Comments on: The Facets of Voluntary Slow Reading II: The Meaning of Slow http://johnmiedema.ca/2008/01/22/the-facets-of-voluntary-slow-reading-the-meaning-of-slow/ books, libraries, technology Tue, 07 Sep 2010 11:17:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: John http://johnmiedema.ca/2008/01/22/the-facets-of-voluntary-slow-reading-the-meaning-of-slow/comment-page-1/#comment-2266 John Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:09:51 +0000 http://johnmiedema.ca/2008/01/22/the-facets-of-voluntary-slow-reading-the-meaning-of-slow/#comment-2266 Hi Jim, my desk is tidy too, and I prefer it that way. I too have no yearning for doing research via paper indexes and photocopying. In my view, the Internet is the optimal tool for finding the research I want. If the content is a snippet, I will also read it on-line, but if the content is of any substance I want the print copy. It allows for deeper reading and thinking. People can get by without the print copy, but they may be forfeiting quality. The stats indicate people are not getting by without print. Every computer is hooked to a printer and people are using them. Hi Jim, my desk is tidy too, and I prefer it that way. I too have no yearning for doing research via paper indexes and photocopying. In my view, the Internet is the optimal tool for finding the research I want. If the content is a snippet, I will also read it on-line, but if the content is of any substance I want the print copy. It allows for deeper reading and thinking. People can get by without the print copy, but they may be forfeiting quality. The stats indicate people are not getting by without print. Every computer is hooked to a printer and people are using them.

]]> By: John http://johnmiedema.ca/2008/01/22/the-facets-of-voluntary-slow-reading-the-meaning-of-slow/comment-page-1/#comment-2267 John Wed, 23 Jan 2008 13:54:16 +0000 http://johnmiedema.ca/2008/01/22/the-facets-of-voluntary-slow-reading-the-meaning-of-slow/#comment-2267 Hi Pete, I did actually have a good go at <em>Being and Time</em> some years back. Made it about 200 pages through before letting it go in favour of a shorter summary by another philosopher. Your point about localism is an interesting one. I have been thinking about the role of reading in developing empathy precisely because reading helps people imagine lives other than their own. Reading books may be far better at achieving this than watching tv since text lends itself to revealing inner dialogue. I am currently reading Alberto Manguel's <em>City of Words</em>, which is about the role of stories and language in revealing "Other"; will likely post a review in a few weeks. But maybe this is not slow reading, from the distance angle. Taking us outside of our own world, time and mind is an acceleration of sorts, and a good one. Not everything slow is good; slow reading, in a local sense, may be a form of navel gazing. One might read slowly about other worlds, times and people, but now we are talking about slow in a temporal sense. Thanks for the Stephen Krashen links. I've updated yesterday's post. Hi Pete, I did actually have a good go at Being and Time some years back. Made it about 200 pages through before letting it go in favour of a shorter summary by another philosopher.

Your point about localism is an interesting one. I have been thinking about the role of reading in developing empathy precisely because reading helps people imagine lives other than their own. Reading books may be far better at achieving this than watching tv since text lends itself to revealing inner dialogue. I am currently reading Alberto Manguel’s City of Words, which is about the role of stories and language in revealing “Other”; will likely post a review in a few weeks. But maybe this is not slow reading, from the distance angle. Taking us outside of our own world, time and mind is an acceleration of sorts, and a good one. Not everything slow is good; slow reading, in a local sense, may be a form of navel gazing. One might read slowly about other worlds, times and people, but now we are talking about slow in a temporal sense.

Thanks for the Stephen Krashen links. I’ve updated yesterday’s post.

]]> By: Jim Murdoch http://johnmiedema.ca/2008/01/22/the-facets-of-voluntary-slow-reading-the-meaning-of-slow/comment-page-1/#comment-2268 Jim Murdoch Wed, 23 Jan 2008 10:32:56 +0000 http://johnmiedema.ca/2008/01/22/the-facets-of-voluntary-slow-reading-the-meaning-of-slow/#comment-2268 On your last point, there is an image of the writer's desk that comes to mind, of a man barely able to write due to his desk being covered in so many books in fact my wife has a photograph of a friend of hers in such a setting where it looks like the books are going to overwhelm him completely. My desk, on the other hand, is practically empty. These days I no longer need physical books the way I once did. I have dozens of dictionaries but almost always find what I need on-line. In this respect I'm nostalgic for the past but I've also become used to accessing information at a much greater speed. Doing research the old-fashioned way annoys me. I think this has contributed considerably to the difficulty I find reading for pleasure these days. I'm so used to multi-tasking – I never just listen to music for example and I've started catching up on news feeds and e-mails on a laptop whilst watching TV – that simply sitting and reading a book feels like I'm not using my time efficiently. Christ, I hate the modern world sometimes. On your last point, there is an image of the writer’s desk that comes to mind, of a man barely able to write due to his desk being covered in so many books in fact my wife has a photograph of a friend of hers in such a setting where it looks like the books are going to overwhelm him completely. My desk, on the other hand, is practically empty. These days I no longer need physical books the way I once did. I have dozens of dictionaries but almost always find what I need on-line. In this respect I’m nostalgic for the past but I’ve also become used to accessing information at a much greater speed. Doing research the old-fashioned way annoys me. I think this has contributed considerably to the difficulty I find reading for pleasure these days. I’m so used to multi-tasking – I never just listen to music for example and I’ve started catching up on news feeds and e-mails on a laptop whilst watching TV – that simply sitting and reading a book feels like I’m not using my time efficiently. Christ, I hate the modern world sometimes.

]]> By: Pete http://johnmiedema.ca/2008/01/22/the-facets-of-voluntary-slow-reading-the-meaning-of-slow/comment-page-1/#comment-2269 Pete Wed, 23 Jan 2008 09:24:27 +0000 http://johnmiedema.ca/2008/01/22/the-facets-of-voluntary-slow-reading-the-meaning-of-slow/#comment-2269 John, if you choose to read <i>Being and Time</i>, then you choose all that comes with it ;) On a more serious note, I wouldn't want to link the localism of slow food with slow reading too strongly. Much of the reading I do is about <i>other</i> places and times precisely because they are different. And being different they engage me more as I try to understand the context. I do read local history, but as part of my reading. Books indeed offer a chance to move beyond locality without (some of) the ecological concerns behind slow food. E-reading is part of a broader issue with author vs reader focus, going right back to deconstruction. The hyperlinked text makes the reader part of a broader process of commentary and can allow them to participate in that commentary. And when 'the text' is extended to include that commentary, the reader becomes in a way an author. The physical text has links to other texts via footnotes and bibliographies, but these are seen as 'closed' links to other authoritative texts, separate from 'the text' at hand. Such a text is one you read and participate in in wuite a different way from many online texts. John,

if you choose to read Being and Time, then you choose all that comes with it ;)

On a more serious note, I wouldn’t want to link the localism of slow food with slow reading too strongly. Much of the reading I do is about other places and times precisely because they are different. And being different they engage me more as I try to understand the context.

I do read local history, but as part of my reading. Books indeed offer a chance to move beyond locality without (some of) the ecological concerns behind slow food.

E-reading is part of a broader issue with author vs reader focus, going right back to deconstruction. The hyperlinked text makes the reader part of a broader process of commentary and can allow them to participate in that commentary. And when ‘the text’ is extended to include that commentary, the reader becomes in a way an author. The physical text has links to other texts via footnotes and bibliographies, but these are seen as ‘closed’ links to other authoritative texts, separate from ‘the text’ at hand. Such a text is one you read and participate in in wuite a different way from many online texts.

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