Book review Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing by Muhammad Zikri Alfurqan

The book entitled "Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing" by Edgar V. Roberts is a guide designed to introduce literary works to students and teach the academic methods of writing used in the creation of a written work. This book integrates the stages of text writing with examples from texts that have been produced and have been topics or teaching materials for decades. The strength of this book lies in its simple and integrated approach, which guides readers from the basics of understanding literary elements to complex and critical writing concepts, allowing the book to cover a wealth of important information on the creation of a work, greatly assisting readers with just one reading medium. This makes the book more practical and easier to use for students because of its comprehensiveness.

This book is written based on the philosophy that reading and writing are interconnected processes that reinforce the understanding of what literature is. Here, Roberts tries to encourage students to be active and stop being passive. This is shown by Roberts giving gradual and complete directions, step by step, until the desired results are achieved. The text in this book effectively eliminates students' doubts about the breadth of literature and shows the depth of literature, establishing it as an understanding for students. The combination of text examples and practical steps blends seamlessly and becomes an unlimited source of knowledge for literature students. The theories provided help students to think critically and apply good literary writing techniques to their writing.

Structurally, this book is divided into three main areas, namely fiction, poetry, and drama scripts, with a selection of works ranging from classic to contemporary. The division of the book's content into specific chapters really helps students to study this book in a more systematic and organized manner. The comprehensive documentation and academic standards ensure the suitability of the theories and methodologies provided in this book, further dispelling any doubts. The heavy content can also be a burden for students because the level of comprehensiveness of the material is quite high for undergraduate students, but it is thisstandard that guarantees the quality of the theories, methodologies, and texts provided in this book.

This book is very thick, with 1,500 pages, which makes it a double-edged sword. While the completeness of the text examples, theories, and methodologies are strengths, the thickness of the book is a very obvious weakness, as a very thick book can intimidate students even before they see the contents of each page. Even for students who manage to persevere and begin to study the contents of the book, its thickness remains a weakness, as the effects of boredom will be felt more quickly and fatigue will increasingly interfere with students' focus when reading and studying this book.