There are books and books. As Francis Bacon said :”Some books are to be tasted, other to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested “ . In my view it’s quite right .
Actually long before the invention of printing people valued books as precious treasure troves of the human knowledge and experience. Hand-written manuscripts took months of writing and were collected and kept in monasteries with utmost care.
A rough calculation shows that nowadays there are more books on our planet than men alive.Most of them originated as written records of historical events.Then they began reflecting not only intellectual,but also moral experience of their creators.As science progressed books began to involve observations, conclusions and theoretical thinking. The books of today reflect such a large scope of information that it’s practically impossible to mention all types of them. Approximately we can define different kinds of books as fiction and non-fiction, science fiction; biographies books about political, social and economical subjects; travel books; romances; thrillers, adventure and love stories, detective stories; fairy tales and fantasies; ghost stories and mysteries, animal stories and family stories.
But let’s go back to the quotation. To my mind all books are to be tasted. A modern, well-educated person should be able to use not textbooks only but reference books, dictionaries, encyclopedias, vocabularies and all sort of informational publications. These books serve the purpose of learning, teaching and instructing. One really has to spend some time to learn how to find the necessary telephone number or the address in the telephone book. For this you have to study the instructions in the preface.
In fact you have to taste all other books as well to know what suits your personal interests and inclinations. If a book has got a gripping plot we can read it in a gulp.A well-written novel usually mixes adventures and romance with great flair.Some improbable tales are just the things for a lazy holiday reading. Most of mysteries and horror books are called escapist books. They take you away from every day problems into the land of witchcraft, spooks, ghosts and miracles. Some of them are highly enjoyable nail-biters with fast-paced and a hero that verges on a superhero. As a rule people seldom reread a detective story or a fast moving thriller that’s full of intrigue. I admit that it may be highly entertaining, but hence the investigation is over and criminal is found you sign with relief and forget it. These are the books to be swallowed.
However, there is another type of books that is to be chewed and digested. These are the works by brilliant minds of mankind. Most of them have great oneliners like: ”all families are happy in the same way” in Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina” or “Bolivar can’t carry both” from O’Henry. One need certain intelligence and experience, persistence and perseverance [,pэ:si’viэrэns] to digest them. Pretty often our comprehension of the plot and message of these literary works changes as we grow up. One really must be in love to understand Tatiana from “Eugenie Onegin”. Sometimes a scholar has “to chew” (to study) some additional literature or autobiographical books to understand the author’s motivations or even consult the critics, who will help him understand the meaning of exquisite metaphors, epithets or tricky connotations. Very often it is not needed. We can’t but admire how brilliantly Walter Scott captures the splendor and the savagery of mediaeval times, making his novels superb, exciting reading. A talented writer can plot tautly without losing descriptive quality, which adds to the entertainment. The reader then finds himself plunged into a new life and a strange land. S.Maugham used to say that a real masterpiece makes you share the feelings and emotions of the people who used to live hundreds of years ago, thousands miles away. In conclusion I’d like to prolong Francis Bacon’s quotation and advise the reader to eat as many books as possible, no matter whether you have to swallow, chew or digest them. The only thing he has to remember is that a happy eater never becomes a gourmet.[‘guэmэnd]
1.Reading English fiction with a dictionary is very dull.
3.Nobody reads reference books for relaxation.
4.Reading thick science fiction books is tiring.
5.Very intelligent people don’t read detective stories.
6.Non-fiction books can’t be inspirational.
7.Travel books give you a lot of useful information.
8.Unfortunately many young people are not in the habit of reading poetry.
9.Great book-lovers never lend their books.
10.Lots of people buy books for their bright beautiful jackets.
11.Bookcases and bookshelves are the best kind of decoration for a living room.
12.You should read as much as possible.
13.The works by classical writers are not popular nowadays.
14.Everybody prefers to read books that keep the readers in suspense from the first page.
15.”Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body” Joseph Addison and Richard Steele.
Ask questions so that the following sentences could serve as answers
1.I don’t think N’s latest book is a success with public. It’s boring.
2.It won’t be very difficult to understand the language of the book. It is colloquial English.
3.No. I haven’t yet finished reading the book “Theatre”
4.I prefer seeing plays on stage to reading them.
5.My brother is fond of books about animals and nature.
6.The action of the novel takes place before World War II.
7.Science fiction books are very popular today because they show new tendencies in the development of science and human society.
8.I think it’s very useful to learn poems by heart.
Learn how to make the synopsis of the book.
Study the following material and make the synopsis of the last book you read
Synopsis is the summary of a book usually standing at the beginning of the book (or ‘blurb’ to be found on the back cover) to tell the reader what it is about. Below there two outlines of this kind. Read them attentively.
M. Twain. ”Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” This is a story of a boy running away from home and sheering a raft down the Mississippi River. But it is more then that. The people the boy meets cover the entire spectrum of humanity, and his voyage down the river becomes a metaphor for a journey through life.
G. Durrell. ”Birds, Beasts and Relatives.” A follower–on to “My Family and Other Animals”, ”Birds, Beasts and Relatives.” is an equally funny account of the unconventional Durrell family, living on the sun-drenched thyme – scented island of Corfu before the war.
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