In “Good Readers and Good Writers”, Nabokov makes a list of ten things that make up a good reader; ten things they should be or have. Some qualifications off that list that I agree with most are: “should have imagination, should have memory, and should have a dictionary.” I think that imagination is extremely important while reading a book. Nabokov points out that writing is an art. Authors write out a story for us, giving us the tools to imagine the scenes they have set. Without our imaginations, that teamwork between author and reader would not be possible.
Having memory ties into a couple areas within reading. Nabokov states that “a good reader, a major reader, an active and creative reader is a rereader.” He explains that we must read something once, go through the motions of laying our eyes on each word once, before we can reread it and grasp it more fully. So there our memory plays an important role. I’m not sure if I agree 100% with his rereading idea, though. I do consider myself a good reader, and I don’t reread most things (except maybe instructions). Memory is also important to reading in relation to imagination. I know I’m not the only one who does this: I’ll read of a garden, a house, a person, a city, and it will remind me of something I’ve seen before. I will then imagine that thing whenever it is mentioned again throughout the story.
I think having a dictionary makes a good reader because it provides the ability to look any foreign word up, then adding it to one’s vocabulary. Having a broad vocabulary is something I feel makes a good reader, and reading more and more, dictionary in hand, can only expand it. I also think that willingness to learn makes a good reader. Everything teaches us something, and without a willingness to absorb the lesson, words are for nothing. I do consider myself a good reader because I possess some of Nabokov’s characteristics, as well as all of my own.
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Nabokov touched on this some, but on the flip-side, here is an article on what makes a good writer:
http://www.oprah.com/money/What-Makes-a-Good-Writer-Career-Advice-for-Writers
Nabokov touched on this some, but on the flip-side, here is an article on what makes a good writer:
http://www.oprah.com/money/What-Makes-a-Good-Writer-Career-Advice-for-Writers
