Thoughts on Reading

I had been dreading the day we would begin to read Great Expectations; but with low hopes I was surprised to find myself a bit intrigued by the fascinating characters. Consisting of sentences that could cover a whole; it was not a writing style I was used to. Though Dickens' style of writing was different, and sometimes hard to convey, I loved the way he was able to scatter hints throughout the entire novel leaving the reader puzzled yet wanting to read more. I fell in love with the playful Joe from the beginning, and I as I began to like Joe's character more I drew distant from Pip's changing self. However, the one character that kept me reading this book was Miss Havisham. Her crazy attitude and dark rotting house added a lot more excitement throughout the novel. I wouldn't have been able to fulling understand the book without the help of Sparknotes. I used it every time before reading to try and understand what I was about to read. I found it to be very helpful.

Reading Great Expectations was not my first priority; I would often save it for my time laying in bed. I annotated as I was reading and would find quotes that could come an handy later. I did rely off a Sparknotes for a couple chapters in which I lacked at reading. I regret not reading them. For the chapters I thought weren't important, became a much larger concept as everything began to relate back. I realized then that Sparknotes is helpful for understanding what you read, not what you didn't read. Even though I may have not read the whole entire book "on my own," I did manage to complete the assignments all on time. When Sparknotes couldn't fully help me, I would turn to my friends who understood what was going on; and together we were able to fill in the blanks. Reading Great Expectations helped me advance as a reader, but I still lack a few qualities in becoming a great and understanding reader.