"We are merely the stars' tennis balls" - Webster

When I first began reading Maguel's A History of Reading, I was almost bothered by the extreme presence of repetition and continued to find myself saying "get on with it". However, I soon came to understand that Manguel's deep-seated passion for books and his immense knowledge of texts explained a necessity for his methods of writing. Also, as I read on I found an enjoyable sense of humor and wit in his descriptions. The quote I used for my title is just one of  the many highlights made in my copy of this book. His renditions of reading made me think about how it came to be and how it has impacted human nature and culture in ways I never had before. 

There was one point that I did not particularly agree with, though. Near the beginning, he explains that reading is being alive because you are learning life experiences through other characters. Although I think this can certainly happen, I do not think it is as effective as actually going through those experiences. Also, I do not think that reading, mainly solitary reading, is beneficial because it takes you from the real world and creates for you a fantasy world, hence Manguel explaining how as a child, he "believed in sorcery" and "prepared [himself] for encounters with ghosts, with death, with talking animals, with battle" (pg. 10). I do think, however, reading instills a greater sense of imagination that can be maintained long after childhood. But the issue of reading by oneself only is a concerning one because it implies absolutely no social interaction and that is essential to learning and living. 

The idea of questioning how we came to be able to read is one that I could not really grasp. In fact, as I was reading about it, I started to be unable to decipher some words because I had no answer to any of Manguel's complex questions.Yet, I was able to learn a great amount about speaking, writing, and then reading that has evolved over the years. 

The best idea I found in this entire reading assignment was based off of a quote by Phaedrus. It goes "The painter's work stands before us as though the paintings were alive, but if you question them, they maintain a most majestic silence. It is the same with written words; they seem to talk to you as though they were intelligent, but if you ask them anything about what they say, from a wish to know more, they go on telling you the same thing over and over again." I think this quote simply ties up the ideas Manguel makes about reading. It concludes that memorizing words are not enough, it is relating to them through all of the senses. It is through a silent connection and conversation with the words that makes them real. The reader is the painter, allowing the words to be shaped whichever way they desire.

Intro to Erin

To start, I enjoy wit and humor, hence the title of this blog. That would probably be the most important thing I could say about myself. Second is that I love literature and writing. My fortes are poetry and short stories, however I hope to publish my own novel one of these days. That would explain why I chose to become an English Education major. I chose the education part so that I could have some spare time to write and also, because I've always enjoyed school and I guess I just never want to leave. One of my favorite things in this world is my one-eyed Chihuahua named Skippy. Another is my Kindle (one of the most useful electronics I own, even more so than my cell phone). I suppose that's the basics.