The Jacob's article was interesting in how new a faculty deep attention reading is. Since the advent of Gutenberg and the printing press we have been bombarded by books, to the point of information overload. The great insight into St. Augustine's life presented us with a picture of a time when books were an absolutely precious commodity. Having a collection book's then is the equivalent of being on the cutting edge of technology today. Except now today we can collapse a whole library's worth of information on to the width, length, and height of a book. Since there is such a plethora of available knowledge we have to be careful and more peculiar about where we divert our attention and for how long. Such a remarkable transition has taken place over the last 150 years that we still haven't really caught up to it. This is a point Jacob's article does a good job of pointing out by framing it from a teachers perspective who loves to read and wonders why her students do not.
I personally only like to read things in which I know the context surrounding their creation. The date and what was happening in the authors life and in society at that time. I think that one who loves to read, also loves history. For example the epic saga that the adopted J.R.R. Tolkien wrote, crafting a rich history of a world that dates back generations. It is a creation story in itself. One must start from The Silmarillion, works published posthumously by his son Chris, in it's fantasticly detailed lineages from the very creation of the elves themselves to the well known introduction of Bilbo of the shire in the Hobbit. Hundreds if not thousands of years imagined into existence. That is basically a history lesson in mythopoetic fantasy terms.
Among other great novels I have come to deeply appreciate are Zorba the greek, and Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. Both of these novels were recommended to me by my brother, some one I respect and look up to. I otherwise may not have explored these two books. Having an influence like that has given me a deeper respect for reading books.
A main reason kid's do not like to deep read today could be because of the information consolidating yet, attention diverting devices combined with the internet. In order for someone to cherish reading, I think they have to read what they like and build up a "history" of books. Once some one has established their repertoire they can draw from it as they take in new information and compare ideas of people who lived before, during, or after the author. Even to talk about books with other book worms there is always a reference to other books. If an individual doesn't want to build up their library of read books then they won't enjoy long form, deep attention reading. I believe it is important for schools to supply the context of the book in an enjoyable, engaging way.
Kress's article was attempting to tackle the difficulty genre's bring when different modalities are used in the same piece and which is more effective. This article was a drag for me which is why I am not writing much about it.
Thanks for tuning in!
I really liked how you described the world that J.R.R Tolkien created--and I think you make a really interesting point with how our reading is rhetorical--situated in our knowledge of the writing's context. As one who has less of that knowledge than I'd like, and is constantly on a quest to gain that context, faced with the challenge of "what is important for me to read", I can personally attest to what you are saying: how much we've read influences out ability to appreciate/digest/understand what we read now. Very well said, this post--thanks for the thoughts!
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