Understanding Readers, Texts and Reading Practices

Abstract

This research attempts to understand the apparently simple but complex relationship between readers and texts and various reading practices in terms of meaning making. What prompted this research was the idea that knowledge, experiences, and expectations of readers as well as what texts embody, consciously or unconsciously, interact with each other and a new text consequently comes into being. This alludes to the power of both the readers and texts. With this in the background, this article attempts to investigate the relationship between readers and the text. The study is conducted through close reading and articulates that there are different kinds of readers like surface readers, informed readers, educated readers, ideal readers, the optimal readers, implied readers, intended readers, effective readers, proficient readers, less-able readers and critical readers. The impact of this difference in readership can result in differences of interpretation, understanding and meaning making of the texts. Hence, it is recommended that the interaction between the readers and texts needs to be taken seriously and no reading practice be given preference over another.