Now that I've started reading the actual history part of A History of Reading, I've realized how much of the past actually catches up with the future. Reading through the process of how thinkers attempted to understand the way our sight worked, I waited and waited for the answer to come years in the future. In reality, there had actually been some really accurate answer located in writings from the past. I think it's so wonderful that past information doesn't just become obsolete, the way technology does. With technology, if it is not the newest thing on the market, the product value actually goes down. But with proven facts or just theories, there is always a time to question them or to find new information that adds onto those ideas. Anyone who discovers something or proves something should feel eternally valuable because their ideas will never become obsolete.
I feel like we should all strive to discover something or to prove something in life because our legacy will never die. The world will never lose its thirst for new information, which is a beautiful thing. The world will always continue to grow intellectually.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
First Post!
There are a couple things I'd like to say about the first chapter of A History of Reading, by Alberto Manguel.
First off, I can really relate to him when it comes to having such a passion for reading. My mom is always telling me about how I would sit in the shopping cart at Walmart and read the signs above as we would look for the right isle. In my elementary school, our teachers would give us these bag tags that went on our backpacks that honored how many books we read per year; I always had the one that said "I read over 100 books this year!" Books are an escape, an imaginary life, a secret garden full of magic and mystery. They've always been a constant in my life, especially when I feel like my world is too overwhelming to deal with.
And I do believe they change depending on the reader. Unless you're reading a book like The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien, bless his heart, where it takes 4 pages to describe a leaf falling on the ground, the details and images in your head really depend on YOU. You get to choose what you think the character looks like based on their description. It's all based on what you feel the setting/person should look like. The author, unless he's described the person and the setting in absolute detail, gives you a basis and a storyline, but the rest is up to you. I think that's pretty cool. We really have a lot of power, as readers. And, of course, the writer will tell you that the character is geeky or the setting is creepy, but you add your own foggy twist and you decide whether or not that geek wears thick or thin framed glasses. Reading books almost gives you a chance to be your very own illustrator.
We really take advantage of the fact that we can read, the fact that we're even allowed to read. It's such a beautiful ability and it opens so many doors, whether they are the doors to a broader vocabulary, a more colorful imagination, a wiser outlook on life, or even just to a better knowledge on how to cook. We add depth to ourselves with every page we turn.
I really appreciate Manguel telling us about his life and giving us some of his back story because now I've got a better insight to his life and what makes him love literature the way that he does.
First off, I can really relate to him when it comes to having such a passion for reading. My mom is always telling me about how I would sit in the shopping cart at Walmart and read the signs above as we would look for the right isle. In my elementary school, our teachers would give us these bag tags that went on our backpacks that honored how many books we read per year; I always had the one that said "I read over 100 books this year!" Books are an escape, an imaginary life, a secret garden full of magic and mystery. They've always been a constant in my life, especially when I feel like my world is too overwhelming to deal with.
And I do believe they change depending on the reader. Unless you're reading a book like The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien, bless his heart, where it takes 4 pages to describe a leaf falling on the ground, the details and images in your head really depend on YOU. You get to choose what you think the character looks like based on their description. It's all based on what you feel the setting/person should look like. The author, unless he's described the person and the setting in absolute detail, gives you a basis and a storyline, but the rest is up to you. I think that's pretty cool. We really have a lot of power, as readers. And, of course, the writer will tell you that the character is geeky or the setting is creepy, but you add your own foggy twist and you decide whether or not that geek wears thick or thin framed glasses. Reading books almost gives you a chance to be your very own illustrator.
We really take advantage of the fact that we can read, the fact that we're even allowed to read. It's such a beautiful ability and it opens so many doors, whether they are the doors to a broader vocabulary, a more colorful imagination, a wiser outlook on life, or even just to a better knowledge on how to cook. We add depth to ourselves with every page we turn.
I really appreciate Manguel telling us about his life and giving us some of his back story because now I've got a better insight to his life and what makes him love literature the way that he does.
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