To have a negative view of readers like this is a strong indicator of an undiagnosed alternative learning style. Your elementary school screwed you by not having the resources to accommodate you. That is my guess.
Imagine a computer with no CD rom or IO ports. No Internet connection. No new software downloads. When I read I am able to have lunch with people so much smarter than I am that they would never have lunch with me. I would bore them. Plus even if I am as smart as they are I would be interupting them with my thoughts instead of letting their new perspective wash over me and change the way I see the world. If you pick up a novel by Ian Mcewan you enter the world of a super observer of inner and outer life. He takes you along for the ride of noticing things about how your mind works or the world that you have been missing. And when you put it down you are transformed. At least for a while! For a couple of years I read first novels from foreign writers. I went to the library and searched the fiction shelves for funny names until I found them. These books offered a genuinely alternative view of the world that stretched my brain to see the world differently. Books can do that. Most of my life I have been such a nonfiction addict that I have to consciously focus on inputting fiction. But when I think of the transformational aspect of reading it is usually fiction that I think of first. Of course some science books and histories can blow my mind in a similar way. I just finished Dawkins book on the details of the theory of evolution. Man was I missing important pieces of that enlightening perspective on life. And this is the problem. We don't know what we don't know. We are all happy little idiots running around with our own blinders on till we sit down with a book that updates our software and changes our life. Some of the most important books I have read I hated at first. They were changing he way I thought so much that I resisted them. But I have learned that this is a sign to keep on reading till my brain catches up and I am usually not disappointed if I persist and let it do its work on me. I am writing a show about encouraging kids to read so this is a super up topic for me. We have a national tragedy of boys being way behind girls in reading. And now that we have more legal trouble discriminating against them (damn you equal rights!) they are about to hand our gender our asses in the workplace. Reading is like playing tennis with a better player. Soon we find ourselves playing above our previous level, hitting back shots we never imagined ourselves capable of. Learning to love reading is not the product of an overactive mind. It is the result of an educational system who understands how different student's learning styles need different approaches. It let you fall through the cracks. I would like to write a show that encourages kids, especially ones with alternative learning styles to appreciate the transformational wonder of reading. --- In [email protected], "whynotnow7" <whynotnow7@...> wrote: > > For those last few minutes of the day I sometimes enjoy leafing through > catalogs we get in the mail, the ones filled with electronics and gadgets I > won't buy. I haven't figured out why people seem to be obsessed with reading > books. I can't recall the last time I read one cover to cover - it has easily > been years. Perhaps they are a fun distraction for overactive minds - I don't > know. > > --- In [email protected], "seventhray1" <steve.sundur@> wrote: > > > > > > > > Thanks for the recommendations. I wish I could find something I enjoy > > reading for a few minutes before I drop off to sleep. I am so narrow > > minded that I can't bring myself to read fiction and usually stick with > > something "spiritua"l in nature. But most of the modern new agey type > > books seem dull and full of platitudes. Lately I've been reading some > > of the lesser known early theosophists. Even that has been somewhat > > dull. > > > > --- In [email protected], "danfriedman2002" > > <danfriedman2002@> wrote: > > > > > > Yesterday, I finished ¨Songs of >Kabir¨translated by Arvind > > Krishna Mehrotra, with a Preface by Wendy Doniger. I found it > > delightful, full of wisdom, and FUNNY¨. I,m certain that others on > > this Forem would enjoy the read. > > > > > > I began¨Great House¨, and am on page29. The author, Nicole > > Krauss previously wrote ¨The Histoy of Love¨, which I loved. Both > > were given to me by my daughter (who, as you can expect introduces her > > Dad to new work). My daughter managed to get the auther to autograph > > Great House, and presentewd it to me on my birthday. So far, the setting > > is the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where I have lived for most of my > > life. The narrator is an author, as are many in the ´hood´´. > > > > > > Probably, one of these will suit you, dpending on your interests. > > > > > > --- In [email protected], "seventhray1" steve.sundur@ > > wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Care to share some of the recent books you have read? > > > > > > > > --- In [email protected], "danfriedman2002" > > > > <danfriedman2002@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > I don´t chose books on (1) personal intimacies, or (2) gossip. > > > > > > > > > > --- In [email protected], "wayback71" wayback71@ > > wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --- In [email protected], "curtisdeltablues" > > > > <curtisdeltablues@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --- In [email protected], "danfriedman2002" > > > > <danfriedman2002@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > But Curtis, > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > What you are saying is that Rick reported gossip years ago, > > > > which later appeared in a book by the gossiper. That´s not fire, > > only > > > > Smoke. > > > > > > > > > > > > Dan, Judithe is not the only woman to make these claims. Several > > > > other women have as well. Read the book and then let us know what > > you > > > > think. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > So you are not a fan of first person histories are you? Then > > how > > > > do you learn about the past if you dismiss first person accounts as > > > > gossip? > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Of course if you read the book and found some specific places > > > > where you question her credibility I would enjoy hearing them. I am > > > > assuming that you wouldn't be shallow enough to make this judgement > > > > about her book without having read it. You know kind of prejudging > > it > > > > based on gossip you heard about what was in the book. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --- In [email protected], "curtisdeltablues" > > > > <curtisdeltablues@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > I'm with Sal on this one Dan. This request is not > > reasonable. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > And as far as Rick not coming through with facts, he > > backed > > > > Judith's account for years, was way ahead of the curve, and then the > > > > book came out. So I think we can drop the tired "innuendo" routine > > now. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > What Rick is "prone" to is having an open mind. He has > > created > > > > a place where atheist's can interact with the formerly enlightened > > as > > > > well as the currently "whatever". Not too shabby IMO. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Although we have come down in different places concerning > > > > spirituality, I have respect for the integrity of the process that > > lead > > > > him to his own different conclusions. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > And if he smells smoke, I'm betting on fire soon to come. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --- In [email protected], Sal Sunshine > > > > <salsunshine@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Jun 28, 2011, at 8:19 PM, danfriedman2002 wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Your request for a picture of a sign is a good one. > > But > > > > then we'd be dealing with facts. Rick's prone to innuendo, not > > facts. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Um, Dan...Rick hasn't been in the Doom in years. > > > > > > > > > > And, like most other people without badges, > > > > > > > > > > has no way of getting in. And do you really > > > > > > > > > > think with all the paranoia in the TMO they'd > > > > > > > > > > let someone take pictures? You ask for > > > > > > > > > > evidence that I'm pretty sure you know nobody > > > > > > > > > > can supply. Therefore, for you the situation > > > > > > > > > > doesn't exist. If that works for you, great. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Sal > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
