A Short Guide To Writing About Literature

This is an informative edition to any young writer’s bookshelf, particularly those with a taste for fiction. It serves as an introduction on how to write about the writing of others’, but also how to find meaning and worthy topics for discussion.

While it mainly deals with narrative, poetry also gets a look-in. As you go through chapter by chapter, it establishes how to take notes for particular works, including how to arrange and rearrange these, dissecting and analysing titles, sentences, and structure, and most importantly, how to construct a solid thesis dealing with a topic or theme from the piece.

Included are a great deal of examples of not only original works, but accompanying student’s notes and first and final drafts of the resulted thesis. These are set out in a clear and concise way with appropriate spacing and changed fonts for last minute realisations or additions to their notes.

 This book is best suited for first-year literature university students and adolescents at a school certificate or higher school certificate level. Each chapter is neatly summarised at the end for quick reread, making it a versatile book to keep on hand. It also includes a further recommended reading list for each topic, which feature other general literature analysis texts or those dealing with a specific topic (novels, poetry, writing, report construction, meaning or symbolism).

My only fault with this book is that it doesn’t discuss how to talk about or critique non-fiction works, which is a huge shame considering all its other substance. Regardless, A Short Guide On Writing About Literature is a great book to have on hand, for book reviewers and students alike.

The Library Book: A Book That Started It All Again For Me

To cut a long story short, when I was in late high school I was severely depressed. As a result of this, I had no idea what I actually wanted to be in life. I had vague ideas, like I wanted to be a writer, of the adult and picturebook kind, but I didn't make any steps towards this. With depression riddling my sluggish brain, I was sure I would be dead by twenty, and the laws of what I wanted to be didn't really apply to me.

(Think of how surprised I am to be here, almost 24, and writing this to you all!)

So unhappy was I between my home and school life that I dropped out of school, in an attempt to drop out of life completely. I drifted around (in a metaphorical sense) for a while, before looking at possible careers. I wanted to be a librarian in a sense, but I knew that if I couldn't survive high school, there is no way I could possibly survive university. So I went into childcare, like a lot of lost souls with a sense of compassion.

I loved my years in childcare, until I got too sick to continue. The children were all delightful, and I think I learned more about the world there than most other jobs would have taught me. At the end of the day, however, it was a little bit unsatisfying. I wanted to study, but I was suddenly sure I didn't want to do a diploma in childcare. I just couldn't think of anything attainable.

Meeting Peter changed my life, as I have recounted so many times before. He has changed and bettered it in a thousand small and not-so-small ways. He inspired me to want to go back to school as I had always wanted to do, and better yet, he gave me the stable home life that I needed to support me. His influence has been indescribable. If I dedicated a thousand blog posts to him, it still wouldn't do him justice.

I was just over half-way through a certificate in game design when I found the book "The Library Book", and I wish I could remember which library it was from! It was life changing. I borrowed more and more books about libraries before it finally began to click: I wanted to be a librarian, and not for the first time in my life.

To stumble upon the audiobook of this, half-way through a library diploma, brought upon a wave of nostalgia. This is the audiobook of the book that changed everything for me, and rekindled an old desire of mine.

I want to be a librarian for many reasons, and not just because I love books, or because the library has always been a sanctuary for bookish girls throughout the centuries. I love learning, and I love information. I love universal truths, and classic stories. I also want to serve my community, and help others continue to better themselves, just as I try to, too.

The library is a place of infinite self-betterment and wisdom, and I treasure every moment that I spend trying to pursue this dream.