Grave Mistake of Archaeologists,” since they most like to read about other people’s mistakes. The text is interesting because it can have so-called subtext. But is this statement true? Reading “between the lines” is, of course, a metaphor. But, in this case, where is the subtext? One can agree with N.G. Edinaya, who believes that the subtext is in the reader, in his psyche, and only there. It seems that there are texts without subtext: what is written is what needs to be understood, nothing more.

However, for understanding brief information obligatory preliminary knowledge is needed, which the author of the information implies (does not express, but means) and which must be “revived” in the reader, if he had it.

Basic knowledge that allows one to somehow understand the text is called behind-the-text.

As for the subtext, it differs from the subtext in that it not only helps to understand the text itself, but also hints that one should move away from the content of the text in some other direction, to remember something parallel, similar.

Thus, when reading newspapers, the main attention should be paid to finding informative, i.e., meaningful texts for you.

Exercise daily. The training result will be achieved when reading, for example, a newspaper " Komsomolskaya Pravda"It will take you no more than 15 minutes.

In our age of information explosion, the age of space and electronics, it is very important to keep abreast of the latest achievements of science and technology.

It is difficult to imagine a specialist in any field of knowledge who would not read literature in his specialty. Do schoolchildren need scientific and popular literature? Of course it is needed. In order to determine your place in modern society To find an activity that meets the inner needs of the soul, you need to know a lot, read a variety of literature.

How often does a former schoolboy enter college without any desire or interest in his chosen profession? Of course, this is a complex problem and there can be no recipes here. But our experience shows: a student who reads a lot and quickly will sooner or later find his own business, which will become the goal of his life. Versatile reading increases a person’s erudition; such an interlocutor feels at home in any company: among students music schools, and among artists, and within the walls of the station for young technicians.

We do not encourage you to be a know-it-all. There are limits to a person's ability to perceive and process information.

One prominent Soviet scientist defined the position of an erudite person this way: you need to know a little about everything and everything about a little. Working with scientific and popular books great value has a certain system, otherwise you will be overtaken by the unenviable fate of one of the heroes of A. France, who wrote: “I often read quickly, without counting and analyzing, and was extremely surprised when it soon turned out that I knew nothing.”

How to read scientific and popular science books and magazines? How can I get to know their content better and more deeply? Reading this kind of book can be different. This could be skimming, selective reading, full reading and finally studying.

The method of reading depends on the purpose.

Let's say you decide to write about a book general idea, determine its character: degree of scientificity, manner of presentation, style, etc. This can be done by a quick glance.

For example, you are interested in a book on a branch of science such as electronics. Once you get acquainted with the relevant section of the library, you will find that there are many books on this topic. There is a choice to be made. By what principle to choose? Which book is thicker? Or, on the contrary, thinner? Based on the name - which one is more attractive?

Here you need to be guided by other criteria. There is a system for initially evaluating the book as a whole.

Reviewing a book is a common method that requires the acquisition of certain skills and an appropriate order in their application.

For an experienced reader, a quick glance can reveal a lot. You need to read the book in the following order:

a) carefully study the title page, which contains basic information about the book: title, author, place and year of publication, name of the publishing house;

b) get acquainted with the table of contents of the book, trying to understand what sections it consists of, and in what sequence the material is presented; pay attention to the presence in the book of drawings, diagrams, drawings that complement and explain the text;

d) get acquainted directly with the main text of the book, for which read some pages, paragraphs, excerpts from the most valuable and interesting sections. This will give an idea of ​​the author’s style and language, the peculiarities of the presentation of the material, the degree of difficulty or accessibility of the book.

Search necessary books, selection of reference literature are of great importance for effective work.

Some may be very helpful here simple methods and techniques. Here they are summary.

First of all, you need to study reference books and compile your bibliography on this topic. To do this, you should look through periodical reference publications, library catalogs, book lists, and notes.

For periodicals, you need to read reviews and announcements of new books, and make clippings from newspapers and magazines. Here you can recommend the newspaper “Book Review”. If you subscribe and review it, you will always know about all the new books.

The above program can rightfully be called an algorithm for searching and reading scientific and popular science literature. The reading of these texts can be attributed to the statement of the outstanding Russian book activist P. A. Rubakin, who wrote that reading is the creation of one’s own thoughts by using the thoughts of other people. Remember this. And if, after reading a scientific or popular book, you have some of your own ideas, thoughts, reflections - you read correctly.

“We know,” you say, “we do this every day, there can hardly be anything new here.” Still, we would like to give you some advice.

As you know, in one of our first conversations we classified reading a textbook as a type of reading that we call in-depth. Such reading presupposes a deep assimilation of what is read and, naturally, can only be slow. However, slow reading does not mean “careful reading” and it is not always effective. That is why we would like to give recommendations here not so much on how to read textbooks, but mainly on how to take notes on what you read.

The ability to take notes while reading disciplines the reader. Taking notes when studying any material facilitates mental work and serves as a kind of control over what is perceived. What is written down is better and more fully absorbed and is more firmly stored in memory. It has been found that if, for example, you read 1000 words and then write down 50 words summarizing what you read, the learning rate will be higher than if you read 10,000 words without writing a single one down.

It is also important that when writing down what you read, the skill of condensing information is formed. And this is everything these days higher value.

Alternating reading and writing reduces fatigue, increases efficiency and overall productivity of mental work.

How to work with a book, textbook and take notes?

Notes can be divided into two groups:

1) notes of the literature being studied;

2) notes for future speeches. Let's consider each of them separately.

1. Summary of the literature being studied:

a) all accumulated material is systematized in such a way that it can be quickly and accurately navigated. All notes must be numbered and provided with a page-by-page list of outlined sources;

b) before you start taking notes on literature, you need to accurately indicate in your notebook all the output data: author’s name, title, year and place of publication of the book. If the publication is periodical, then the name of the newspaper or magazine, year, month, number, day, place of publication;

c) all notes must have margins. For convenience, they can be double - on the right and on the left. In the margins on the left, pages are marked and the main questions are briefly formulated and subheadings are given. In the margins on the right, write down your conclusions, links to other materials, topics and problems for further development this issue;

d) the summary as a whole is a summary of the content of the source. It necessarily alternates with extracts and quotes;

d) taking notes great job, be sure to maintain its structure (section headings). If comments do not fit in the margins, write them in the text of the summary, enclosing them in square brackets or frames, marking them with “total” signs or specifying “my total”, “my addition”, etc.

2 Notes of future speeches.

You will have to give a report, a message at a team meeting, at a meeting, at a seminar. How to do this easier and more efficiently? The outline will help you with this. How to cook it:

a) develop a plan. It must contain a list of issues of the message or report, as well as direct links to the factual material that was used for evidence. In the first versions of work, the main thing is to find a plan;

b) using the thesis technique, identify the main problems of the topic and questions related to them, group them, achieving logical subordination and clarity of formulation: what is the message about, what do you know, what others are saying, your opinion, conclusions;

c) in final version of the outline, place the main emphasis on a brief (concise) presentation of the entire problem based on the sources used. Learn to speak competently, briefly, specifically.

Is it possible to learn to write quickly?

You were not mistaken when you read the title of this section. You can write quickly, or rather, take notes. Scientists have developed a special system called high-speed note-taking.

The author of the technique, L.F. Sternberg, claims that you can relatively easily learn to take notes two to three times faster, and this system is much simpler than shorthand. Let's look at the elements of the developed methodology. First of all, let's perform a simple experiment demonstrating the essence of the technique. To do this, you need to prepare a small guide. Take 3 standard bibliographic cards (125X75 mm) or 3 sheets of paper half the size of a notebook page. On the first card, draw what is shown in Fig. 40 a, on the second copy the text shown in Fig. 40 b, and on the third card is what is shown in Fig. 40 V(you can use tracing paper to redraw this and then stick the tracing paper onto the card). Now show the first card to your friend and ask: what is written on it? The answer will be almost instantaneous: “Pythagorean Theorem.” Now take the second card and show it to your other friend. You will receive the same answer, but you will have to wait 21–25 seconds while he reads and understands the text. The third card must be shown to a person who knows shorthand. In this case, you will receive a response in 30–40 seconds. What is written on it must not only be read, but also deciphered.

Now let's think: why is there such a difference in the time of perception and processing of the same message? It's all about how it's written.

The original version of the message is text 40 b, but, you must admit, it takes quite a long time to write it like this. Text 40 V It is written much faster, but read less well. But option 40a is a text that has already been processed for better perception, which is read instantly and written quickly. Let's observe the authors of these texts - schoolchildren A, B and C - in 1st grade (i.e. when writing the text) and in preparation for the exam (i.e. when reading their notes).

Rice. 40. Three ways to take notes from a text

In the classroom. Almost without raising his head, B writes at the highest possible speed, throwing out endings, sometimes whole words, losing meaning: there is no time to realize - he is constantly absorbed by the note. Things are a little better! school student B: recording takes less time, there is time to understand the meaning of what is being written down. And only schoolchild A has no problem: if the text “giving a right triangle” sounds for 3 seconds, then it takes a second to draw the triangle, another second to think about how to write this phrase, and another second remains in reserve.

Exams. At this time, all schoolchildren are conducting the same experiment with which we started: they read their notes, comprehend And remember what they read. Student A has a double advantage: firstly, it is easier for him to read, since the translation of words into their meaning has already been partially completed and in the notes he sees not words, but ready-made images; - secondly, it is easier for him to remember, since this material has already been comprehended once in class in the process of thinking about how best to write down this phrase. In addition, visual images (such as a drawing of a triangle) are remembered better than descriptive text. Student B most likely reads his notes as if the text he saw for the first time in a lecture had all passed over his consciousness. By the way, schoolchild B, who, thanks to his ability to take shorthand, was not very tired during the lecture, is now having a difficult time, since deciphering a shorthand recording requires additional mental effort (individual letters are less recognizable in a shorthand record).

Perhaps the authors of these notes are not students and they were not made in class. But even then it is clear that author A coped with the recording the fastest, and B wrote the longest; and when it is necessary to read what has been written down, it will be easier for author A, and the most difficult for author B.

Unlike authors B and C, who write down the text, A writes down the meaning of this text in a unique form - this saves time. In order to write quickly and make the recording easy to understand, you need to practice a little. First, you need to master the series techniques, and secondly, before writing, you need to think about how to write it down. If you take notes in the library, then this is not difficult to do, and the expenditure of mental energy will then be repaid by the convenience of reading the notes. But even in class you can have time to think: it just seems like there is no time to think in class, but in fact a person thinks about 10 times faster than he writes, so the time spent on thinking more than pays off when writing.

Experience shows that learning to take quick notes can be quite simple.

Yes, you can. But, of course, this method can be used not as a way of reading for in-depth study of the subject, but as an additional, very effective remedy. We strongly recommend that you use the super-fast reading method - the “storming method” at all stages of the learning process:

For initial study new item within academic year, as well as during preparation for exams. The recommendations we offer have a very great effect, but only if they are applied in strict accordance with the rules set out below..

1. At the beginning of the school year. The holidays are behind us, a new school year is ahead. You brought textbooks from school. You know the subjects you will study. Everyone at school has their favorite and not so favorite subjects. Place all the textbooks on the table in order of increasing interest in the subject.

What's next? Look at the textbooks in front of you. Each book is a treasure trove of knowledge that you will study throughout the school year. We suggest that you “read” each book within one day in the “storm method” mode. Why is this necessary? Before studying anything deeply and thoroughly, it is necessary to have a general understanding of the subject, to know its main components, features, and specifics. You will receive all this data by reading the textbook in the “assault method” mode. After finishing reading, you need to make short summary read. In the process of writing notes, it is permissible to re-read individual chapters or sections of the textbook if necessary.

If your reading was truly fast, active, creative, amazing discoveries await you. What are they?

First, a figurative, visual panorama of the entire subject, the entire training course and its constituent parts is built in front of your mind's eye.

Secondly, the subsequent study of this subject during the school year is a process of recalling what is already known, a clear and definite connection between individual specific parts of what is being studied with the picture of the whole that is known to you.

2. During the academic year. Our slogan: fast reading is for lazy students. Lazy in the sense that they spend little time on homework. Indeed, there are so many interesting things in the world:

sports, music, hiking. But where can you find time when all of it is spent on studying? Do you want to successfully study with minimal time investment? Here are some recommendations.

First, make the most of your time in class at school. Follow our recommendations for speed-taking, find out everything you don't understand in class, and don't leave anything for later. Recording homework, at the same time construct a model for its execution.

Secondly, you still have problems with some sections of the program you are studying. Find additional literature on the topic and read it. You can find this literature yourself, or your teacher will help you. Remember: the more diverse literature you read on a particular topic, the easier and more accurately you will understand it.

For each subject, be sure to read additional literature recommended by the teacher, as well as that which you found on your own. Don’t forget to record the results of what you read in writing.

3. Before the exam. Exams are a crucial stage of study. This stage is of particular interest to you: you must show teachers not only what you know about the curriculum of the subject you are studying, but also much of what has come to your attention from additional literature. The basis for a successful exam is solid knowledge sections of the program. We need to calmly repeat everything, remember it, put it into the system. Once again we remind you about effective system repetition, set out in detail in the conversation on memory (see p. 126). What can quick reading do at this stage? After a deep and thorough study of the textbook with exam papers, it is very useful to read “by storm” several additional books on this topic, fixing your attention on the most complex and unclear problems for you.

Very soon you will feel: the exam is a joy for you, a way to demonstrate your knowledge that goes beyond school curriculum.

Typically, our students who have mastered the speed reading method and used it in preparation for exams have become so fond of it that they later told us that they regretted the end of the exams.

We can definitely say that there is still no clear answer to this question. There are several different approaches possible here.

How to read fiction? There is a very simple answer to this question: as artistic. But after this, obviously, the following question arises: what is the artistry of literature? If you are interested in this question, we recommend reading a book that fully reveals this concept: Gay N.K. The Artistry of Literature. - M., 1975. In our book, only the main approaches to the problem will be discussed. It is not by chance that we are considering this issue, for there is literature called fiction, which, upon closer examination, is not such. In our opinion, it is very important to be able to understand this. In order to show the complexity and depth of the problem of measuring artistic value, let's look at the graph shown in Fig. 41. This shows the dependence of the value of a work of art on a number of basic factors. Note that researchers led by the famous French scientist A. Mole consider this graph to be universal for all types of art: literature, music, fine arts, etc.

Rice. 41. Graph of the dependence of the value of a work of art on a number of factors

As the graph shows, a work of art represents a message characterized by a degree of complexity or amount of information, which in turn depends on the culture of a given society. As shown in the graph, the value of a work varies depending on its complexity, following a curve that has a maximum at some point. This maximum shifts in the process of historical development of society and the growth of its culture. At the same time, it becomes blurred as a result of a more uniform distribution of cultural elements. In other words, the general evolution of art leads to the emergence of increasingly refined and difficult to understand combinations of elements, that is, what is called incomprehensible in every era. How can one disagree with Goethe’s famous statement:

Everyone sees the world in a different form,
And everyone is right -
It makes so much sense.

The science of art has long and persistently struggled to decipher the nature of artistic creation. Each writer, based on the specific content of the words, creates a literary text in which the combination of words is not arbitrary, but depends on the meaning and significance of the constituent elements. As a result, the word receives a special, no longer verbal, but figurative meaning, which distinguishes an artistic text from a scientific one, where everything is subordinated to logic, and only to it. The poetic content of the word presupposes the existence of an infinite number of images in the artistic world. The essence of a truly artistic work is manifested in the fact that the word appears here not as a means of information or message, but as an actor in whom they see not himself, but the image that he embodies. When a writer writes: “There was an apple in the world. It shone in the foliage, rotated lightly, grabbed and turned with it pieces of the day, the blue of the garden, the frame of a window” (Yu. Olesha), then this is not the naming of objects in a word, but rather the transformation of words into objects, into visual images arising in the mind reader in the process of reading.

And here we come to the most important thing: what can quick reading do for the perception of fiction?

The main thing is not to accelerate the reading process, but to deepen the aesthetic impact through the development of visual, figurative components of thinking in the reading process. It is no coincidence that many schoolchildren, after completing speed reading courses, noted a sharp increase in the visual components of the reading process. “It’s as if I’m not reading, but watching an interesting movie with all the characters, events, landscapes that are described in the book,” wrote one of our listeners.

M. Gorky, whose fast reading we talked about at the beginning of the book, read literary texts quickly precisely because he was distinguished by vivid imagery of perception. Even as a child, while reading books, Alyosha Peshkov imagined what he read so clearly that he was amazed by the magical power of the printed line and, not understanding the secret hidden in the literary word, examined the pages in the light.

Is there an algorithm for reading works of fiction? Experts have developed three levels of penetration, or immersion, into a literary text, which are a kind of reading algorithms.

The first stage of immersion: understand the plot and plot. The writer resorts to plot to show what the hero does, what he does, how he acts. The reader’s task is to follow all this and not miss anything. This stage can be called “event” or “plot”. All readers master it. Researchers have noticed that at this stage of perception, when retelling, many people mainly use verbs denoting action. So, when retelling the film “Come to me, Mukhtar!” out of 175 words, there were 32 verbs denoting action, and only 1 - state. Up to 80% of young viewers are characterized by this level of perception.

Is it important to know the action - the plot? Undoubtedly. A good understanding of the plot and plot of a work means getting closer to understanding the psychology of the writer’s creativity and his skill.

The writer’s art of “telling” is a special art that requires that as the story progresses, the reader’s interest constantly increases.

The second stage of immersion: the reader’s ability to identify himself with the character, to compare his fate with the vicissitudes of his fate. At this stage of perception, it is necessary to understand the complex structure of relationships between the characters, the motives of their likes and dislikes, actions and behavior - the artistic conflict of the work. This level can also be called “semantic”. The reader, as in the first case, shows interest in action-packed situations, but he is concerned not only with the fate of the heroes, but also with their experiences. He also feels more acutely his own feelings about the actions of the characters. Everything is etched into the memory: the landscape, the setting, and the appearance of the characters. When talking about a book, the reader conveys not only actions (left, came, disappeared), but also the experiences of the heroes (hates, loves, doubts).

The central, and often the only figure in all artistic creativity is man. It is impossible to imagine a literary work without heroes, without characters, no matter what type it belongs to. In lyric poetry, the hero himself is the author; in epic and drama, there is always one or more heroes.

When reading a work of fiction, we almost never go beyond the boundaries of the human world, which is very similar to the real one, but at the same time is not a simple repetition of it. We do not doubt the conventionality of literary images, but at times they acquire such reality for us that we consider them as truly existing.

The third stage of immersion: identification of the reader with the author-artist. It is called figurative and semantic. Its essence could be expressed in the famous words of L.N. Tolstoy, who said that the reader picks up a book in order to see what kind of person the author is and what he, the author, has in his soul.

A work of art always reflects the level of personal aesthetic knowledge of the writer. Creative knowledge is, first of all, self-knowledge. An artist, creating a work, to one degree or another expresses his vision of the world. This is one level. It can be described as a “small” world. The writer’s attitude to the environment, time, and contemporaries can conventionally be called the “average” world. This is another level. A great artist never stops at these levels. For him, both of them are the path leading to knowledge of the big world, the macrocosm - the universe, humanity. Having understood these levels of knowledge and determined their nature, we will come closer to understanding “the secret of the unity of the author with his heroes,” the secret of the process of personal creativity, and therefore we will be able to more accurately understand what the writer wanted to say to his reader. It is important to establish what the writer knew, what he understood, and what remained beyond his consciousness, and what he, for various reasons, could not figure out.

At the end of this conversation, read test text No. 9. Try to read as quickly as possible, but, most importantly, awaken in your mind vivid visual images, ideas of what the author writes about. After finishing reading the text, do not rush to answer questions as usual, sit still, think, reflect. Check whether you have memorized all the blocks of the integral reading algorithm and whether there are any gaps.

Using the formula you know, calculate your reading speed and enter the result in a graph and table of your successes.

Test text no. 9

Volume 5500 characters

PRINCIPLES OF “CHALLENGE” (about the ways in which high quality goods are achieved in Japan)

A teleconference between students in Japan and the United States was coming to an end when the host in Tokyo made a sneaky move. After listening to a tirade from an overseas colleague about the reluctance of the Far Eastern allies to open their market to American products, he paused and unexpectedly commanded into the microphone: “Let those who buy goods with the mark “made in the USA” raise their hands!” No one in the hall moved. “Who uses only Japanese products?” A forest of hands immediately shot up.

“You know,” one of the Tokyo students explained, looking into the television camera, “it’s not a matter of nationalism. It’s just that our products are cheaper and better quality than Western ones.” However, not only residents of the Japanese islands think so. “It’s time to understand,” writes the New York Times, “that the secret of the success of Far Eastern businessmen in foreign markets lies not in deceit, not in violation of the “gentlemanly rules of trade,” but in the ability to produce good goods and strive for continuous improvement.” How did Japanese businessmen win the right to such compliments from their worst competitors? One of the answers lies in the activities of quality circles, which have become the most important means of mobilizing tens of millions of people in Japan.

...Behind a metal table littered with diagrams are eight young workers, members of the “Challenge” group. She operates on the engine technical inspection line of the giant Toyota automobile plant in the central part of the island of Honshu. Guys in neat beige uniforms joke, laugh loudly, drink green tea. Once a week, they stay for about an hour after work in a room allocated for them in the workshop and discuss ways to solve the next problem of rationalization and quality improvement. The topic is chosen together and then approved by the boss. The intervention of the workshop management is minimal, although the site foreman is an indispensable participant in all debates and often directs the survey work himself. This time, the Challenge group is trying to reduce engine noise, which is why the new Toyota model is not well received by potential buyers. “We have considered some options. There is an idea to change the shape of the muffler,” says one of the workers, and the group members again bend over the diagram. (

Sometimes you don’t really want to stay after work,” says nice guy with a mustache. - But when an argument starts, you often forget about everything. Will this help my career? Don't think. It’s just that working in a circle improves the quality of my work. It’s great if your ideas are taken into account in a new car model!..

The Challenge group is just one of 240 thousand quality circles that now cover the core of Japanese workers and technicians. This movement has acquired a truly total character here, and participation in the struggle for all kinds of improvements has become almost an integral element of the local way of life. Such circles operate in dry cleaners and car service centers, in eateries and even in nightclubs. However, the main field of activity is the sphere of material production.

According to Japanese economists, the mistake of the West is that it takes the path of strengthening external control over the worker, viewing him as a lazy person or even as a hidden saboteur. The supervision system is being tightened, unexpected inspections and increasingly formidable commissions are being introduced. In other words, the product manufacturer and quality control are separated and even opposed to each other. The Japanese are convinced that the controller should first of all be the worker himself.

Quality circles as a national phenomenon were born in April 1962, when the decision to create them was made by an all-Japan conference with the participation of leading businessmen and economic experts. They began to publish a cheap magazine on problems of fighting marriage, accessible to every worker. Then a national headquarters for quality circles was created, which now has five powerful regional branches.

In fact, all members of Japanese production teams act as individual inspectors and are collectively responsible for identifying defects. The principle is simple: if you notice a problem, immediately fix it yourself. If you can't, call for help. If there is not enough time, stop the conveyor. The main slogan: “Do what you want, but the defect must not pass!” Through the efforts of experienced managers at Japanese enterprises, an environment has been created where any missed marriage becomes a powerful psychological drama. Here is another example: a group of milling and grinding workers at the Nihon Musen electrical products plant in Nagano decided to dramatically reduce the level of defects on their site. For two months the workers monitored themselves, drawing diagrams and graphs. It was found that the greatest failure occurs when marking workpieces, and primarily at the beginning and end of each shift.

The members of the circle decided, on their own initiative, to hold three- to five-minute meetings every day to “concentrate attention” and introduced a system of mutual inspection, when workers from neighboring machines took turns checking each other. As a result, over seven months of intense activity, the circle managed to reduce the defect rate by forty percent. However, such huge achievements, of course, are not achieved often.

The main emphasis is placed on constant quality control and a continuous process of minor improvements. Invented a more convenient screwdriver handle? Prize! A trifle, you say? But such “little things” at Japanese enterprises add up high quality goods, achieved only through the use of internal resources.

In Japan, quality conferences of various levels are continuously held, to which the best innovators are sent. The organizers of the movement proceed from the fact that the struggle to improve products must be all-out, since a small number of enthusiasts will never be able to achieve results if they find themselves surrounded by indifferent or even hostile workers.