Reading Beyond Words, My Contibution for 'I Read Where I Am'
I was invited to write a short essay for a book called 'I Read Where I Am', ed. by Geert Lovink, Mieke Gerritzen and Minke Kampman after a concept from Graphic Design Museum/Institute of Network Cultures. It was launched in relation to The Unbound Book conference held last week and looks to chart the status and future of reading. I just learned the entire book is available at www.ireadwhereiam.com, an interestingly minimalist microsite well suited for books.
Reading Beyond WordsMy literature professor understood reading as a relative concept: One might grasp the words without yet comprehending the meaning. Ideally the reader would discard her library every five years, because by then she had elevated her perspective…
That’s an elitist notion of reading in stark contrast to the reality of today. Text as a medium is being challenged by ever more engaging forms of communication. And it seems the conditions for deep reading are pretty much being killed by mankind’s ongoing experiment to digitize society. Irony, anyone?
Me, I’ve parted with most of my print library. For good. Ninety percent of my reading now takes place on-screen, although I’m uneasy about digital books living inside those intangible walled gardens. Can I pass them on to my kids, like my mother did with Camus to me? Will they keep my side notes? Will they smell?
Let’s not get overly nostalgic just yet. Text remains a universal vehicle for human thought and often it’s the shortest distance from one mind to another. But as we stumble into digital renaissance, our understanding of both text and reading will have to encompass more than mere words: hyper-connectedness, vibrant plasticity, social interaction, and dynamic contextuality.
