Nabokov's Good Readers and Good Writers

"Good Readers and Good Writers" by Vladimir Nabokov

I agree and disagree with Nabokov's views and opinions about how to be good readers and good writers. I agree with him when he says that a good reader should have imagination, memory, and sometimes you do need a dictionary. I do not think that you need any sort of artistic sense at all and sometimes memory isn't even needed (but that depends on the book). I also disagree with him when he says that "one cannot read a book: one can only reread it". 

I think to be a good reader you should have imagination. In my opinion that is the only thing that matters (other than actually being able to read). If your reading a book and your constantly coming across words you don't know then I would probably tell you to just book the book down. If it was mandatory literature then I would suggest a dictionary. Some authors like to tell you facts that you will need throughout the book or at the end so you do need some sort of memory when you read otherwise there is really no point in reading. 

When Nabokov said that you needed some artistic sense, I thought to myself, why would you need artistic sense when you've got your imagination. As I said before, imagination is all you need. If you can read and imagine what's going on in the book, then to me, you are a great reader. I also thin that you should be able to relate yourself to the characters. I do it all the time. If anything it helps to relate yourself to the characters. It helps you understand the story or the situation a little better because then you can say to yourself, Hey I've done that before I know exactly how that person feels. As far as him saying that you can only truly read if you reread, I think he was wrong. I think you can totally read once and get it, but I think it's best if you read aloud. It helps a lot if your getting confused or not really paying attention and you don't even have to read the book again because you read and got it the first time.