Product Description

"Ways of Reading" is a well-established core textbook that provides the reader with the tools to analyse and interpret the meanings of literary and non-literary texts. Six sections, split into self-contained units with their own activities and notes for further reading, cover: techniques and problem-solving; language variation; attributing meaning; poetic uses of language; narrative; and media texts. This third edition has been redesigned and updated throughout with many fresh examples and exercises, updated further reading suggestions and new material on electronic sources and the Internet, language and power, and drama.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #41793 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Review

Praise for the second edition:

‘Thorough, clear, thought-provoking and stimulating, Ways of Reading is the best available introduction to literary studies and the issues connected with reading.’

Jean Jacques Weber, University Centre Luxembourg

‘Ways of Reading is a valuable and immensely usable book... Its range of text samples is admirably wide-ranging and eclectic.'

John McRae, Language and Literature

Praise for the first edition:

'Ways of Reading is a valuable and immensely usable book ... More than fills a major gap.' – Literature & Language

'This is a clear and incisive introduction to [the] main issues in the critical study of literature.' – Robin Jarvis, University of the West of England, UK

From the Back Cover

Ways of Reading is a well-established core textbook that provides the reader with the tools to analyse and interpret the meanings of literary and non-literary texts.
Six sections, split into self-contained units with their own activities and notes for further reading, cover:

• Techniques and Problem-Solving
• Language Variation
• Attributing Meaning
• Poetic Uses of Language
• Narrative
• Media Texts

This third edition has been substantially revised and redesigned throughout with many fresh examples and exercises. References have been updated, the overall organization of the book has changed and new material has been added to include information on electronic sources and the Internet, plus a completely new unit: Ways of Reading Drama analyses plays as a dramatic performance and a dramatic text.

About the Author

Martin Montgomery is Director of the Scottish Centre for Journalism Studies; Nigel Fabb is Director of the Programme in Literary Linguistics; and Tom Furniss is Senior Lecturer in English Studies, all at the University of Strathclyde. Alan Durant is Professor  of Communication Studies at Middlesex University; and Sara Mills is Professor in the Department of English Studies at Sheffield Hallam University. The authors have written and edited numerous books on linguistics, communication studies, study skills, literary theory and cultural studies.

Customer Reviews

Ways of Reading
This book looked ideal, however, the way it is structured makes it inconvenient to follow, and it seems to me that it is incomplete. Did the authors get fed up with it half way through?
For instance, there are clearly set out Units and subject headings, but when you read into the subject the text refers you to another subject heading in another unit - which refers you to another subject heading in another unit.... By the time you have ploughed through all the cross referencing you've forgotten what it was you were reading about in the first place!
Also, there are activities to complete at the end of each unit: great for testing that you have understood what you have read, unless of course the 'Appendix: notes on activities' only provides answers to Unit 1 and Unit 3. What about the rest?
Ways of Reading: Advanced Reading Skills for Students of English Literature