As a proofreader for a local publishing company, and as an aspiring writer myself, I love to read books about literature. If I could take every book on literature, whether it be reading literature or writing it, and dump all the words from all those books into a pool, then dive into the pool and absorb the words like a dehydrated sponge growing fat on warm water, I would do it.

Since I cannot absorb words like a sponge, instead I read books about literature. Recently, I read the revised edition of Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Foster guides his readers through several common scenarios in literature and what those scenarios might symbolize. A fall into a river might be a baptism, for example.

Towards the end of the book, Foster gives his readers a test case in the form of the short story The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield. I enjoyed this change of pace, from a classroom lecture-style book to a bit of guided practice on my own. I read The Garden Party, formed a loose interpretation based on the previous chapters in Foster’s book, then read interpretations by some of his former students and associates, then read his own interpretation. What a fun way to test out what I had learned!

Although no one could compile every single bit of literary symbolism into one single book, I did find Foster’s book to be a delight to read, and it will enrich my reading of literature in the future.

Do you enjoy books about literature? Which ones do you recommend? Let me know in the comments!