Active Reading The Odyssey : Friend or Foe?

Thirty-three pages a night; that's the average number of pages of The Odyssey I am assigned to "actively read" per class. Considering it takes about 2-3 minutes to fully comprehend each page, grasp the underlining meaning, make a connection, and write a side note or two on the text, it takes nearly an hour and a half to read the daily dosage of The Odyssey; actively read it, that is. And every so often I have to take a break, rest my cramping hand, and I find myself laying on my back taking deep breathes. That alone takes about 10 minutes. I am not saying that there aren't any benefits to actively reading, because there really are. It gets the reader involved in the text through previewing, reading, and reviewing. It helps the reader think critically about the material and analyze purposes and assumptions and it definitely helps the reader remember the text, which is very critical, especially in a book like The Odyssey where numerous characters are presented in view of a culture and time very different from our own. However, from personal experience, I have also found active reading having a negative effect on my reading. For instance, many times I am too concentrated on taking note and making connections that I lose the storyline, and once I return to the text from writing a side comment, I lose my place and have to start back from the top. In fact, sometimes, instead of helping me remember, active reading causes me to forget certain characters and events. And above all else, active reading causes stress. On top of the massive amount of homework, study material, friends, family, and daily teenage drama that I must juggle, the nightly active reading tops off the great stress I must manage. To a certain point active reading is a very efficient technique to accompany reading, however, I believe past that point other alternatives must be explored. Actively reading the 541 pg book, The Odyssey, may be pushing those boundaries.