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The Boyhood of Raleigh (1871). Painting by John Everett Millais. Source.

Reading Aloud: Why Dog and Cat are Enemies

One of the primary things I noticed was the rhythm of the writing. As I read it, I could imagine a parent or a grandparent telling this story to a child. Reading aloud was more interesting than reading it silently. I'm sure that reading it aloud is closer to the way in which these stories were originally spread. The style is difficult to describe, but it matches Aesop's fables and fairy tales, in that the plot is very straightforward and introduces elements in the same order that they have an effect on the story. for example, the dog and cat are introduced when they plays their roles, rather than being introduced at the very beginning of the story before the plot has actually kicked off. Although these notes are more detailed after having read it aloud, I don't think the story is long enough to make a significant difference. Reading aloud a longer story, such as the Ramayana, would help me create a much more detailed list of notes.

Copy-and-Delete: Bucchettino

Reading Notes
Bucchettino is already shown to be an obedient and thus good kid. Is this penny a lucky reward for his obedience to his parents?
He's thoughtful and thrifty. He knows the value of money.
Now there's an ogre. His rhythmical speaking must be a way in which he lures children to their fates. He's certainly persistent about the figs.
Bucchettino, despite his obedience to his parents, is being punished. Perhaps the moral of the story is to obey parents and not strangers.
Bucchettino is a clever boy. He's saved by his intelligence.
After being tricked by the ogre, the boy tricks the ogre.

This strategy is similar to the way in which I create my reading notes. That is, I'll add notes after reading a few paragraphs rather than after reading the whole chapter or section of chapters. It lets me provide a more detailed analysis and allows me to see what I was thinking after such and such paragraph when I'm reviewing those notes later.

Use a Timer: Quest for the Throne

At first, I read through the story and the author's note. After that, I read through the section about the king's curse.  One addition that would be interesting for the story is for some of the undamaged cargo to wash up on the shore. Through the items that the residents find, another mystery concerning the survivor's past could be created. A longer description of the king's immoral deeds would be a welcome addition. Unfortunately for this reading style, I found myself trying to beat a clock more than focusing on the story. This is similar to my mindset during tests. I'm so worried about finishing in time that I'll think more about the clock than the material and begin to overlook smaller details.

Conclusions
Overall, I have to rank the reading techniques in the following order:
1. Copy-and-delete
2. Reading aloud
3. Use a timer

By thinking in terms of individual lines and paragraphs, rather than the story as a whole, I feel like I can make a more detailed analysis. Any time constraints simply distract from the material. I would have read the story within ten minutes regardless of whether I had actually set a timer, but setting that timer gave me one more thing to think about and to distract me.