Thursday, January 21, 2010

Reading

Being an English major I have and will be reading a lot of different kinds of writing. This is fine because for the most part I really enjoy reading. Today while doing my homework I did have to read some very dry intro material but it got me thinking and maybe these questions will get you thinking as well.




1. Why do I read? Mostly for the pure enjoyment of being transported to somewhere else, or made to feel like I'm living the characters lives. It is that opportunity to go within myself (literally the house could burn down and I wouldn't notice when I'm reading a good book, that's what my husband says) and disappear.



2. What do I read? Mostly fiction, I know that reading nonfiction is important for knowledge about the who, what and when going on but when I read I want something out of the ordinary. That intangible something that makes me forget who I am. I want to cry, be scared, and feel love or hate. What I don't want is a timeline of events or a justification for someone else's life.



3. How do I read? According to my text book I read too fast. Reading is supposed to be a slow and steady process, not an all you can eat buffet, which closes in an hour. I don't know if I can read like that. I read fast because I can't wait for the next words. While I want to understand what I'm reading, I don't want to have to do a background check on the author and try to understand why they may have written the book.



Anyway those are some questions that came up while I was doing homework, just thought I would share!

3 comments:

  1. I read a lot of fiction, but I also read non-fiction. I am inherently nosy/curious about how other people live - and how they survive turbulent times. I like biographies best.

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  2. I think the idea of escape is the reason I enjoy SciFi and Fantasy so much. I very rarely read nonfiction. It depends on the book whether it's a fast read or not. Some I can finish in a day, others will take weeks.

    One of my favorite book quotes: "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested…” ~ Francis Bacon

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  3. I read mostly fiction as well but I do really enjoy memoirs! If it's really good, I'm speeding along like you are!

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