So what have you been reading? Or,
like too many, are you caught up with twitter and facebook and email and cell phones
so that reading a book does not happen very often.
An article in the WSJ begins by
reporting of a book club in Wellington, New Zealand that meets once a week at a restaurant, settles in a cozy corner with
coffee or tea at hand, and spends an hour in silent, slow reading. The whole point of such an evening is
not to end up discussing, but simply reading. They deliberately select a corner
far away from the ringing and pinging of electronic devices, and the hour is
spent in reading their own selection of books, quietly.
Slow
readers list numerous benefits to a regular reading habit. It improves their ability
to concentrate, reduces stress levels, and deepens their ability to think,
listen, and empathize.
Reading fiction helps people understand
others' actions and beliefs, this is crucial in building relationships.
Yet
reading habits have declined in recent years. A Pew research study showed last
year about 76% of Americans 18 years and older said they read at least one book,
down from 79% in 2011.
In
my profession I did much reading; various reports, letters, study books,
especially the Bible, but I always found time for just reading a book. Often took notes, copied a striking phrase,
noted an excellent point, but I read.
So
if you go ahead and join a slow reading group, or start one, I pat you on the
back and say “Good wishes to that”.
“Reading makes a full man,
Writing makes an exact man.”
The
line is still true from Ben Franklin.
GPD 9/17/14
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