Nabokov's Essay: Question 2

Nabokov's tone in "Good Readers and Good Writers" is very loving. "In reading, one should notice and fondle details." What person tells you to fondle the details...? Someone that really loves writing and reading and wants you to, too. Nabokov obviously loves to read and write and felt inclined to research and produce his ideas and opinions in writing in order to share it with the rest of the world. He probably did this in hopes that it would become infectious and spread throughout the world. Nabokov's also has a very informative tone throughout the essay. A very loving informative tone, though. You can definitely feel that he really understands what it means to be a good reader, and that he has a passion for sharing this understanding with others. He informs us that we must have balance between being a good reader and being a good writer. He tells us that we must be like an artist, spontaneous and enthusiastic, but also judge like a scientist and have like patience. We must achieve this balance in order to reach our potential as a reader. He also informs us twice that we should not read with our heart, but with out mind, and more specifically our spine. "In order to bask in that magic a wise reader reads the book of genius not with his heart,not so much with his brain, but with his spine." I know I like basking in magic, so after reading this essay I definitely intend to read with my spine more often.

Nabokov, Vladimir Vladimirovich, and Fredson Bowers. "Good Readers and Good Writers."Lectures on Literature. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980. Print.