Neal Stephenson, on Reading
“If you choose to read a book today, it’s not like a hundred years ago, when that was your only option. Today, when you read a book, you’re making a conscious decision not to play a video game, not to surf the web, not to watch a movie, not to turn on the TV. It does require a certain discipline to make that decision.…”
I agree with the notion of conscious choice, but I’m not sure I agree with the idea of it as discipline- unless of course, it’s a book I’m reading to review.
Reading an actual, paper book (in the age of Kindle and other e-books, I have to specify) is a different cognitive experience, I think. The way a good book is immersive is both soothing and invigorating. It recharges my energy, in a way that an equally compelling story told on TV or as a movie does not. Sometimes, reading something wonderful feels like dreaming- being invited, wholly, to share in the world between book covers. Then feeling, for a few moments, a little vague, and fuzzy, on the return to my own world.
huh. I agree that choosing to read something is different than watching tv or a movie. but I’m not so sure about the “surfing the internet” part…
to me it’s not so much the format, as it is the story being told. i just want my words and i’ll take them in whatever form is convenient at the moment -
ie. i’ll read a regular book on the subway because i don’t have a computer or internet access then, but i’ll read a story on my computer at work ’cause it’s less conspicuous than holding a book. Even if I am a librarian.