"A History Of Reading"

Alberto Manguel's "A History Of Reading" has so far delivered exactly what its title promises, although, following the caveat on page 23, it "skips chapters, browses, selects, rereads, refuses to follow conventional order." The organization of the book, by chapters focusing on specific subsets of the subject, including silent reading, being read to, and the shape of books, among others, seems to me a more logical one than a strict historical time line. In a way, its organization reflects its subject matter almost as well as the actual content: the flow of the book seems to me a reader friendly way to approach the topic. I know personally that, though an avid reader I may be, history tends to intimidate me with its heavy emphasis on whens and wheres, but I remain fascinated by historical details once separated from this confusing entanglement. This is exactly what Manguel has done for his readers: he provides the interesting details of the history while removing the pressure of conventional historical exactitude.

My personal favorite chapter so far has been Metaphors of Reading, which begins on page 163. It discusses the symbolic implications of reading, something Manguel describes when discussing Walt Whitman as "an act whose meaning he expanded until it served to define every vital human activity, as well as the universe in which it all took place." (168) This depiction of reading I feel mirrors the earlier sentiments of readers as a community, as in the books opening images, and also communicates the vital emotional and even spiritual place that the written word holds in the lives of devoted readers everywhere, myself included.

"Twilight Of The Books"

This article depresses me. There's no simpler term. I'm a reader, always have been, and it still floors me that people don't do this for fun. I feel uncomfortable if I'm not in the middle of a novel at any given time. I put off homework to keep reading. Even when I'm tooling around online, I much prefer something interesting to read than any of the multitudinous videos and clips scattered around the internet.

I did enjoy reading the article, if only because of it's topic, but I too found the information provided somewhat overwhelming. It took me a couple of passes to pick up all the detail, and although I enjoyed all of it, once I understood it, I am left wondering if it was all truly necessary to make the article worthwhile.

This article is in itself a good example of why some people find reading an overcomplicated way to receive information. I doubt that was intentional, but it's certainly a bitterly enjoyable bit of irony.

Introduction

One of the things you'll learn about me pretty quickly is that, while I love writing, I despise writing about myself. It feels self-indulgent. But seeing as an introductory post is sort of how one generally starts these things, I suppose I have little choice.

My name is Trista Montoya-Childers, I'm a sophomore majoring in Theatre and English, mostly because I'm a drama geek and a fiction nut, and also because my goal is to teach high school theatre (for which you are right to assume I'm nearly certifiably insane). I live off campus, but barely: my apartment is a fifteen minute walk away. I'm desperately hoping that that covers most of what needs to be said. I promise I'll loosen up a bit when I can write about an interesting topic.