Overview of How to Read Literature like a Professor

How to Read Literature like a Professor is a book I went into that I was not expecting to like. Maybe it's because I'm lazy, or not used to it, but I've always really disliked the over-analyzing (in my point of view) that I've come to associate with college-level readings- some of the things I've heard in the past seem like lofty reaches. Can't we just let the blue dress just be blue- does it really have to symbolize the sadness or depression a character is feeling? However, After the first few chapters, I was surprised to find myself enjoying the book. The slightly sassy way Foster writes this book keeps the material interesting and easy to read- many of the important take aways in this book are in bold - for example, in the first chapter, "The real reason for a quest is always self knowledge" is bolded; this condensed guideline comes after a detailed description, which goes from broad to specifics, making the material easy to comprehend. Foster's use of self-asked questions (from the point of view of the reader) adds a nice, personal flow to the book, even if I wasn't thinking of the question in my head in the first place. In fact, this novel gives the context to several things I've heard talked about- deal with the devil, how The Bible and Shakespeare are often deeply entwined with a lot of literature, and detailed discussions of symbolism. Foster even imposes the question I had been thinking of while reading this book: "Does he [The author] mean it?" - which he answers truthfully, with uncertainty, but explains that none of the assumptions and connects come without evidence - research based or not. Overall, the book is fast paced and fun to read, and actually convinced me to understand and respect some of the hardcore analyzing I scoffed at in the past.