Dear Kayla,
I forgot to add a piece to my last letter.
When I was first working on my reading comprehension, I started with short stories. I thought if the materials were shorter they would have fewer pieces and would hence be easier to follow. I still read slowly, and with short stories I could read them in less time; I could read them over and over again; and I could figure out the pieces.
I have since realized that I was wrong. I needed longer novels with more clues and more opportunity to develop the story. In longer novels there is more of a margin for error and more chances to correct misinterpretations. Also, it takes me a while to grow used to a writer's style, which means I need more opportunity to organize and process the story. Short stories are simply too short to provide that opportunity.
Of course, I needed to be careful not to err on the other side. Books which are too long are often very complex and can become overwhelming. But I learned that I needed some time to grow used to the writing style and the story. Right now I try to work with novels that are about 150-300 pages.
It has also helped me to go back and read some of the literature which was assigned to me in high school. Now that my comprehension and interpretation is improved, it helps me to go back and try to pick up some of what I missed then. Those books were chosen for a reason, and they are likely at the difficulty level I need right now.
Again, this is just me. I don't know what worked for other people.
