How to Read Nonfiction Like a Professor: A Smart, Irreverent Guide to Biography, History, Journalism, Blogs, and Everything in Between

Throughout How to Read Nonfiction Like a Professor, Foster blurs the line between instruction and performance. How does his own writing style (humorous, rhetorical, self-referential) embody the persuasive strategies that he teaches readers to identify? Include textual evidence.

In exploring the “golden age” of nonfiction amid a culture of misinformation, Foster presents a paradox. How does this tension between abundance and distrust reflect broader cultural anxieties about authority and truth in the digital age?

Foster argues that readers must practice defensive reading without descending into cynicism. How does this concept reimagine the relationship between skepticism, trust, and democratic participation?

The book’s discussion of bias suggests that objectivity is impossible but that honesty is essential. Incorporating textual evidence, show how Foster reconciles the existence of bias with the pursuit of truth in nonfiction writing. What does this reveal about his philosophical outlook?

Throughout his examples, Foster contrasts responsible reportage with manipulative rhetoric. How do these case studies illustrate the dangers of the “Great Leveling of Information” in the internet age? Include textual evidence.

The book’s later chapters adopt a darker tone, using disease metaphors to describe the spread of misinformation. How does this shift in tone reflect the book’s underlying argument about the moral and civic consequences of digital communication?

In distinguishing subjective nonfiction from objective reportage, Foster highlights authors such as Joan Didion and John McPhee. How do these writers’ works complicate traditional definitions of truth and reliability in nonfiction?

Fosters focus on critical literacy becomes a call for civic engagement. How does he position reading as both an intellectual discipline and a form of ethical participation in a democracy? Include textual evidence.