On an average day I write about three-five emails. Before I go to bed I read the shortened headline articles on Buzzfeed. Due to so many long assigned readings from just about every course I must admit that I have developed impeccable ‘skimming’ skills. All of my daily activities coincide with the “literacy shift” (3) that Brandt talks about in our reading. I do agree that lately I (alongside many of my peers) am more preoccupied with writing than I am reading. I think it speaks volumes that I choose to read articles from Buzzfeed because they are so short and get to the point. Those emails I write are also simple ways of me just getting across direct messages to my co-workers and professors. Looking back I skim each article just enough to get the gist of the thesis. Every time I sit down to read or write my goal is to be as direct, concise, and quick as I can be. My question however is similar to a question Brandt poses, today is the beauty of reading lost?
3 thoughts on “Is the beauty of reading lost?”
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I don’t think it’s been lost, I think it’s more of a matter of finding it. Personally, I usually read a book or two a week, depending on how busy I am. Sometimes it’s a matter of adjusting my life, sometimes it’s a matter of changing the book itself.
To further elaborate on that, I can set aside certain time during the day to read, make goals for the week, or choose books that don’t require too much of a commitment (something shorter, less intense, less complex). By changing the book, I mean using e-readers or iPhone apps to make books accessible during the day. That way, instead of cruising Facebook or checking Snapchat, I can read a couple dozen pages or so while sitting outside of class.
I don’t see books of our generation becoming any less unique or beautiful, sometimes I think it’s just a matter of finding what we don’t realize we’re trying to find.
As for skimming, I think it’s a matter of what we choose to read. As a pretty bad skimmer myself, I’ve had to work on toning it down. But also, I think this is why (some) political thrillers and (some) adventure/fantasy books are popular–you don’t have to read every word to realize what’s happening. Sometimes I think we just have to go into the book with as open a mind as possible, and give it the benefit of the doubt before skimming through it. It’s a matter of learning to slow down at the appropriate times to admire what is being read.
I think skimming is fine for school and work related correspondence, because it’s main purpose is to get the point across. The same goes for news articles and most of Buzzfeed’s content. As for books, however, I think the idea is to get us to slow down and appreciate what we’re reading. The purpose of most books is to entertain for as long as possible, and there’s more care put into the writing to make it more than just an exchange of information.
In some aspects, I think the beauty of reading is lost. As a college student, all of the writing assignments I do are as direct and precise as possible. The writings I do are meant to inform the reader, usually my professor, that I understand the assigned work and that I am not confused about any of the topics. Reading for academic reasons sometimes feels like a chore. Because of this, I occasionally find that I do not want to read for leisure. On the other hand, I do not think the beauty of reading is completely lost. Reading is an avenue for many to achieve the goals they have set for themselves or to provide a world of imagination for those who read outside the academic realm. Without the beauty of reading, one would not be motivated to learn. We learn because we read and understand because we have to write and critically think about what we have read. Therefore, I do not think the beauty of reading is lost because without reading there would be no purpose to write.
I think that in certain cases the beauty of reading is indeed lost, whereas in others it is maintained. Take for example college students such as ourselves who are pretty much constantly inundated with reading/writing assignment after reading/writing assignment. After a while, it becomes second nature to skim each assigned reading so as to conserve time, and that trend inevitably translates to non-school related pieces of literature. Personally, I’ve found that after two or three years of countless reading assignments and skimming textbooks, I find myself skimming casual reads instead of delving into them like I normally would.
On the contrary, my cousin – who is the same age and has the same appreciation for reading as my self – feels differently. Instead of going to college, my cousin decided to take a programming job directly out of high school. As such, he didn’t have to suffer through countless time-consuming assignments, and maintains the same in-depth reading tendencies of his younger years.
In summary, it seems to me that the preservation, or lack thereof, of reading depends heavily on the path that one takes through life. Ironically enough, it seems that many who take the collegiate route to pursue a more profound grasp of literacy and knowledge end up losing some of that along the way.