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Post by Daniel on Apr 7, 2014 15:28:08 GMT -5
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Post by Suzy on Apr 7, 2014 16:13:35 GMT -5
Me too. Especially George Eliot. But I did like some of Henry James. But why should this mean it's the end of reading? There are lots of classics that are very readable, even to students, ETA, but I see what they mean. New technology and ways of reading things online has changed many people's reading habits. I spend a lot of time surfing and scrolling, etc but it hasn't impacted on my novel-reading habits at all. |
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Post by Daniel on Apr 7, 2014 16:56:06 GMT -5
I spend a lot of time surfing and scrolling, etc but it hasn't impacted on my novel-reading habits at all. It hasn't affected me either. Extrapolating from the article, those of us who spend a lot of time using our brains for "slow" reading develop the fast "scanning" skills in parallel. The scary thing is that focusing on scanning seems to let your slow reading skills atrophy. The other interesting thing they reported is that screen reading has lower comprehension than print. I wonder if that applies to e-readers like Kindle as well as computer screens. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2014 6:37:57 GMT -5
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Post by vrabinec on Apr 8, 2014 8:52:18 GMT -5
If my book doesn't sell, this'll be another great excuse I can use. Total ego-save.
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Post by Becca Mills on Apr 8, 2014 11:00:05 GMT -5
The other interesting thing they reported is that screen reading has lower comprehension than print. I wonder if that applies to e-readers like Kindle as well as computer screens. I think it does. There's some concern about these findings in academe, since many textbooks are now available as ebooks. |
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Post by Daniel on Apr 8, 2014 12:56:59 GMT -5
That was an awesome article, and I agree with her wholeheartedly. I've been reading for pleasure since we first started getting those Scholastic Book Club catalogs in elementary school. I'm guessing third grade? I got multiple books every time. My mother let me order whatever I wanted (thanks Mom!). The only rule was that I had to read whatever I bought. I always did. In third or fourth grade, I discovered the joy of the library, which was bicycling distance from where we lived at the time (the tiny town of Running Springs, CA). The required reading in high school and college didn't turn me off of reading, but it definitely taught me that I hate most literary fiction. I enjoyed very few of the books we were assigned in my English and humanities classes. I got very good at skimming and taking careful notes in class so I could pass tests. I don't think I read any of the assigned stories from beginning to end except the short stories and plays (mostly yuck). I will say though, that I had an awesome teacher for one of my English classes in High School. I specifically remember reading "The Sacketts" by Louis L'Amour and "The Dragon and the George" by Gordon R. Dickson. I was a die-hard sci-fi/fantasy reader even then, but reading "The Sacketts" exposed me to (and gave me an appreciation for) westerns. I think that was the only class I ever had that included genre reading assignments. Those of us who read a lot often forget that we are a disappointingly small percentage of the population. But I can totally see how that happened. If your first experience with fiction reading came from your required reading in high school, it's not a surprise that you wouldn't be interested in picking up another book ever again. |
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Post by vrabinec on Apr 8, 2014 13:21:41 GMT -5
If your first experience with fiction reading came from your required reading in high school, it's not a surprise that you wouldn't be interested in picking up another book ever again. The only required reading I HATED was Chaucer and True Grit. Other than that, I enjoyed the books I got assigned. Old Man and the Sea. Anna Karennina. Even Hamlet was cool, just for the prose. |
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Post by Suzy on Apr 8, 2014 13:24:23 GMT -5
If your first experience with fiction reading came from your required reading in high school, it's not a surprise that you wouldn't be interested in picking up another book ever again. The only required reading I HATED was Chaucer and True Grit. Other than that, I enjoyed the books I got assigned. Old Man and the Sea. Anna Karennina. Even Hamlet was cool, just for the prose. Chaucer stank. But I loved True Grit. Old Man and the Sea, Anna Karenina, yes and Hamlet too... loved them. I'm totally addicted to reading. I have to have my fix for at least an hour every day. Couldn't live without it. |
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Post by Daniel on Apr 8, 2014 14:46:39 GMT -5
That's awesome, you guys. I figured somebody had to like literary fiction. I wish I had enjoyed my reading assignments. They would have been so much easier and more fun.
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Post by Becca Mills on Apr 8, 2014 16:38:16 GMT -5
OMG, how can anyone hate Chaucer!? Some of the funniest stuff ever written.
ETA: As of now, I have a retelling of a Chaucer story in my WIP. It's a place-holder. I'm planning to replace it with a funny original tale, once I get a good idea. But revisiting the Chaucer story was mighty fun.
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Post by Alan Petersen on Apr 8, 2014 19:03:20 GMT -5
I think that's been going forever. My high school teacher had a hell of a time getting us to read the classics too, and the Internet (we know today) didn't exist and the Cliffs Notes business was born and boomed in success. I remember my Dad lecturing me that he didn't like reading the classics his teachers gave him back in day either, and so the tradition continues.
If it was assigned by a teacher, I could pretty much guarantee I skimmed, glanced, looked for Cliffs Notes, everything but read the whole thing. It's silly now, but it's the way it was, and looks like it's still going, so I doubt the end of reading is here. I read every day for pleasure, not because my teacher is forcing me.
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Post by cbedwards on Apr 8, 2014 21:29:43 GMT -5
Sometimes I read for torture. Like the doorstop about the politics leading up to the American Revolution. It's actually written well, but it's too much detail.
"Before the first Continental Congress on September 7, Geo Washington arrived in Philadelphia with a extended case of diarrhea, caused my the unripe berries he ate at his brother's estate, Mount Vernon."
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2014 22:04:10 GMT -5
I love Chaucer's stories, but I didn't find them enjoyable then. We read Chaucer in Middle English, not an updated version. I read the Old Man and the Sea in 6th grade (age 11).
Books I remember:
-A Separate Peace
-Invisible Man (I liked it, but most of my class hated it)
-Dante's Inferno
-Of Mice and Men
-Lord of the Flies
-The Great Gatsby
-Animal Farm
-Wuthering Heights
-Beowulf
-Heart of Darkness
-Slaughterhouse Five (again, I loved it, everybody else hated it)
-Scarlet Letter
-Uncle Tom's Cabin
-Candide
I loved and still love books, but I dreaded English classes because I always felt so depressed about life. Even if we had one or two non-depressing books a year it wouldn't have been so bad.
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Post by Becca Mills on Apr 8, 2014 23:41:54 GMT -5
I love Chaucer's stories, but I didn't find them enjoyable then. We read Chaucer in Middle English, not an updated version. I read the Old Man and the Sea in 6th grade (age 11). Books I remember: -A Separate Peace -Invisible Man (I liked it, but most of my class hated it) -Dante's Inferno -Of Mice and Men -Lord of the Flies -The Great Gatsby -Animal Farm -Wuthering Heights -Beowulf -Heart of Darkness -Slaughterhouse Five (again, I loved it, everybody else hated it) -Scarlet Letter -Uncle Tom's Cabin -Candide I loved and still love books, but I dreaded English classes because I always felt so depressed about life. Even if we had one or two non-depressing books a year it wouldn't have been so bad. They should've added a little Jane Austen to the mix! Yeah, I remember reading lots of sad stuff in high school. Chaucer was one of the bright spots. The funny tales, anyway. |
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Post by vrabinec on Apr 9, 2014 9:27:23 GMT -5
Sometimes I read for torture. Like the doorstop about the politics leading up to the American Revolution. It's actually written well, but it's too much detail. "Before the first Continental Congress on September 7, Geo Washington arrived in Philadelphia with a extended case of diarrhea, caused my the unripe berries he ate at his brother's estate, Mount Vernon." I'm intrigued. And not just over the revelation that he had the big D. I love those peeks into history. |
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Post by vrabinec on Apr 9, 2014 9:37:04 GMT -5
I love Chaucer's stories, but I didn't find them enjoyable then. We read Chaucer in Middle English, not an updated version. I read the Old Man and the Sea in 6th grade (age 11). Books I remember: -A Separate Peace -Invisible Man (I liked it, but most of my class hated it) -Dante's Inferno -Of Mice and Men -Lord of the Flies -The Great Gatsby -Animal Farm -Wuthering Heights -Beowulf -Heart of Darkness -Slaughterhouse Five (again, I loved it, everybody else hated it) -Scarlet Letter -Uncle Tom's Cabin -Candide I loved and still love books, but I dreaded English classes because I always felt so depressed about life. Even if we had one or two non-depressing books a year it wouldn't have been so bad. I had a few of those as required. Of Mice and Men. Animal Farm (1984 as well). Thankfully, I was spared from having to read Gatsby. Never could make it through that one. Lord of the Flies really freaked me out. I mean, REALLY. Like it was the Exorcist or something. Made for some interesting classroom conversation though. I was pretty chunky at the time, so, when it came time for the inevitable classroom comparisons of classmates to the characters in the book, I got a couple glances when Piggy's name was brought up. But nobody dared. I could've twisted them into pretzels and they all knew I had temper if pushed. Still, it was creepy, the thought of your classmates turning on you. |
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Post by Becca Mills on Apr 9, 2014 16:27:10 GMT -5
Lord of the Flies really freaked me out. I mean, REALLY. Like it was the Exorcist or something. Made for some interesting classroom conversation though. I was pretty chunky at the time, so, when it came time for the inevitable classroom comparisons of classmates to the characters in the book, I got a couple glances when Piggy's name was brought up. But nobody dared. I could've twisted them into pretzels and they all knew I had temper if pushed. Still, it was creepy, the thought of your classmates turning on you. Yeah. It's one of the best novels I've read. Really harsh, yet beautiful. |
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Post by Daniel on Apr 9, 2014 19:47:38 GMT -5
I don't think I read Lord of the Flies. Sounds like an inspiration for Hunger Games. I'm sure I'd dislike it just as much.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2014 19:52:59 GMT -5
I dunno if there's any redeemable characters in Lord of the Flies. It goes way past the Hunger Games on the unnerving factor.
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