On Reading

I am the slowest reader I know (outside of a few elementary school kids), yet again and again I've found that my slow reading speed allows me to pick up on details that my peers who read the same passages in as little as half the time often miss until they have re-read the passage two or three times.  Why is this?  Is the speed that I read at the key?

I've often wondered why professors do little but review the text in so many classes and why students seem to find the minor leaps in information, that could be easily obtained through a few moments' analysis, so surprising.  Perhaps this fault of analytical review lies not with students as much as it may be blamed on the way they were trained.

As students we have been told to complete our work quickly.  From the SAT to the Georgia High School Graduation Test to college testing, the speed at which a student is capable of reading and "analyzing" a block of text is made central to today's learning environment.  But how much analysis can be done when a student is allotted less then a minute to read a page if he wishes to have any time to work on the questions?

Richard Restak, M.D. attempted to explain how reading and analysis has changed over the years in a passage from his book Mozart's Brain and the Fighter Pilot where he describes the affect of the transition from reading aloud to silently as a societal norm:

While this transformation brought obvious advantages, it also resulted  in people's employing different speeds and rhythms for thinking, reading, and writing.  While this isn't always a bad thing[...] it can lead to stressful feelings and loss of focus.  At times, thoughts come faster than the thinker can put into words.  The manic patient's tortured complaint of a "racing mind" represents the extreme of this tendency.

Perhaps the reason why so few students comprehend what they have read in depth is because of this habit of reading passages faster then they can actually comprehend them.  Maybe the problem also branches from a simple misunderstanding of what it means to  truly read.  

According to dictionary.com, "read" is a verb that means "to look at carefully so as to understand the meaning of" or "to make out the significance of by scrutiny or observation."

What many of us find ourselves doing, and are all too often encouraged to do, is skim passages which is defined as "to read, study, consider, treat, etc., in a superficial or cursory manner."

So, the big question is this:  Are you reading or are you skimming?  Maybe we should all try reading a little more and skimming a little less.  Now I'm not saying that you can't skim over the directions on how to turn on your iPod, but maybe give the classics a real chance, read them.

Good luck and happy reading.

Charlie the Unicorn

So, show of hands, who has seen Charlie the Unicorn?  (Uh huh, yeah, you might want to put your hand back down now before people start staring.)

So, just because Charlie is wonderful, it seemed appropriate that I do at least one blog on him and his friends.

Now on first glance Charlie the Unicorn is hilarious.  You have to feel sorry for Charlie, as you laugh at his misfortune.  

Upon a second glance though, there are some interesting underlying themes that didn't become entirely clear to me until after I watched the youtube live video.  It seems that Charlie the Unicorn has some elements of anti-communist propaganda in it that is reminiscent of Disney's cartoons when the US was at odds with Russia.  Just for giggles, lets consider the evidence for this idea:

1. Charlie's liver is taken by the community. (aka blue and pink)
2. Charlie's tv, game system and blanket are also taken by the community.
3. Group thought contributes greatly to the events that occur.
4. Charlie (if seen as symbolic of the US) is understandably wary of his friends with communist-like values (not unlike Russia and China), but finds himself on the bandwagon with them on the adventures anyway.  This could easily be compared to the way the US sometimes enacts policies similar to that of its larger "friends" that, while they have the country's self-interest in mind, ultimately lead to less then desirable circumstances.
5. In video 2, there is a hammer and a banana that look suspiciously similar to a certain country's former symbol.
6. In the youtube live video, pink and blue are wearing Soviet Russian hats, and the hats seem to freak Charlie out almost as much as any of the other strange events surrounding him.

And then there is the possibility that all of the videos were made purely for entertainment value....  That isn't as fun to analyze though, so I guess I'll stick with communist vs. democracy symbolism.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go put a banana in my ear.  (Oh, the Freudian comments... another day.)

Inkdeath Review

You may recognize the name Inkheart from the commercials that has been playing for the movie that will be in theaters soon.  The movie looks like it might be good but, as always, not as good as the book.  In honor of the upcoming movie release, I'd like to write a review on Inkdeath.  Inkdeath is the third part of the Inkheart trilogy.  

Inkdeath is a wonderful end to a great series.  This book is targeted towards children but is a great read for readers of all ages.  The series is custom fit for people who love to read, and this book is no exception to that fitting.  

While the first two books centered primarily on Meggie, the bookbinder's daughter, the final book shifts its gaze to a view of the entire cast's intricacies.  From the Arabian boy, Farid, to everyone's favorite fire-eater, Dustfinger, all of the major supporting character's get their turn in the spotlight.  

This higher level of character development is both rewarding and frustrating for the reader.  While it is nice to get to peak inside the heads of a few more characters, after two books it is kind of saddening when one finds that he misses the former central character.  

Despite this switch, Funke does a good job of wrapping up a lot of loose ends and creating enough new loose ends to make the story ring true.  Not an easy feat for a story where giants and fairies roam.  Overall, I give Inkdeath a 4 out of 5.  

Now I'm just hoping that the movies will be able to reach even a fraction of the series' potential.  I guess I'll just have to cross my fingers when I make my way over to the silver screen.