Reading Inventory

In class we defined text not just as a book, but as something written that conveys language. This can be verbal, music, film or anything that offers interpretation. Whether it’s reading or watching a movie, they both have a plot and dialogue which makes it interesting. I do enjoy reading, but I have found it hard to read during the school year because I have textbooks and other novels to read for my classes and I don’t like starting a book then not finishing for months because I forget what is going on. During spring and summer break is when I get my reading in, because I find it very relaxing to read at the pool or beach. My favorite book is “Keeping Faith” by Jodi Picoult. This book really spoke to me and I enjoyed it because it made me think about my own relationships and faith. It had a very complex story plot and I read this book within a few days because I did not want to put it down. Although I have not had time yet to read other Jodi Picoult books, I do own three more, which I hope to read during my upcoming vacations. I like to read books that I am interested in, not always books that I am assigned. I like being able to start and finish a book on my own time and not have to worry about how many pages I have to read each night so that I can go to class prepared. In school, teachers assign books and they have not always been books that I have enjoyed. However, there have been some that I have loved. In high school, we read several books that I enjoyed. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D Salinger was one of my favorite books we read in school. I also enjoyed the Scarlet Letter because we tore that book apart and found every possible symbolism in the novel, which really made me appreciate the text. Every English teacher that I had during high school made us annotate the books we read. While it doubles the amount of time spent reading because you would have to underline, highlight, make symbols and write in the margins, I found it helpful for when I would try to find something later on for a class discussion or paper. I mastered the way of annotating where it was not too much, but not too little. Usually, my teacher would give us the writing assignment before we would start reading the book, so I would create symbols in the margins if I liked a quote or idea and thought it would be useful in my paper. I am glad that my teachers made us annotate our texts because it has helped me understand the book better and I know that having annotating skills will be useful in this class and when I am out of college and have full time job.Since I graduated from high school, I do not think my reading has changed. Last semester I took English 111, which did not require much reading. We read short essays, but they were no longer then six pages. I have been doing a lot of textbook reading, but I have not been able to annotate in the textbooks so I take notes on my computer or in a notebook.I sometimes have a hard time remembering what I am reading so I have come up with a few ways to solve this problem. If possible, I like to read out loud because when I listen to myself talking it stays in my mind. I do not like reading with a group because everyone reads at a different pace. In the past when I have read with a group, instead of listening to people read out loud, I have read in my head and then gotten ahead of that reader. I would consider myself a fast reader, but sometimes I read so fast that I skip words, which makes me then have to go back and read the entire sentence again.