Now that I’ve read Orientalism (twice) I realize I had to find the right way of reading this book. And that way was not to read every single solitary word. I got too bogged down and couldn’t figure out what the heck Said was trying to say. The second time around, I looked for key points and I wrote a summary after each section. That did the trick. Not only did it help me get a better handle on what was going on, it helped me determine the shape of Said’s argument in Orientalism.

So I’m grateful to Orientalism, because I think it helped me figure out how to read the rest of the literary theory and secondary source material for my comprehensive exams.

It’s really dense reading! And honestly, I’m not inclined to read it when there’s so much fiction I could be reading instead. But, it’s on one of my comps reading lists, so it must be finished…eventually.