Book Review "Extensive Reading, Top-Down Reading" by Otong Setiawan

Title : Extensive Reading, Top-Down Reading

Author : Otong Setiawan

Publisher : Yrama Widya

Length : 336 pages

Published Year : 2008

ISBN : 978-979-543-827-4

 In Extensive Reading, Top-Down Reading, Otong Setiawan wrote this book as a second part of the first edition that is called Intensive Reading, Bottom Up-Reading. The purpose of this book is to give theoretical information, tips and tricks, and strategy in order to understand and answer a question about the text. Mostly, this book consists of an exercise to answer a question that is related to the text inside. Reading and answering a question will stimulate us to face a variety of texts. So, in any chance we find a text not similar to us, we can understand and answer it easily. Each text has different types of questions, so the reader will be used to the variety of text.

This book relatively has easy to understand languages, therefore the reader can understand swiftly any information that is given to be answered and understood. The material is varied and informative, consisting of reading for the main idea, reading for information, tips for increasing reading speed, summarizing a text, and more. Despite that, there are lots of tips that are concise and consecutive without losing an essential point that must be delivered. Writer also gave facts related to the discussed topics, for example, when explaining tips for reading quickly, he explains that fast readers read in phrases instead of one word at a time. The book also includes speed reading exercises, giving readers space to note how long it takes them to finish.

In other words, this book is very interactive, encouraging readers to take an active role in the exercises. The material is also accompanied by a wealth of practice questions that stimulate the mind to answer more complex question. The materials are also useful for anyone that want to improve their reading skills and understanding. However, one downside of this book is the lack of explanations for the answers to the exercises. Without these explanations, readers might feel confused about their answers, and it could make it harder for them to fully understand the reading material.

Overall, this book is recommended for a wide range of readers, including students and learners who want to develop their reading skill. With many helpful theories, tips and tricks, and strategies, it will be useful for future reading activities. Extensive Reading, Top-Down Reading is a great buddy study companion.