What Makes a Good Reader

The first think that Nabokov thinks makes a good reader is imagination. Without imagination, it would be difficult to pull everything out of the story that the author intended for you to get out of it. Imagination allows you to forget about the world around you, and puts you in the story to feel what the characters are feeling, and be involved with what is going on. The next thing that Nabokov thinks a reader needs to fully understand, is a dictionary. Absolutely! We, as the reader want to take out everything that we can from what we read. It is very important to have a dictionary there and convenient, so as not to forget about something we didn't fully understand and draw the wrong conclusion out of it. Nabokov believes that an artistic sense is the next most important thing that a good reader will need. This helps you explore what the writer is trying to say through their work. Several writers don't spell out exactly what they are meaning, and leave it to the reader to draw a lot out. Lastly, is memory. Memory is important in reading, especially when reading novels, or works as long as that. You can't finish a novel in a short amount of time, and will need to remember what you read in your last sitting in order to jump back in. I find it important to remember little things, such as clues that the author gives to the ending; like in a movie.

I would say that these are the most important in my eyes as well. I would also put imagination at the top of my list. Imagination is really the most critical, depending on what you are reading. The more imagination I have, the more enjoyment I get out of reading. If I have in a crowded place, or anywhere that I am unable to focus, I don't get as much out of the reading, and in turn, don't have as much memory about what I read. Imagination also draws out the artistic sense we all have.]

I do consider myself a good reader. After reading this, I think that keeping a dictionary on me would be a good tool become a better reader. I do have a lot of imagination, and in turn comes the other qualities. I enjoy reading, so becoming a better reader, and making myself aware of these things is definitely something I want to do.