Entry #1- What does reading mean?

 What is reading? At the most basic level, reading means deciphering strings of words put together and comprehending what they mean. When I think of reading, I think of material things - things I can hold in my hands. I think of books, because I read the words on their pages. I think of my phone, because I read the words on its screen. I think of my computer and its keyboard. I think of instruction manuals, the back of a container, a note hanging from my wall. 

I think of this blog; what you are reading right now.

Reading is important for everyday life. You may have been able to get by fine without it a few hundred years ago, but that's not really the case anymore. Even if you don't read as a hobby, or particularly enjoy reading, you still do it everyday. You read text messages, e-mails, and captions on TikToks; you read Instagram comments and Twitter threads. You read your resume before you hand it in. Everything these days is labeled, so you read the labels of the items you buy before you buy them. American society is centered around the English language, and if you can't read it, it proves to be burdensome. 

A drawing I did of me reading with my cat

  What does it mean to me? I read everyday because I have to.  However, as much as I enjoy reading for fun, I never do it anymore. The last time I picked up a book was in the summer of 2023- Yellowface by R.F. Kuang. I didn't even reach page 30 before I put it down, and once the book was closed, I didn't pick it up again. Now it stands proud on my bookshelf, its bookmark peeking out at me, teasing me for not finishing the novel. These days, I do more writing than reading- but I have to read my own writing, so I guess that counts as reading. 

I like reading because reading can be a good distraction from the real world. Other than drawing, which I also like to do, reading was usually my best coping mechanism as a kid. Depending on the novel, reading could take me into entirely new worlds that I could get lost in, which inspired me to create my own worlds, characters, and stories. 

 

I think reading could be good for anyone. It encourages you to use your imagination and helps strengthen your knowledge of the English language. It can be a great source of entertainment when you're bored and it can also be a talking point for discussions. Reading non-fiction is also important, as you can learn so many new things, be it skills or politics.

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Entry #3 - The Two Cultures

Image
  A ccording to C.P. Snow, there are two cultures, and those two cultures are constantly clashing with each other. These cultures in question are those of scientists (specifically, "physical" scientists) vs. intellectuals (specifically, "literary intellectuals.") Throughout his lecture, C.P. Snow stresses that the two groups have such differing opinions of each other that it's difficult to find common ground. While intellectuals pessimistically believe that scientists are too optimistic about mankind, scientists are troubled by the intellectual's lack of concern for mankind, and are anxious to "restrict both art and thought to the existential movement." (p. 6) C.P. Snow suggests that the reason there is such a clash between the two groups is because of not only a sense of superiority each group has over the other, but also a mutual lack of understanding.    Our class’s novel of note, Childhood’s End, was published in 1953, while the Two Cultures le...
Read more