the slow reader conundrum in the digital age k.l. kranes
TRANSCRIPT
K.L. KranesWriting Reading Life
The Slow Reader Conundrum in the Digital Age
The beanbag chair crunched as I settled down inside it. Next to me, three girls lounged across eachother, limbs swinging with the youthful ignorance of personal space. Candy purple striped walls shotup from the National Book Festival stage above us.
Beneath a picture of fluttering books, JacquelineWoodson was speaking about when she was about theage of the three girls. She loved reading and learning. Butwhen she was a child, her teachers thought she wasn’tvery smart. Why? Because she read slowly.
Turns out, slow is smart. Woodson, a multi-award-winning poet and writer, attributes much of her successin work and life to her slow reading habit. Her wordssurprise me, mostly because I’ve never thought muchabout how I read. I read. I love books. Why does it matterif I read them slow or fast?
The two towers of books next to my bed, which seem togrow faster than Jack’s beanstalk, loomed in my mind.
I’m a writer. I’m a reader. How do I read slowly and still read all the books??!!
Later that week, with Woodson’s words simmering in my head, an article popped up on my newsfeed. It was called Skim Reading is the New Normal. The Effect on Society is Profound.
I clicked. And I read. I didn’t skim. I cringed.
The more I read, the more worry crept into my mind…
According to the article, “college students actively avoidthe classic literature of the 19thand 20th centuries becausethey no longer have the patience to read longer, denser,more difficult texts. ”
So, what? Kids don’t want to read Chaucer? Who can blamethem! Unfortunately, this is a symptom. The real problem:avoiding “deep reading” sacrifices critical brainfunctions.
Deep reading, also called slow reading, is the active processof thoughtful and deliberate reading carried out to enhanceone’s comprehension and enjoyment of a text. Skim readingis the opposite. It’s superficial.
“When the reading brain skims… we don’t have time tograsp complexity, to understand another’s feelings, toperceive beauty, and to create thoughts of the reader’s
own.”
-Maryanne Wolf
Why does it matter if students, and others, skim read? What’s at stake? Oh, nothing really, just thosepesky little abilities of comprehension, critically analysis and empathy.
The brain is a muscle. It needs to be flexed. Essentially, you’re never going to solve complex, real-world problems if you’ve been lifting two-pound metaphorical dumbbells. (Choice of dumbbellmetaphor intentional!)
And adults are not immune. As the article explains, the muscles of critical analysis we built ofthrough a lifetime of reading can weaken when we become junkies of the quick burst of information.One of the most essential characteristics of being human is our ability to think critically. Withoutit, what are we?
“The subtle atrophy of critical analysis and empathy affects us all. It affects our ability to navigatea constant bombardment of information. It incentivizes a retreat to the most familiar silos of
unchecked information, which require and receive no analysis, leaving us susceptible to falseinformation and demagoguery.”
-Maryanne Wolf
After finishing the article, a personal crisis bloomed inside me. Yes, I love to read. But I am askimmer! I’ve ceded book time to 280 character chunks on Twitter. I scroll through my news feedglimpsing headlines instead of picking up a book. When I do read, it’s not unusual for me to scanacross the page.
A fundamental question loomed in me: Am I reading wrong? Am I trading critical thinking for theexpediency of mass consumption?
As I settled down to ponder this, I looked over that tower next to my bed. The spines read The Wicked+ The Divine, Geekerella, Between the World and Me and The Art of War. It’s an odd variety that givesinsight into my reading habits.
Sometimes I want to think. Sometimes I want to be entertained.
Perhaps it’s not about reading wrong. Perhaps it’s about reading balanced. Sometimes it’s let thebrain skim on social media or certain books. But deeper reading should dangle on the other side ofthe scale.
The question I should be asking myself: is my scale balanced?
Honestly, I’m not sure. I think it’s probably not. Despite a healthy reading habit, I spend far too muchtime in the clutches of social media. But I do know there are certain types of books that draw me intodeeper, slow reading. There are books I don’t want to skim, where I want to get lost in every line andthink about every word.
I need to make sure more of those are on my nightstand.
Want to increase your deep reading? Here are 4 main categories of books that make me want toread more deeply, with some examples.
1. Poetry
2. The Classics
3. Modern Books With Complex Prose Language
4. Books with Complex Metaphors
What do you think of deep reading in the digital age? Are you worried for the future of humankind?
klkranesya
Author of the YA fantasy novel, The Travelers, and general hot mess. I love writing, reading andeverything in-between.
book list, books, classic, Poetry, reading, Reading List
deep reading, reading, reading in the digital age, skimming, slow reading
9 thoughts on “The Slow Reader Conundrum in theDigital Age”
1. bookbeachbunny
September 15, 2018 at 6:06 pm
I sometimes skim read and sometimes I blame the book when I do it. Like you aren’t holding myattention? This makes me wonder if I’m not concentrating or holding my attention. I also thinkpeople have so many options in this day and age and even with books it’s constantly onto the nextbig thing and if you want to keep up, you got to be fast. I should definitely try to correct myselfwhen the skimming starts.
klkranesya
September 17, 2018 at 11:52 am
I know. There are just so many books. I think skimming is totally fine for certain things. I thinkthe issue becomes when it’s the only way we read, I guess?
2. John Purvis
September 15, 2018 at 10:26 pm
Reblogged this on John’s Notes and commented: I think that this article brings up some good points. I have to admit that I find myself readingquickly through most books, though I don’t know that it is necessarily tied to the fact that I amreading eBooks.
I slow down when I am reading something that I either really enjoy, or which has a lot of detailthat I am trying to absorb. The detailed reading is mostly technical Web articles. The novels I enjoyvaries, but mostly they are really good SciFi Space Opera, a really good mystery or an excitingthriller.
How do you read?
3. Nicole
September 15, 2018
September 17, 2018 at 1:29 pm
From my personal experience, I think the reading format also has something to do with it. I findthat I am more likely to skim an article written on a screen instead of one on newsprint. I am morelikely to skim ebooks than paperbacks. I’d be curious to see whether or not others have this sameexperience.
And you asked who could blame kids for not wanting to read Chaucer? Me. I blame them. (Iwas also an English major, and I want to go back and read the complete and unabridgedCanterbury Tales, so I am probably not the average responder here…)
klkranesya
September 17, 2018 at 3:54 pm
It’s interesting you say that. In the article they talk about the tactile aspect of reading and howwe read differently (and likely retain more information) when we hold a book rather than onscreen. It’s all so fascinating.
Hahaha – I was journalism/English too. I could never get into Chaucer. But I hear you! Iwas the dork pretending not to love Shakespeare while secretly devouring every word!
Nicole
September 18, 2018 at 11:20 am
LOL, I guess I will have to admit that Chaucer isn’t for everyone. I didn’t pretend not tolove Shakespeare, though. I let my nerd flag fly on that one.
klkranesya
September 18, 2018 at 2:42 pm
hahaha – that’s a good thing! If only I was so self assured as a teen!!
Nicole
September 18, 2018 at 5:45 pm
It helps that I was surrounded in high school by other AP English students, and we wereall nerds, so I didn’t stand out.
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