A debate has grown on whether reading is essential on making you a better person. The spark that started the fire was Gregory Currie’s article “Does Great Literature Makes Us Better?” which declares that the certainty that reading literature improves us as a people has “no compelling evidence that suggests that people are morally or socially better for reading Tolstoy”. In response to Currie’s claim Annie Murphy Paul weighed in with “Reading Makes Us Smarter and Nicer” where she states “in studies published in 2006 and 2009 that individuals who often read fiction appear to be better able to understand other people, empathize with them and view the world from their perspective”. Paul claims that “old fashioned reading from a book is more beneficial for our capacity for empathy and intellectual development than the superficial reading we do on the web scrolling through TMZ”, for example there are many benefits from reading a good book over reading an article just for entertainment. …show more content…
The reason I agree with Paul is because I fit right into the description of the person she is describing, one that doesn’t deep read, but in fact, does the superficial reading on the web. Coping with an everyday struggle of a weak vocabulary led me to think the reason is the fact that I don’t participate in the “deep-reading” pastime. Although I do try to participate, I would say my mind doesn’t allow me to access that place that allows my reading to slow and become enriched, which would give me time to establish an intimate relationship with the author like Paul
Annie provides evidence by studies, published in 2006 and 2009, in her second paragraph. The evidence provided by the studies was "that individuals who often read fiction appear to be better able to understand people." By including this in her essay, she is able to support her claim about the importance of "deep reading."
Reading. It’s a well-known hobby, and quite the old one. Nevertheless, the question still remains, could reading all of those stories be the key to becoming a better human being?
readers a dose of reality and human experience. People read literature and end up learning
Reading is on the decline and our reading skills are declining right along with the amount of reading we do. This is happening right across the board through both genders, all age groups and education levels, people are busy and they just do not have time to read books that they are not required to read for school or work. There are serious consequences to this neglect of reading that will continue to worsen if ignored. We need to take notice of what is happening to our culture and stop this situation from continuing, we must act to correct these issues that we are faced with. These things are discussed in the essay “Staying Awake’’ by Ursula K. Le Guin who uses the NEA essays “To Read or Not to Read’’ and “Reading at Risk’’ to support her argument that there is a decline in the amount of time that we are spending on reading and our ability to understand what it is that we are reading.
In comparison to his previous rituals, Carr found it all the more difficult to concentrate on a single page, let alone an entire novel. “I used to find it easy to immerse myself in a book or a lengthy article,” Carr states (Carr, 2010, p. 347). These subtle changes in his life was not only apparent in his own, but in through others as well. Carr mirrors the lives of many readers who excrete this same phenomenon today of losing track of their bookmarks. He exemplifies how reading habits have either ceased in entirety, or minimized to skimming as shown through his friend Scott Karp, a blogger who previously worked
In a world dominated by technology, reading novels has become dull. Instead of immersing into books, we choose to listen to Justin Bieber’s new songs and to scroll through Instagram posts. We have come to completely neglect the simple pleasures of flipping through pages and getting to finally finish a story. Sherman Alexie and Stephan King’s essays attempt to revive this interest in books that has long been lost. They remind us of the important role that reading plays in our daily lives. “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” for instance, demonstrates how being literate saved the narrator from the oppressive nature of society. The author explains that even though he was capable of reading complex books at an astonishingly young
Carr is worried. He confesses that he now has difficulty with the simple task of sitting down and reading a book. Absorbing the text is now belaboring, and he finds that his mind drifts off into other realms. Moreover, this phenomenon is not only limited to himself. Bruce Friedman, a pathologist at the University of Michigan Medical School, admits that he “can’t read War and Peace anymore…even a blog post of three or four paragraphs is too much,” (Carr). In addition, Scott Karp, a devoted blogger on online media and literature major, relates that he was an avid reader in college. Sadly, he observes the same trend in his focus as Carr and Friedman. Karp speculates that the loss of focus isn’t so much a change in the way he reads, but in the way he thinks (Carr).
In “Why Literature Matters” the author, Dana Gioia, argues that literature is very important in today’s society. He talks about the decline of reading over the years and the effects it has on different companies and communities. Gioia uses many persuasive techniques, such as evidence, jingoism, and diction, to try and persuade the reader that literature is important.
In the article, “Why Literature Matters” by Dana Gioia, Gioia argues that young Americans show a decreased interest in the arts—especially literature—and this severe decline will lead to considerable consequences. She believes that this drop in interest will lead to less historical and political awareness, which in turn will make the nation less informed, active, and independent-minded. Gioia convinces us of the importance of literature through her use of credibility, appeals to fear, and specific examples.
In “Reading and Thought” editor Dwight MacDonald emphasizes that everything we read on a daily basis is worthless. MacDonald defines functional curiosity as a habit of reading rather than giving valuable information. MacDonald also alternates that people read too much material in a limited time frame; which results in hollow reading and thinking. Although, MacDonald encourages us to read more to become brilliant, I partially disagree with MacDonald’s argument because we waste time reading unimportant material, do not have time to reread and understand the material and we can now read our books electronically.
Ever since I was a child, I've never liked reading. Every time I was told to read, I would just sleep or do something else instead. In "A Love Affair with Books" by Bernadete Piassa tells a story about her passion for reading books. Piassa demonstrates how reading books has influenced her life. Reading her story has given me a different perspective on books. It has showed me that not only are they words written on paper, they are also feelings and expressions.
You should read the book Found, because it is mysterious, characters are lovable, also it is unpredictable. While reading this book, I was excited to sit down also read. Most books do not please me, I am a picky reader.
In today’s society, a vast number of people are well educated. They have the equal opportunity to choose their own path in life by getting an education. A primary educational aspect of every human being is to learn to read. Being able to read is a primary goal of people in human society, as well as important in itself to society; it takes people far beyond their wildest dreams. A person who is literate has few limitations on what they can do; the world is an open playing field, because a person that is literate has the ability to become very successful in life.
...wan believes, one of the best things about our digital lives is the ease with which we can share ideas with others. It is now possible for readers to connect with each other worldwide, as well as recommend and share their opinions about a particular piece of literature. Our need to engage in “deep reading” will not go away, as Rosen believes. The act of how we read may evolve as it has been evolving since beginning of mankind. How we read and write has evolved from cave walls to stone tablets to paper to keyboards. The digital world will not change what we read, but how we read. Because the experience of reading, the love of narrative, and cravings for story-telling is instilled into our DNA. Reading is a basic human need, it is evolutionary. Even though our means of attaining information or story telling may change, the act of reading is literally forever-lasting.
Literature has an enormous impact on a child’s development during the early years of his or her life. It is important for parents and teachers to instill a love of reading in children while they are still young and impressionable. They are very naive and trusting because they are just beginning to develop their own thoughts, so they will believe anything they read (Lesnik, 1998). This is why it is so important to give them literature that will have a positive impact. Literature can make children more loving, intelligent and open minded because reading books gives them a much wider perspective on the world. Through reading, children’s behavior can be changed, modified or extended, which is why books are so influential in children’s lives while they are young (Hunt, 1998). Literature has the power to affect many aspects of a child’s life and shapes their future adult life.