“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”
Ray Bradbury
Several studies have come out over the past few years that indicate that the way we browse the internet is changing what and how we read. (see here, here and here).
In fact, internet surfing may be physically changing the very structure of our brains!
Reading is a skill, and like any skill our ability to effectively read can get rusty with lack of use. Especially deep reading. Deep reading is the deliberate reading of text for information or enjoyment purposes. Deep reading requires focus and comprehension. When we read information on the internet, on the other hand, we generally just skim over the text and pick up bits and pieces of what the article is trying to convey.
One theory holds that when we surf the internet we are hunting for small bits of information. When we find information that pleases us, we get a little dopamine release as a reward. Dopamine is the “pleasure” chemical in our brains. Like addicts, we then continue to hunt for more tiny bits of information so we can get more dopamine hits.
This in turn causes us to be easily distracted when trying to read something that is longer than a few sentences. There is even an acronym that I have come across on other blogs: tl;dr. It means “too long; didn’t read”. (I should note that to keep my own blog posts interesting and readable, I try to keep the word count somewhere between 250-500 words). We are losing the ability to perform deep reading.
Some educators worry that children born today won’t be able to read books at all!
I am forced to admit to being an internet dopamine addict as well. Even as I was typing this post I would periodically stop so I could check out some webpage that apparently needed my immediate attention, lest the world stop spinning on its axis.
This behavior has affected my own reading habits, and I am endeavoring to change this. I’ve read several articles on ways to relearn reading, and I’ve come across a method that I think might work for me. I will read 25 pages each and every day. I started this plan last night, and managed to get through 10 whole pages before I grabbed my Nook and started surfing the web. Looks like there might be more work ahead of me than I thought!
FROM THE NIGHTSTAND
In my younger days I was a hardcore science fiction and fantasy fanatic. It was practically the only genre I read. Tolkien, Burroughs, Asimov, Heinlein, Herbert, et al, I read them all.
When I got to my mid-20’s, I finally began to branch out into other subjects and genres. I continued to read sci-fi and fantasy, but I started to be a little more selective in my choices as I found a lot of the field is just plain crap.
By the time I reached my 30’s I was down to reading just one fantasy series: The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. The first 4 or 5 books in the series were outstanding, but Jordan kept adding more and more novels to his epic until I finally gave up after book nine. (A lot of modern fantasy authors seem to be trying to outdo Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy by writing these sprawling sagas that never seem to end. Robert Jordan died before he finished his series and the publisher had to hire another writer to finish it out).
Recently, while looking for something new to read, I spotted on my Goodreads recommendation page a space opera series called “The Expanse”. I was a little hesitant to take up another science fiction series, but it was highly rated by the majority of the reviewers and it did sound kind of fun. So I purchased the first book in the series, “Leviathan Wakes”, and am I glad that I did!
“Leviathan Wakes” is a fun, fast paced and rollicking adventure story set in our solar system a couple of centuries from now. While the authors (James S.A. Corey is a pseudonym for Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) take great pains to realistically portray living and traveling in space, they never let the technical aspect take center stage. Instead, they focus on interesting characters and a tightly written plot. That’s ok, I guess, if you’re into that sort of thing.
“Leviathan Wakes” follows the adventures of a small band of beleaguered heroes fighting pirates, space detectives, shadowy corporations, a solar system on the brink of a civil war, and an ancient alien molecule that may either give humanity the stars or end us once and for all.
“Leviathan Wakes” is a fun and exciting read and I heartily give it 4 thumbs up!
ON THE BOOKSHELF
Kit Carson was a fascinating and complex individual. Mountain man, guide for John C. Fremont’s western expeditions, famed Indian fighter, veteran of both the Mexican-American war and the American Civil War, an Army general and Indian agent. Kit Carson was be a ruthless Indian fighter who is held responsible for the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of Apache and Navajo Native Americans. Ironically, he eventually came to be the champion and defender of the Ute tribe. As I said, a complex man.
Thanks to a recommendation from a reader (a tip of the cap to Patrick B. for the suggestion!), my next book purchase is going to be “Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West” by Hampton Sides.
Tips, suggestions, recommendations and comments are always welcome. Have a great week!
