I get it, but it's still just... ok (How to Read Literature Like a Professor)

I feel like it would be really hard to try and make connections with other books, seeing as how I haven't read all that many, especially when he says most of the books have to do with Shakespeare and the Bible. They're just things I'm really unfamiliar with. What I DID like were the chapters on children's stories and the weather, since I am familiar with both of them.

I also like what he said about symbolism, that what he's saying each symbol stands for isn't definitively what it is and that it can mean different things for everyone depending on past experiences and other stuff. Which I like ^__^. I really like having my own opinion on what I'm reading and not being told that one thing is definitely a symbol for something else. That really annoyed me last year where we were either right or wrong about the symbol, being right meaning that we had the same view as the teacher. So what's-his-name... Foster, wins point with me for that ^__^.

This book is actually taking a while for me to read. Maybe because I keep trying to focus on something to write about in the margins and then eventually giving up and just moving on... But reading this is making me want to try out what he's saying on some other books x.x But it'll have to wait, since I'm only about halfway done with this book x.x...

Am I Supposed to Believe this Guy? (How to Read Literature Like a Professor)

So far I've read up to page 16 (including the introduction) and I'm confused on how anything that he's said so far has to do with being able to analyze literature. He's saying a lot of stuff that, I guess, makes sense such as characters going on quests (unless it's not a quest?)and characters eating together to show their relationships with each other, but I don't see how this is going to help me analyze literature. I don't see how knowing that characters go on quests and that they eat together is going to help me reach the conclusion that Mr. Lindner is the devil and that Beowulf represents the universe's hostility towards humanity and the darkness of human nature. Maybe I missed the point or maybe he'll get to the point later, but for now, I just don't get it.