The point of reading
Watching Showtime this evening (I don't read anymore, you know), seeing Bob Carr talking about the TV mini series 'John Adams', about the US president and the war for independence. Bob's erudition and comprehensive knowledge, seemless and passionately expressed - that's the product of great reading, surely? Reading that absorbs the reader, then wedges in the brain as a ready resource.
I'm reminded of why I've given up reading this month: because I mostly read junk that pours through me like water through a sieve, leaving nothing behind. Mostly just the flavour of the book remains; I can't recall the author, the character's names, the ending. This is especially true of all the fantasy I've been reading the past year or so - delicious, absorbing, but leaving nothing behind.
I've been thinking this week about the point of reading. If I read and love the reading but retain almost nothing, then was it valuable? Or is it just giving time away?
I'm reminded of why I've given up reading this month: because I mostly read junk that pours through me like water through a sieve, leaving nothing behind. Mostly just the flavour of the book remains; I can't recall the author, the character's names, the ending. This is especially true of all the fantasy I've been reading the past year or so - delicious, absorbing, but leaving nothing behind.
I've been thinking this week about the point of reading. If I read and love the reading but retain almost nothing, then was it valuable? Or is it just giving time away?
Comments