I’ve seen this quotation in several places lately. It’s from Sven Birkerts’ ‘The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age’:
“To read, when one does so of one’s own free will, is to make a volitional statement, to cast a vote; it is to posit an elsewhere and set off toward it. And like any traveling, reading is at once a movement and a comment of sorts about the place one has left. To open a book voluntarily is at some level to remark the insufficiency either of one’s life or one’s orientation toward it.”
To what extent does this describe you?
I read for a very simple reason…..enjoyment !!!!! It isn’t that I am looking for fullfillment of an insufficiency of life or even orientation toward it. Some people enjoy movies and/or tv. Since I was in elementary school, I loved to have a book in hand and escape into a book. My favorite genre is mystery/suspense but in real life I am a wimp when faced with scary situations. I believe I have a very vivid imagination and would rather use my own visualization of the books I read instead of say. a movie director’s perception. I recall images of books I read as a child to this day. Very simple…enjoyment and the love of the written word.
Today I will not go on my “Thursday Treasure” blog hunt, which can be computer time consuming. I am behind in my reading and feel that today I am going to dedicate my time to reading. I am behind due to activities of daily life issues that seem to get in the way of our reading schedules, but such are the priorities of life. Here in New England this week, we have had days of rain, today too. Since weather affects the pain level in my back, physical activity will be interrupted due to today’s forecast, I will be retreating to my reading chair, with my mug of coffee and hopefully get close to finishing, or if really lucky finishing, my current read. So have a great Thursday and Happy Reading !!!!
