Why should we spend our scarce free time reading fiction?
Enjoyment and understanding
Commercial Fiction
Fiction that is written and published primarily to make money
Literary Fiction
Written by someone with serious artistic intentions who hopes to broaden, deepen, and sharpen the reader’s awareness of life
How should the terms commercial and literary be applied?
By novels themselves, and not their authors
In what three things does the commercial and literary difference in fiction primarily not lie?
In the absence or presence of a moral, fact, or fantasy
What analogy does the book use to compare literary and commercial authors?
Commercial authors are inventors and literary authors are explorers
What has allowed the short story to develop as an art form?
it’s lack of commercial appeal
How many times should you read a story before appreciating it?
two times
What two things must we know in order to pick a book wisely?
How to get the most out of any book we read and how to choose the books that will repay the time and attention we give them
