reading

Forgetful Reading

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Anna KareninaHave you ever had this happen to you? You are talking with a friend about books and a title comes up that you remember really enjoying, but darned if you can remember much of what it was about? And yet, when watching the Lord of the Rings movies, I could spot every deviation from Tolkien’s text. How can this be?

A New York Review of Books blog article by Tim Parks titled “Reading is Forgetting” helped make some sense of this for me. He quoted Vladimir Nabokov, who once commented, “Curiously enough, one cannot read a book: one can only reread it.” Nabokov observes that the physical effort of reading line by line down a page and absorbing what is there makes it almost impossible to fully grasp the meaning of what we’ve read on a first reading. In fact, I can never fully recall all the richness of any book, even with multiple readings. But what happens with re-reading is that I’m reminded of some of what I’ve forgotten, I begin to make connections, and see more of the depths of what came out of the writer’s mind.

I wrote yesterday about reviewing, and I can see how we reviewers can sometimes get a book wrong. Most of the books I read, I read only once. And many books don’t deserve more than one reading. I can see particularly how reviewers who are assigned books and must review a number of so-so, or outright bad books may get a book wrong, even if they’ve read it through. We may miss or forget important things on a first reading. What we most remembered was our affective response to the book–how we felt about it. And, at least for me, that lingers long after my reading, and long after I recall the details of characters, plot, and quality of writing.

Reviewing, as I’ve commented before, is partly a memory device for me. That works in two ways. One is that it actually makes me more attentive while I’m reading. I’m thinking, what are the main points of the writer’s argument? What are the main elements of the plot, the significant characters? And I’m thinking about my reactions. Why don’t I like this writing? Where am I in agreement and where not with the argument of this book? I don’t tend to take notes or write things down as I read so much as have a continuing mental dialogue with the book. Then, writing the review serves to crystallize this mental summary of and dialogue with the book I’ve been reading. Almost always, I will write the review after one reading, unless I feel I just haven’t grasped the book and yet think it worth writing about. I will skim most books again before writing to try to get the book as a whole in clearer focus.

Then there are those treasured few books that I read and re-read. Tolkien is one, that I’ve read about five or six times over forty years. Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together is another that I’ve read four or five times over about thirty-five years. Alan Paton’s Cry the Beloved Country seems to engage me in new ways each time I read it. The Bible falls in this category as well. It is a massive work written over a thousand years by numerous human writers and yet continued reading and grasping more of the connections between parts of the text make this an ever-rich encounter for me.

One of my vacation book buys was the new Pevear and Volokhonsky translation of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. Like so many, I read this book back in high school. I’ve also gathered from many (including the bookseller who rang up my purchase) that re-reading this work is an engaging experience. We’ll see, and see what memories, hopefully good ones, it brings back of my high school reading.

Have you had this experience of forgetting a book you liked? And are there books you remember, that have become friends as you’ve read and re-read them?

Bob on Books New Year’s Resolutions

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IMG_2263I took some time over the past week to do some thinking about some directions for “Bob on Books” in 2015. Looking back at a similar post from the past year, I was able to do some of the things I came up with and also saw the blog go in some totally unanticipated directions. I suspect this year will be the same, so no guarantees but here is what I’m thinking:

  • Reviews: I will continue to review what I read and what interests me. At the encouragement of my son, I will probably throw in a few more graphic novel reviews –this is obviously a big segment of publishing and one that I find more intriguing than I thought I would. I also want to try to review more new books but look for me to weave in some old stuff that I’m interested in as well!
  • Interviews: This is something I want to try this year, particularly in conjunction with reviews. Some of the authors are people I know, or might like to, and I hope in at least some cases that this personal touch might interest you in their work. I’m also thinking of throwing in a few interviews with bookstore owners (particularly independents), perhaps someone working with libraries, and maybe others connected to the world of books.
  • The Reading Life: In case you haven’t noticed, I think reading, and engaging the world of books, is one of the things that can be life enriching. I want to continue to look for new slants on reading, perhaps profiling some other famous readers, as I did Teddy Roosevelt this year. As there are new technological developments that affect reading, I will explore those as well.
  • Bookstore Reviews: As time permits, I want to do something I tried last summer which is to review bookstores I visit. I might try to extend this to some online sources as well (though not Amazon, of which I think we probably all have our own opinions!).
  • Book Lists: I will do several kinds of things this year. I love getting folks together to share their favorite books and will probably do a few posts passing these along. Each month, I will post my “The Month in Reviews” list which will have all my reviews of the past month. I will also do some “category” lists of books I’ve reviewed in different categories. And look for my own “Best of the Year” post at the end of 2015, Lord willing. I’m looking forward to finding out what books I really like as well!
  • Posts on other things besides books: Oddly enough, these have been some of the most viewed in the past year (see my Bob on Books Top Ten Posts of 2014). Some of this is plain unpredictable–sometimes I just find something I want to write on and people really like it–or not! I plan to continue regular posts on Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown into the spring, which would cover a year. After this, I may post more occasionally, depending on how many new ideas I get for this series. I also will continue posts connected with my church’s Going Deeper blog, which are every other week reflections on our pastor’s messages.  And look for some posts on themes related to higher education as I do some research on “the changing university” over the next six months, related to a presentation I will be giving this summer.
  • Blog appearance: I will continue to tweak the appearance of the blog including categories to make this more usable–feedback from those of you who follow (no spammers please!) is welcome! At some time, I might even explore a face lift!

Blogging is social. I would love to know what you think of these ideas and wouldn’t mind hearing those “I wish he would write on…” ideas. The common thread for me that holds together the different things I write is engaging with others about the good, the true, and the beautiful as we encounter this in the experience of books, reading, and life. Your engagement with this blog is what makes writing a joy. I look forward to more of that in 2015!

Reading: The Account of My Death May Be Greatly Exaggerated!

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PewIt seems among bibliophiles there are apocalyptic prophesies about the death of reading. A Pew Research Center Report titled Younger Americans and Public Libraries suggests that this may not be the case:

  • As it turns out, 88 percent of those under 30 had read a book in the past year as opposed to 79 percent of those over 30.  The group reading the most appears to be those aged 16-17. They also borrow the most books.
  • More of those under 30 (62 vs. 53 percent) believe there are a number of resources that cannot be found on the internet.
  • The use of library websites among those under 30 is growing (up from 28 percent to 36 percent in two years).
  • Among those 16-29, 43 percent of them read a book every day versus 40 percent of those over 30.

There are some gray patches in these silver-lined clouds:

  • Library visits have dropped in the past year from 58 to 50 percent. Those over 30 have also used libraries less (dropping from 52 to 47 percent).
  • Younger users of libraries are less aware of all the services that libraries offer.
  • They are also less likely to report it to be a pleasant place to be and valuable to their community.

As I’ve thought about this report I have some questions:

  • I wonder why reading actually seems to be declining with age. One thing in the study is that two activities did increase with age — watching TV and reading news sources (print and internet). Is there a connection?
  • I wonder how much of the reading in the 16-29 cohort is “have to” reading related to academic pursuits as opposed to voluntary reading.
  • Related to this, I wonder, “what are people reading?” I would probably agree that most forms of reading, apart from those that seem to celebrate gruesome violence or are pornographic in nature, are better than not reading. It is probably difficult to measure this because of some of the implied value judgments involved yet literacy means more than just reading any books but also involves engaging books of enduring quality.

Here are a few of my reflections:

  • One obvious one is that libraries face the challenge of making the experience of being at the library pleasurable for those 16 to 29. I suspect part of this is that socializing among this age group is important and being “shushed” so that others can read or research is unpleasant. Our local library has a separate area for socializing as well as a coffee bar, both isolated from the reading and computer areas.
  • I’ve always found reference librarians extremely helpful, particularly in finding the stuff you can’t find online as well as pointing me to the best sources. But I wonder if there isn’t an intimidation factor. It was only in college when I was working in my college’s Student Development Program and we had talks by reference librarians that I came to appreciate all they can do. I confess I am unaware of the outreach efforts being made in this area but wonder if partnerships between librarians and teachers, perhaps around specific research assignments could be helpful. Again, our local library does something very helpful in having reference librarians at standing kiosks rather than sitting behind intimidating desks.
  • I do think at any age, the pleasure of losing oneself in a book is probably key to feeding a lifelong love of reading. At the same time, as we age, I do find typography, lighting, and font sizes an important factor in ease of reading. Again, I wonder if both libraries and booksellers might do more to promote resources that help aging readers to continue to find reading pleasurable.
  • I still consider the issue of reading well and without distraction an important one to be considered in our wireless age. I’m not sure that e-readers will last as a technology we use and the other wireless devices tend to stream texts, tweets, Facebook updates and email unless one turns these off to read.
  • Lastly, it was interesting that although older readers tended to use the library less, they valued it more. I personally wonder if this a function of the accumulated experience of usefulness we gain over a lifetime. I also think older readers may be more rooted in a community and understand how libraries contribute to the fabric of a community.

At any rate, there are reasons in this report to be hopeful rather than pessimistic about the future of reading. I also think it points to the importance of understanding how people read and how those of us who value literacy might continue to usher others into a lifelong love of reading.

Reviewing and Reading Deeply

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Earlier in the week, I reviewed Dallas Willard’s last book, Living in Christ’s Presence. In this post I included Willard’s advice for readers:  “Aim at depth, not breadth. If you get depth, you will have breadth thrown in. If you aim at breadth, you will get neither depth nor breadth (p. 149).

I’ve been chewing on what Willard said. As is apparent, I read quite a few books–some for enjoyment and some to go deeper in my understanding of life and the world. Doing a book blog that includes reviews is a bit of a double-edged sword in this effort to “aim at depth.”

One the one hand, the reason I began writing reviews and continue to do so is simply to both remember and engage what I’ve read. This happens in several ways for me. One is, knowing that I will write a review, I pay closer attention to the plot or argument, because usually I will want to summarize it and do so accurately. Also, while I’m reading, I’m thinking about my evaluation of the book, the soundness of the logic and evidence, the plausibility of plot and characters, and how I am reacting to the writing style. Being an introvert, I do this mentally rather than spending a lot of time writing in margins or journalling about the book. I’m like this with presentations I do as well, where I work out in my head my thoughts before I write (yet I’m also surprised by the act of writing and the insights that come as I write, something that has arisen from blogging). All this means I go deeper with a book than I might otherwise. And I remember it better.

But I’m also thinking of the transition from a casual reviewer to something more. Now, I sometimes receive books for review, which I will do if they interest me. The transition has been from simply writing reviews to remember and crystallize in my mind what I’ve read to reading in order to write reviews and have these engage others. To be honest, it tempts me to try to read more and even think, what kinds of books would those who follow the blog like to see reviewed? As I ask this I’m reminded that I’m reading a book on people-pleasing, and it occurs to me that this might be a version of people pleasing.

I think what I’m coming to are a couple questions to keep in mind as I engage in this process. One is, am I still enjoying reading?  If it just becomes work in order to produce reviews, forget this, especially since this isn’t a paying gig! A second question is, am I reading deeply enough, and listening carefully enough to not simply comprehend the book and to be able to review it but to be changed by it if I am convinced by its conclusions or “re-oriented” by what it shows me of reality?

Does that mean I’ll read fewer books? I have to say that I don’t know the answer to that. I think if I can truthfully say “yes” to my two questions, the number of books will take care of themselves.

I’d love to know what other bibliophiles think about reading widely, reading deeply and the number of books you read!

Teddy’s Rules

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I knew that Teddy Roosevelt was a bookworm.  I knew he read at least a book a day and sometimes more (I average about one every three to four days which people think kind of freaky). And he was the President of the United States while doing this!  Bookriot recently posted Teddy Roosevelt’s 10 Rules for Reading. Here they are without the commentary, courtesy of the Bookriot post:

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1. “The room for choice is so limitless that to my mind it seems absurd to try to make catalogues which shall be supposed to appeal to all the best thinkers. This is why I have no sympathy whatever with writing lists of the One Hundred Best Books, or the Five-Foot Library. It is all right for a man to amuse himself by composing a list of a hundred very good books… But there is no such thing as a hundred books that are best for all men, or for the majority of men, or for one man at all times.”

2. “A book must be interesting to the particular reader at that particular time.”

3. “Personally, the books by which I have profited infinitely more than by any others have been those in which profit was a by-product of the pleasure; that is, I read them because I enjoyed them, because I liked reading them, and the profit came in as part of the enjoyment.”

4. “The reader, the booklover, must meet his own needs without paying too much attention to what his neighbors say those needs should be.”

5. “He must not hypocritically pretend to like what he does not like.”

6. “Books are almost as individual as friends. There is no earthly use in laying down general laws about them. Some meet the needs of one person, and some of another; and each person should beware of the booklover’s besetting sin, of what Mr. Edgar Allan Poe calls ‘the mad pride of intellectuality,’ taking the shape of arrogant pity for the man who does not like the same kind of books.”

7. “Now and then I am asked as to ‘what books a statesman should read,’ and my answer is, poetry and novels – including short stories under the head of novels.”

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8. “Ours is in no sense a collector’s library. Each book was procured because some one of the family wished to read it. We could never afford to take overmuch thought for the outsides of books; we were too much interested in their insides.”

9. “[We] all need more than anything else to know human nature, to know the needs of the human soul; and they will find this nature and these needs set forth as nowhere else by the great imaginative writers, whether of prose or of poetry.”

10. “Books are all very well in their way, and we love them at Sagamore Hill; but children are better than books.”

What this all boils down to it seems to me is to read what you love, don’t read what you don’t like, and don’t worry about what others think.  It is interesting to me to see his preference for poetry, and especially novels, which many might deprecate as not serious enough for presidential material, yet I think he is spot on in recognizing how critical an understanding of human nature is to leadership. To gain that insight through an enjoyable diversion seems all the better!

I’m not sure I would be as hard on reading lists as Roosevelt is–I just use them as starters in getting ideas of what to read. I would also add that often books lead to books. One book refers to another author, whose book I am then intrigued to read, or to a subject or person or place I’d like to learn about. What I value in Roosevelt’s list is its absolute unpretentiousness! Snobby readers strike me as the greatest hindrance to aspiring readers who don’t share their tastes.

My wife is an artist and we are members of a local art league that has a plein air painters group. My wife loves doing this and I love going with her and sketching (doodling might be more accurate). But I share my work along with the rest and I am so grateful for the unpretentiousness of this group toward one who knows very little about drawing. They seem glad that I would try my hand at this and are kind to this rank beginner.

Perhaps we booklovers need to learn a lesson from my artist friends, and from Teddy Roosevelt. Actually, I suspect the danger for both booklovers and artists is to get caught up in matters of current tastes and styles and other sorts of things to the point that we no longer read or draw or paint for the love of it – but somehow to be “with” it – whatever “it” is. And because we no longer act like we are loving it, those with any sense (particularly the children who matter even more!) will think there is nothing in books worth loving. But to share a book one loves that is appropriate for the age of the child can be magic for both!

Higher Education Books

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Higher education is in a season of change. Rising tuitions, cuts in government subsidies, the impact of new technologies on what is taught and how it is taught, campus social ethics, and more. I read regularly in this area because I work in collegiate ministry. This past year, I have been reading more in this area in preparation for a conference I am directing on “The ‘End’ of Higher Education” for faculty and colleagues in our organization. So I thought I would share the list. The links in the titles are to my full reviews of the books. They are listed in the reverse order of when I read them, most recent first.

1. Peter Brooks (ed.) The Humanities and Public Life. This is a transcript of the proceedings from a symposium exploring the contribution of the humanities to public life. It features a keynote by Judith Butler.

2. Suzanne Mettler, Degrees of Inequality. Mettler exposes how the failure to maintain our higher ed funding policies and other change dynamics are putting the dream of a college education out of the reach of many Americans.

degrees

3. Sharon Daloz Parks, Big Questions, Worthy Dreams. Parks explores how higher education professionals can address the spiritual longings and aspirations of college students.

4. Paul Socken (ed.), The Edge of the Precipice. Socken and the other essayists explore why read in a digital age and how digital media changes for good or ill the act of reading and how those who teach in the humanities ought pursue their work.

5. Andres T. Tapia, The Inclusion Paradox. Tapia argues that “diversity is the mix, and inclusion is making the mix work.” He contends that places that “make the mix work” are not only better for the people but more productive as well.

6. Julie J. Park, When Diversity Drops. Park’s book is a case study of a collegiate ministry group in California, the practices they pursued to become more diverse, and how Proposition 209’s “color blind” admissions policies and the subsequent drop in racial diversity affected this group.

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7. John Henry Newman, The Idea of a University. Newman’s classic work on what a university is for, from a Catholic Christian perspective.

8. Ellen Schrecker, The Lost Soul of Higher Education.  Schrecker traces the history of the idea of academic freedom and decries the erosion of that freedom in what she calls the “corporatization” of the university.

9. Stanley Fish, Save the World on Your Own Time. Fish argues that it is not the job of the university professor to save the world or mobilize students to do the same, but rather to teach course content with excellence.

10. Donna Freitas, The End of Sex. This is a follow-up to her book, Sex and the Soul. In The End of Sex she chronicles the hook-up culture prevalent on most campuses, how this undermines real intimacy, and even calls for a recovery of the lost art of dating.

11. Anthony T. Kronman. Education’s End. His subtitle captures the essence of what he explores in the book: “why colleges and universities have given up on the meaning of life.” The book is a well-argued and passionate plea for the importance of discussing the “big questions” in university courses and other university venues.

12. Philip E. Dow. Virtuous Minds. This is not a “higher ed” book per se’ but it explores from a Christian perspective how one develops “intellectual virtues”, actually relevant to Anthony Kronman’s concerns.

13. Jose A. Bowen, Teaching Naked. This provocatively titled book is part of a trend advocating “flipping” the classroom, where technology is moved out of the classroom to students outside personal and group work, while the professor focuses on what can best happen inside the classroom, the interaction of professor and student engaging the course content.

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14. Mark Edmundson, Why Read? Edmundson pursues a similar question to that in Edge of the Precipice but argues far more hopefully for the power of great works to engage the great questions and to exercise a transformative influence in the lives of students through the power of words.

15. Andrew Delbanco, College: What it Was, Is, and Should Be. The book follows the plan of its title, surveying the history of the university, particularly in America, which unavoidably includes its Christian roots, the current state of higher education, including the challenges mentioned at the beginning of this post, and his call for universities to continue to pursue “color blind” and ‘class blind” admissions and to be centers where the great questions are explored.

16. Lawrence W. Levine, The Opening of the American Mind. This is an older book that serves as a spirited argument in reply to Allan Bloom’s The Closing of the American Mind. He defends ethnic, gender, and cultural studies as a corrective endeavors to the biased majority culture’s marginalization of the non-white and those not in power.

17. P. Felton, H.D.L. Bauman, A. Kheriaty, and E. Taylor, Transformative Conversations. The book explores how one might go about developing formational mentoring communities among colleagues in the higher education setting. These are communities that honestly and without judgment pursue the large questions of vocation and purpose that continue to be important throughout life, and that rarely can be explored in a work setting.

18. Joe R. Feagin, The Agony of Education. This work, from 1996, explores the unique challenges faced by black students in the higher education setting.

These are by no means the only or even the best books on various aspects of higher education. They are those for which I have reviews online, going back to 2012.

What books have been helpful to you in understanding higher education? What books would you add to this list?

A Usability Test for Books?

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Just read a great blog by Chris Hilton on Reading in Bed. He focuses on something that is almost never discussed in book reviews–the usability of a book. His post focuses on a problem he runs into when reading in bed–that some books are so printed and bound that the inner margin is so narrow that the full text can only be read with two hands holding the book wide open. And for some books, this destroys their binding, which means you might as well throw it away after reading. I fully sympathize.

This is one of the reasons I like reading an eReader at bed time. I can set the text big enough that I can even read without glasses, it can be held in one hand, and it shuts itself off if I fall asleep and is easily set on my night table.

But Hilton has a point that there is a beauty in well-made books that is part of the reading pleasure which is one of the reason I still like physical books. Here are my own thoughts on what makes for a beautifully made physical book, in addition to Mr. Hilton’s great insight about inner margins:

1. Wide margins: These leave room for marginalia–those notes that reflect the dialogue between author and reader. Not everyone likes to do that but a book without margins makes this difficult.

2. Covers: While we don’t judge books by their covers, a great cover that fits the book enhances the experience. I’m reading a book on holy war with a cover that shows an ancient sword against a dark red background. Totally fits!

3. Print size and line spacing: Some of this depends on the kind of font used–some are more readable than others but obviously larger point sizes and line spacing make reading easier than tiny print and a page full of text that it seems to take forever to read.

4. Binding: A book that lies easily in your hand and stays open by itself is idea. This usually implies a better quality hardbound book.

5. Paper: Acid free paper that falls and conforms easily to the pages beneath is best. It is neither fragile nor rigid.

6. Size and weight: This is probably a trade-off with some of the other factors, particularly numbers 1 and 3. Generally, the more comfortably a book can be held and carried, the more likely it is to be read with pleasure.

7. Illustrations and graphics: Some books are remembered for their illustrations as much as for their text. I think of books like Thurber’s collections of stories with his line drawings, or the illustrations in Winnie the Pooh.

I’ve mentioned these in another context, but the hardbound Library of America series typify many of these qualities and even include their own book ribbons.

What am I missing? What makes a physical book usable and a delight to hold and read for you?

A New Life For Physical Books?

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In this past Sunday’s New York Times Magazine there was an article with the intriguing title of “On Their Death Bed, Physical Books Have Finally Become Sexy“. Beyond the weird juxtaposition of death beds and sexiness, I wanted to know what this was all about, so I guess the title at least worked as a good “hook”!

It turns out that what this is all about is the fashion trend of decorating with books, even if one doesn’t read them, or only reads electronic versions of them. The article notes how almost any interior design magazine or home journal shows lots of pictures of rooms with attractive and book-filled shelves. It also describes how some people will buy books simply for the color of the book spines–all in purple or green, for example. And so, whole businesses have developed providing books in bulk to those who want to look literate. I’ve seen these in furniture stores and most look like old book club editions minus dust jackets and probably salvaged from estate sales, or desperate children cleaning out a parent’s home.

I guess this keeps them out of landfills, at least for another generation, or until their owners tire of that “look”. Yet in a strange way, I also get it. We have a bookcase with Library of America titles we bought on subscription until the bookcase was filled. I think the only way I got away with this was that my wife liked the way the books looked in our living room. But I’ve always had many hours of enjoyment reading those books, whether it is tales by Mark Twain, or the speeches of Abraham Lincoln.

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It seems that rooms lined with shelves have a special kind of coziness. They don’t just make their owners appear to be literate but, if not overly messy or threatening to tumble onto one’s guests, they lend a warmth to a room that might seem too stark with just a few pieces of furniture. And there is also the implicit invitation of, “come and read and explore the treasures within” that seems to be lacking when one looks at a Kindle or tablet lying on a coffee table.

The only problem I see with decorating with randomly acquired books one has no intent of reading is that you not only mislead your guests as to your literacy, but you send false messages about yourself. I love to look at the books on other people’s shelves to learn about what interests them. But if their books are selected only for appearance rather than content, that misleads me. Or maybe it doesn’t if I figure out that is what is going on. That also tells me something about the person, perhaps something not entirely complimentary.

Yet, my mother-in-law was always fond of saying, “where there is life there is hope.” I might just have to adapt that motto and say, “where there are books, there is hope!”

World Book Night

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Did you know that tonight is World Book Night? I didn’t until about 45 minutes ago when I nice lady offered me an Agatha Christie murder mystery I did not have (After the Funeral) while I was sitting in a local restaurant. She explained this is all part of World Book Night’s efforts to encourage reading. They hope to mobilize 25,000 volunteers in 6,200 towns to give away 500,000 books.

I learned their effort is funded by UPS as well as a number of publishers and booksellers. Here is the website for World Book Night US. Never heard of this effort before and wanted to give them a big shout out.

[World Book Night has suspended operations]

Digital Brains?

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Is our internet usage re-wiring the way we read? That’s the question posed by an article in today’s Washington Post. The article cites a Tufts cognitive neuroscientist, Maryanne Wolf, who is expressing a growing concern that extensive internet usage is re-wiring the way way we read to skim and pull out key bits of information rather than the sequential, linear way we read a page of text.

From the article at least, it appears that this concern is based on a growing body of anecdotal evidence, including Wolf’s own experience of trying to read Herman Hesse after a day of work on the internet.  Apparently, English department chairs from around the country are reporting the increasing difficulties students have reading classic texts, and particularly understanding long, compound sentences.

The big difference is the skimming, browsing behavior we use on the internet. Sentences tend to be shorter, we are more inclined to follow hyperlinks, text is much more interspersed with graphics,  and we look for keywords rather than read through a text. What has been noted, at least anecdotally, is that we carry over the same behavior when we read printed texts.

All this sounds like a great opportunity for a new area of cognitive neuroscience research. More immediately, though, is the question of what is to be done? For some, the response is to unplug and there is a movement afoot called “slow reading”, celebrating the unhurried engagement with a text.

I tend to work in both worlds, as is evident in the writing of this blog, and the books I review. And the article gives me pause. I see some of the same habits of skimming creeping into my reading of printed texts. I sometimes struggle with comprehending closely written works. And I wonder if I’m a bit like the hard of hearing who complains that everyone else is talking too softly. When I complain about “difficult to understand” writing, is it the writer, or is it me, the reader who has the problem?

The Post article speaks of becoming “bi-literate”, of training our children, or even ourselves, to read both ways. It seems that if this is to be the case, the cultivating of the pleasure of slow reading must be an intentional effort to counter the siren call of visual media, which is what we really are dealing with on a computer screen.

I am curious: have others noticed any change in their reading habits, particularly if you were a pre-internet reader (say before about 1995)? Your thoughts?