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Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Reading » Page 2

Reading

Today Is a Good Day to (re)Read

By Steve Laubeon March 28, 2022
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What was the favorite book you read, cover to cover, in the last year or so? Why is it your favorite? (It can be fiction or nonfiction, faith-based or not.) Feel free to tell us in the comments about yours. We all want to expand our reading lists!

Read It Again

Now that you’ve identified the book, read it again. As Vladimir Nabakov wrote:

Curiously enough, one cannot read a book: one can only reread it. A good reader, a major reader, an active and creative reader is a rereader” (from Nabokov’s speech “Good Readers and Writers” (pdf link) delivered in his 1948 collection Lectures on Literature).

That may seem like an overstatement. After all, we have only so much time in a day. Why am I suggesting this?

Learn From the Best

The first time you read a book, if you are able to turn off your editing instincts, you are caught up in the story, the characters, or the nonfiction point the teacher is trying to make. But this time, while you reread, look for the technique of the writer. Look at the structure and argument trail. Note how a character is described for the first time and when that happens. Try to discover what made this a magical book for you.

The beauty of this analysis is that you are no longer entranced by the what-if or the conclusion. You know where the book is going. So now you can use the book as a teacher of writing.

I even recommend reading with multicolored pencils or pens at the ready. (A little harder to accomplish with an e-reader.) Use one color for emotion. Another for major points. Another for descriptions. Another for anecdotes. (I’m mixing fiction and nonfiction in my examples on purpose.) Let the great writers teach you.

Immersive Reading

In addition, the second or third time through a book you may find an idea you missed the first time. For example, I suspect you may have read C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity a while ago. I can almost guarantee that if you reread it today, it will speak to you again but in a new way because you are likely in a different place spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally than you were the first time. (And if you’ve never read it? Put it at the top of your list.)

Even a great novel can do the same. In the last decade, I have reread Dune by Frank Herbert, twice. It is considered to be one of the greatest science-fiction novels of all time. I am continually struck by the power of religion in the lives of each character, something I glossed over the first time because of the extraordinary saga that was told.

Enjoy your (re)reading experience. Tell us what you discovered!

(A version of this post was published in January 2013.)

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Category: Art, Craft, Reading, Writing CraftTag: Reading, Writing Craft

Why I Bought the Book: Consumer Edition

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon October 6, 2021
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I’m a literary agent, but I’m also a reader. As a reader, I have reasons for buying a book. Nonfiction Topics: The topic must address a need or want I’m feeling at that time. For example, if I’m cooking for someone who’s a vegan, I’ll search for books with ideas for vegan dishes. Fiction Topics: Some topics simply don’t appeal to me as a reader. Authors may note that some readers have triggers and …

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Category: Book Sales, Marketing, Reading

Words I Can Spell but Mispronounce

By Bob Hostetleron December 16, 2020
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A couple years ago I was enjoying a small family reunion with my two older brothers. We were playing a card game, and for some reason I used the word chimera in the conversation. Unfortunately, I failed to take into consideration three things: I had (to my recollection) never heard the word spoken but had only read it. My brothers are both smarter than me. My brothers would never hesitate to …

Read moreWords I Can Spell but Mispronounce
Category: Humor, Reading

Do Writers Read Differently?

By Bob Hostetleron November 18, 2020
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Writers are readers. Right? Of course, right. In fact, I’d say that if you’re not a devoted, even voracious reader, you might not want to pursue writing for publication, as reading and writing tend to go hand-in-hand. But do writers read differently than other people? And if so, how? I asked that question of some of my friends and clients, and here’s what they said: Yes, I think writers read …

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Category: Creativity, Reading, The Writing Life

How Are You Reading?

By Steve Laubeon April 27, 2020
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by Steve Laube

I collect books. I graze through them like I'm at an all-you-can-eat buffet. I sample this tidbit and that. Eventually I get enough to eat or have found the right morsel to consume until it is finished.

It helps make me an eclectic sort. But there are days, even weeks, where I must discipline myself to become immersed in extraordinary writing. It is there where the soul …

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Category: Reading, TheologyTag: Reading, Theology

What Will You Read Today?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 30, 2020
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Reading at least a few chapters of a book is a worthy goal for each day. One app I have recommends a half hour of reading. Seems doable to me! Since I have at least a thousand books in my collection begging to be read, I’m attempting to be discerning as to where I spend my reading time. To wit, I went to a public library book sale over the weekend and confess I was tempted by Kitty Kelley’s old …

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Category: Personal, Reading

A Different Perspective

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon December 5, 2019
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When I was in grade school, a nosy neighbor decided my parents were too conservative, so she loaned me some of her old books by Helen Van Slyke. My parents let me read anything in book form, so we were good to go. Helen was a divorced New York City career woman with views unlike those I would encounter in my hometown. Today, as I cull my book collection, I am revisiting some of those titles with a …

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Category: Reading

Are Libraries Still Relevant for Writers?

By Bob Hostetleron December 4, 2019
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I recently asked my editor and writer friends on Twitter and Facebook if public libraries are still relevant for writers (and by their reply to give me permission to quote them). Well, that opened a can of words (see what I did there?)—so many that I can’t use them all—but here are some of their responses: __________ Brooke Jones Keith said, “I research online but I take inspiration from …

Read moreAre Libraries Still Relevant for Writers?
Category: Book Business, ReadingTag: Libraries

What Were They Reading?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon November 21, 2019
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In attempting to declutter, I am culling my book collection. Parting with beloved tomes is one of the hardest parts of decluttering for me since I enjoy books so much! I’m keeping copies of all the books I’ve written and the many I have had the honor of representing. Because I tend to buy nearly every book that interests me, I have a massive stack to review. Re-reading bestsellers from the past …

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Category: Reading, The Writing Life, Trends

Do You Plan Your Reading?

By Bob Hostetleron December 19, 2018
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It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Yes, of course, I mean the annual celebration of our Lord’s nativity, which is rich with meaning and blessing for me and my family. So, Merry Christmas! But there’s something else that makes this time of year wonderful to me: the joyful preparation of a reading plan for the coming year, which I do every year in late December and early January. That plan …

Read moreDo You Plan Your Reading?
Category: Reading
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