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(no subject)
Last night, I had an epiphany. Judith Martin (Miss Manners) was on the Colbert Report, and I told Jeff about finding one of her books when I was fourteen or so. One of the reasons I checked it out of the library was because it was a *small* temporary library (it was in a storefront in the mall near the Safeway) and I was running out of stuff to read. The thickness of the book was a large mark in its favor.
So, I was telling Jeff this and realized that, not everyone reads up to grade level, nor do they test out. (Huh?)
Okay. When I was in third grade, we were in a kindergarten room. Since we didn't need all the room, they used part of the room to store the books for other classes. We also had an in-room library. I can't remember if I didn't realize I wasn't supposed to read the other books or not. I don't think it ever occured to me, honestly. So, I found a big stack of *big* reading books (which was where I first read an excerpt from I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. I cannot adequately express how beautiful it was. She described a woman's skin as "dark as a plum, full to bursting with juice" (paraphrased) and I could see it. Hell, I could damn near *taste* it. That had never happened to me before. Maya Angelou is a remarkable writer)(and human being) (How many parentheses are we up to?)))) and dived happily into them. I was up to the eighth grade book when Mrs. Finney asked me what I was doing. (This took some time, and it's probably good that she didn't know I'd been taking them home with me over the weekends...) I told her I was reading the book. She said "That's an eighth grade book." I said okay. She said "Are you really reading it?" I allowed that I was. She looked at the bit I was reading and asked me about it. I answered all the questions I could.
The next day/weeek/something, I went to the office and they gave me a reading test. I think I was reading at eighth grade level, but it could have been seventh. Every year after that, they tested me and my reading level kept rising, till I tested out sometime in jr. high. I was either reading at college level or beyond.
And for all these years, I've figured that nearly everyone does that. Just that the majority of people don't do it as quickly as I did. When I was discussing the tiny library and my reading damn near everything that appealed to me in the place, it hit me that not everyone reads up to grade level (and while I'd always known that, I never knew it) and not everyone's reading level keeps getting higher till they're all at the same level(ish) somewhere in adulthood.
Wild.
So, I was telling Jeff this and realized that, not everyone reads up to grade level, nor do they test out. (Huh?)
Okay. When I was in third grade, we were in a kindergarten room. Since we didn't need all the room, they used part of the room to store the books for other classes. We also had an in-room library. I can't remember if I didn't realize I wasn't supposed to read the other books or not. I don't think it ever occured to me, honestly. So, I found a big stack of *big* reading books (which was where I first read an excerpt from I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. I cannot adequately express how beautiful it was. She described a woman's skin as "dark as a plum, full to bursting with juice" (paraphrased) and I could see it. Hell, I could damn near *taste* it. That had never happened to me before. Maya Angelou is a remarkable writer)(and human being) (How many parentheses are we up to?)))) and dived happily into them. I was up to the eighth grade book when Mrs. Finney asked me what I was doing. (This took some time, and it's probably good that she didn't know I'd been taking them home with me over the weekends...) I told her I was reading the book. She said "That's an eighth grade book." I said okay. She said "Are you really reading it?" I allowed that I was. She looked at the bit I was reading and asked me about it. I answered all the questions I could.
The next day/weeek/something, I went to the office and they gave me a reading test. I think I was reading at eighth grade level, but it could have been seventh. Every year after that, they tested me and my reading level kept rising, till I tested out sometime in jr. high. I was either reading at college level or beyond.
And for all these years, I've figured that nearly everyone does that. Just that the majority of people don't do it as quickly as I did. When I was discussing the tiny library and my reading damn near everything that appealed to me in the place, it hit me that not everyone reads up to grade level (and while I'd always known that, I never knew it) and not everyone's reading level keeps getting higher till they're all at the same level(ish) somewhere in adulthood.
Wild.
no subject
That part of me got burned out when people expected me to read them, and come away with Deep Insights into the author's Message.
Anything that asks about the theme, or asks me to find allegory...blyeh. If I hadn't been addicted to reading before these questions started coming up, I would have learned that books were drudgery, and pointless questions. In short, I could have been one of those people who don't enjoy reading, if I hadn't been hooked at an early age.
There are probably other reasons that people don't enjoy reading. Some people may not "get" reading - imagination is not in short supply, but the ability to build the scene in your mind is not as common, in my opinion. And that helps make reading come alive.