This is your opportunity to contribute to that discussion.
- Should we be spending time reading a novel? Why or why not?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages or reading a novel?
- What about this particular novel? Is it a good choice of novel to be reading, despite having been on the American Library Association's (ALA) list of most banned or challenged books ever since it was published in 1937?
It is currently number 5 on the ALA's list of most banned or challenged books for this decade (2010).
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I think that we can get advantages from readding novel. Firstly, we can practice reading skill like other doccuments but from novel we can get coommon words or speaking words, such as commin' or ain't. Those word can help you guess the word when you talk with natives.secondly, novels are easy to practice your reading skill especially skipping unknow words. I like toread novel and when I see the dificult words, I always skip it because I'm too lazy to not open dictionary. However,I can understand the over-view of story. it is very importanc. It can really help you on the examanation.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast, I think that novel also bring disadvantages. most of it use correct gramma but not formal and if you use gramma loke that on the academic writing, you might take low marks. The paragraph structure also is a problem. There are quite free-style in novels' paragrph but eassies require the formal style. All in all, the informality is the big mistake of novels for supporting your academic writing skill.
To short. I think that reading novels is good way to improve your readung skill and it is surely better than read no book.
I think, we should read it because it gives us a lot of benefits to improve english skills Moreover, there are a lot of advantages of reading Of Mice And Men such as learning the lives in history, get more vocabularies, and the most crucial one is about critical thinking every thing in the story.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it might have some disadvantage in the novel such as, old vocabulary, old talking style and undergraduate which we can't use in nowadays but if we weight between advantages and disadvantage, i still prefer to read this book
Besides, even though it is a old fiction but it still reflect to our social nowadays that people have to rely on other and communicate to each other because humans are socialize creatures so we can learn many things from the story.
At first, when I read the comment on the cover page I think that Nicky Hornby overacting but I understand why he comment in that way.
I always start everything in my life by "why", so I think why you assign me to read this novel. Most of vocabularies are the words that I do not know and the word are used for communicate in some group such as "Poor bastard". Do you want us to learn new words, or do you want us to remember the sentence for using, and Is it your goal? My answer is no.
ReplyDeleteWe need to read the novel without dictionary and next day we discuss about the story that we read to check our understanding. I guess that I realize something, but I would like you to check whether my answer is right or not.
My answer is that I can understand the story without using dictionary because when we discuss in the class we quite understand in the same way although I skip a lot of words while I read. When I read the novel that has many blank words for me, I feel that some skill is used, but I do not know what it is called. Maybe, it is a reading skill. I think, if I spend time to read the novel, it might help me improve that skill.
I think that it is good way to start to practice reading skill with the novel because I have a problem about vocabulary, so it is a good way to read something that we can guess the situation and it is a good way than reading a text book which is boring. For me, if I can use reading skill fluently, it will challenge me to read other books which is harder (I hope that).
Gift,
ReplyDeleteThanks for such a long and thoughtful response. I agree with everything you wrote: both the reasoning behind them and the advantages you note.
I also have a couple of other reasons for reading a novel, but I like the ones you've already suggested.
I hope you also enjoy the story of George and Lennie, which is one of the most famous in modern English literature, and one which most American students study in high school today. Net (@ October 1, 2010 2:12 PM) thought Nick Hornby, whose comment is on the cover, might be overreacting, but I think that a good case can be made that it really is "a perfect book". I don't think it's the best novel ever written in English, but it is certainly one of the best. (In level 6, we sometimes read the novel that I think really is the best ever written in English, but I'm thinking of changing that one for something a bit more modern.)
And I like Gift's habit of always asking "Why?"
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, we should spending time reading a novel, because we can improve english,relax, and fun when we read a novel. Advantages of readind a novel, it's help us know about new vocabularies and It's a good way if we want practice in reading skill. However, I don't understand why It was banned by ALA.
ReplyDeletePeter
ReplyDeleteAccording my comment (@ October 1, 2010 2:12 PM)
I mean at first, I had no idea why Nick Hornby comment like that but nowadays, I'm completely understand that why.
Gift
I also really like your habit to question yourself because it means that you will know more if you question more.
I think we should read the novel because students in AEP, who would like to study abroad can learn about their culture and vocabulary. Therefore, we can improve reading and writing skills. According that we spending time to read "Mice and Men" without dictionary. It's helpful to guess the meaning of difficult words, actually I don't understand the real meaning but I can understand the story. However, the novel is good materail to improve reading and writing skills but I'm not sure if vocabulary in the novel are appropliate apply to communicate thses days because they are old vocabularies.
ReplyDeleteReading is very good. I think to read all kinds of books, magazines, news papers and etc are good for us. We can earn more vocabularies, new knowledges and critical thinking skills.
ReplyDelete"Of Mice and Men" novel is one of good book that we should read because from the first chapter (p.1-18) that I read, I think the story is interesting that the way how "Steinbeck" narrated the story. It easy for us to imagination the image of characters and the scene. Also, when I saw this word in the front page of "Of Mice and Men" "Such a perfect book" by "Nick Hornby" it makes me want to know how good is this novel and want to read it.
Ning has mentioned what seems to me another sound reason for reading novels: they can give you insights into the culture that produces them, which is, as she notes, important preparation for going to live in another country.
ReplyDeleteNing also mentions that studying novels can improve our writing skills, and that is high on my list of advantages to reading a novel in class. We've already had some practice writing academic paragraphs about Of Mice and Men, and there will be some more before we are finished with it. A novel is a convenient subject to practice the skills needed for good academic writing.
Although some of Steinbeck's language is a little dated as Net points out (October 1, 2010 2:12 PM), much of it, even teh slang, is still in use: nigger, tart, bitch, God almighty, and so on are all still in current use, although nigger is so offensive that it's normally only heard in special cases. For example, Will Smith uses the word in the film Men in Black, and following Chris Tucker's lead, Jackie Chan says it in Rush Hour. (Although it's useful to know it, I strongly suggest that you never use the word unless quoting it in your academic writing. It could be very dangerous to use it or any other offensive word inappropriately in the US.)
Reading a novel is the most I like, that I did when I was young. It's Thai book. I think the story we like can motivate us to stay with that book. I think novel is the easiest to read and it's a good start for reading, but even it's quite difficult to answer your question in class. But it's very important to practice to be systematic thinking. It's our advantage.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAt first impression, when I saw Peter carrying novel books my eyes started to smile. I think Peter’s books helping me to escape from mental illness in Quest2. After I got his novel book and opened it, my smiling eyes were disappeared.
ReplyDeleteI always spend my time to read novel, for the first question my answer is yes. For Of Mice and Men, it is also hard to read at first time and this novel book is my first American novel from who won Nobel Prize. My problem is all of my own novels translated from Japanese novels shown easy English language. For the second question, I think that I get more advantages from Of Mice and Men. Firstly, I widely know about American history through novel. Then I can improve more reading skill and another skills such as thinking, guessing. I really like when he used incorrect words to show feeling and make known speaking language. Moreover, STEINBECK’s method is really good. I can learn his way of writing such as to create main characters, to draw scenes, to continue novel. I love that you give for homework:)