Comments on: learning to read http://collectedquotidian.com/2012/03/19/learning-to-read/ An accumulation of recipes, domestic adventures, and the thinkerings they provoke Mon, 08 Jul 2013 14:44:07 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Erin W. http://collectedquotidian.com/2012/03/19/learning-to-read/comment-page-1/#comment-6314 Erin W. Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:40:49 +0000 http://collectedquotidian.com/?p=2618#comment-6314 Jana, I've only just begun reading again after a nine-month post-graduate hiatus. As a student I never had to seek out captivating work--discovering new books through my favorite teachers was part & parcel of my degree--and I faltered when I realized it would no longer fall into my lap. I would have to seek it out: something I wasn't prepared to do between full-time work, graduate applications, and the stress of moving. So I've been relearning, too, the habit of reading. It couldn't happen until I had adequate purpose: I did a lot of research, identified some authors and themes that I could get excited about, and turned my library trip into a big to-do. I wanted effortless reading that would stand up to a fractured commute, preferably featuring female perspectives and American landscapes. Willa Cather ended up coming home with me, and I was so pleased with the first novel that I'm now on my third. I also keep Orion magazine on my bedside table--it requires more intellectual and emotional investment than Cather's realism, but is perfect for times when I want to feel the satisfying heft of reading in a limited time span. Jana, I’ve only just begun reading again after a nine-month post-graduate hiatus. As a student I never had to seek out captivating work–discovering new books through my favorite teachers was part & parcel of my degree–and I faltered when I realized it would no longer fall into my lap. I would have to seek it out: something I wasn’t prepared to do between full-time work, graduate applications, and the stress of moving. So I’ve been relearning, too, the habit of reading. It couldn’t happen until I had adequate purpose: I did a lot of research, identified some authors and themes that I could get excited about, and turned my library trip into a big to-do. I wanted effortless reading that would stand up to a fractured commute, preferably featuring female perspectives and American landscapes. Willa Cather ended up coming home with me, and I was so pleased with the first novel that I’m now on my third. I also keep Orion magazine on my bedside table–it requires more intellectual and emotional investment than Cather’s realism, but is perfect for times when I want to feel the satisfying heft of reading in a limited time span.

]]> By: Rachelle http://collectedquotidian.com/2012/03/19/learning-to-read/comment-page-1/#comment-6290 Rachelle Sun, 25 Mar 2012 16:09:35 +0000 http://collectedquotidian.com/?p=2618#comment-6290 "Try as I might, I just couldn’t keep reading if I wasn’t looking at the page." Damn books! I used to come home from school and read in my bean bag until my mom called me for supper and I would try to walk downstairs on legs that had fallen asleep. But like you, I didn't read much of worth between the Little House on the Prairie books in kindergarten (and again several times after) and discovering C. S. Lewis' nonfiction and the Lord of the Rings in high school. A lot of Christian juvenile historical fiction. But like Lewis says somewhere, "a boy who loves bad books may grow up to love good books." It's hard to live in another world for a couple days when you have responsibilities in this one, and also the last few novels I've tried just haven't grabbed me in that way. I also need to learn how to read in smaller bites. “Try as I might, I just couldn’t keep reading if I wasn’t looking at the page.” Damn books!

I used to come home from school and read in my bean bag until my mom called me for supper and I would try to walk downstairs on legs that had fallen asleep. But like you, I didn’t read much of worth between the Little House on the Prairie books in kindergarten (and again several times after) and discovering C. S. Lewis’ nonfiction and the Lord of the Rings in high school. A lot of Christian juvenile historical fiction. But like Lewis says somewhere, “a boy who loves bad books may grow up to love good books.”

It’s hard to live in another world for a couple days when you have responsibilities in this one, and also the last few novels I’ve tried just haven’t grabbed me in that way. I also need to learn how to read in smaller bites.

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