How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines

Thoroughly revised and expanded for a new generation of readers, this classic guide to enjoying literature to its fullest―a lively, enlightening, and entertaining introduction to a diverse range of writing and literary devices that enrich these works, including symbols, themes, and contexts―teaches you how to make your everyday reading experience richer and more rewarding.

While books can be enjoyed for their basic stories, there are often deeper literary meanings beneath the surface. This engaging guide to reading comprehension, How to Read Literature Like a Professor LP, helps us to discover those hidden truths by looking at literature with the practiced analytical eye―and the literary codes―of a college professor.

What does it mean when a protagonist is traveling along a dusty road? When he hands a drink to his companion? When he’s drenched in a sudden rain shower? Thomas C. Foster provides answers in this masterclass on book analysis as he explores every aspect of fiction, from major themes to literary models, narrative devices, and form. Offering a broad overview of literature―a world where a road leads to a quest, a shared meal may signify a communion, and rain, whether cleansing or destructive, is never just a shower―he shows us how to make our reading experience more intellectually satisfying and fun.

The world, and curricula, have changed. This third edition has been thoroughly revised to reflect those changes, and features new chapters, a new preface and epilogue, as well as fresh teaching points Foster has developed over the past decade. Foster updates the books he discusses to include more diverse, inclusive, and modern works, such as Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give; Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven; Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere; Elizabeth Acevedo’s The Poet X; Helen Oyeyemi's Mr. Fox and Boy, Snow, Bird; Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street; Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God; Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet; Madeline Miller’s Circe; Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls; and Tahereh Mafi’s A Very Large Expanse of Sea.

This beloved reading guide reveals the hidden language of literature, showing you how to unlock a deeper understanding of everything you read:

• Literary Analysis Made Easy: Learn to spot the hidden truths in any text by looking at literature with the practiced, analytical eye of a college professor.
• Symbolism in Literature: Discover why a journey down a dusty road is usually a quest, a shared meal can signify communion, and a sudden rain shower is never just about the weather.
• Themes and Contexts: Explore the major themes, literary models, and narrative devices that give classic and modern fiction its power and depth.
• Updated for a New Generation: This thoroughly revised edition features new chapters and discusses more diverse and modern works, from The Hate U Give to Station Eleven and Circe.