Why do we read books? Reading literary texts is crucial to our ways of understanding the world and ourselves. In this subject students learn that reading resilience, close reading skills and the ability to identify specific literary techniques are foundational to studying literature. Students will read a range of Australian texts including fiction, poetry, short stories, drama and criticism. They will analyse how meanings in those texts are shaped by diverse cultural and international contexts. This subject builds reading capacity while engaging students in key debates about literature today: what it means, how it works, and why it matters.