I was intrigued when reading this paragraph about how one reacts to a reading. No matter how hard we try, there is always that feeling and voice that says, "Yes, I love it," or "No, I hate it." It's our initial reaction that we cannot silence nor control. But, our taste for certain wants in a book, can be trained to an extent. Even though our first instinct is to try and satisfy that sensation that comes over us; whether it's biased, wrong or judgmental. But, as time goes on our taste , can be controlled, but it must be fed in some way, but lavishly said Woolfe. When done so, it then opens up another part of your mind that allows your imagination to be more open and inviting to different styles of readings. I could relate to this quote, "I love, I hate," because I' am famous for being closed minded when either picking a book or being told to read a book. I put up a wall before I actually take the time to learn the history or story behind the book. Its my initial reaction to say, "I hate it," and satisfy my taste by putting the book down. Reading this story has taught me to be more open and learn to venture out when choosing a book to read, because I could be missing out on a story that could change my perception on life.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
8/31 Reading: "How Should One Read a Book"
"We may stress the value of sympathy, we may try sink our own identity as we read. But we know that we cannot sympathize wholly or immerse ourselves wholly, there is always a demon in our whispers, " I hate, I love," and we cannot silence him. Indeed, it is precisely because we hate and we love that our relation with the poets and novelists is so intimate that we find the presence of another person intolerable. And even if the results are abhorrent and our judgements are wrong, still our taste, the nerve of sensation that sends shocks through us, is our chief illuminant, we learn through feeling, we cannot suppress our own idiosyncrasy without impoverishing it. But as time goes on, perhaps we can train our taste, perhaps we can make it submit to some control." (Woolf 10-11)
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Diamond, good post! I think you're right about that initial judgment we all make. Do you think sympathy for a character or personal attachment to a piece of literature is important to understanding and enjoying and finding meaning from that piece?
ReplyDeleteI agree with what she wrote because she wrote about how we should choose our books we ready because what we read can put us on an adventure that could change our perspective on how we look on life. I believe that the most important thing to reading it the concenpt and your understanding of what you are reading and what message the author is trying to convey and tell us
ReplyDeleteI agree with this post because I'm the type of person that has a hard tine straying away from the types of books that I'm use to reading. I make quick judgements on books that don't initially appeal to me. I read a book that I never could imagine myself liking a couple of years ago called 'The Great Gatsby' and I ended really enjoying the novel. Drifting away from your norm is often a wise thing to do.
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