Thursday, August 18, 2022

Thursday Ramble - Reading and Writing


Why do I read so much? Because I can. Something like 14% of the world's population are totally unable to read or write.  An estimated 32-million adults in the United States are functionally illiterate - unable to read and comprehend, unable to read understand and reply to basic questions on something like a job application.  

Because of the way my brain is wired, I learned to read without learning to spell.  This mystified teachers in our rural schools.  I didn't learn reading in the way they had been trained to teach it. We fought over this for a couple of years. But within a couple of years reading clicked for me, and the teachers tolerated my spelling, because I clearly I understood. One of the reasons my handwriting is terrible, was to cover up my spelling. When I started taking college classes I spent a semester working with an expert, who assured me what worked for me, worked, and taught me new ways to approach spelling (this was in the early 1980's prior to spell check.)  

I didn't really become a heavy reader until my 20s. I discovered a world of knowledge and entertainment between the covers of a book. 

Computers and spell check changed my world.  In the late 1980's I bought a Panasonic typewriter with spell check and about a 10 page memory.  As I recall it was about $400; a couple of weeks pay for me at the time, but it changed my life.  Moving on from there to computers I have become much more of a writer.  And the more I write, the fewer words end up underlined in red.  Some days I get to nearly 100% in spelling, but I don't worry about it.  

If you want to improve your writing, do two things, read more, and write more.  I learn from reading, new ideas, new ways of assembling ideas, new characters, or styles.  The more I write the more naturally my writing flows.  

I can think faster than my fingers can commit those thoughts to the page.  I can read faster than I can talk - I read about 50 pages an hour. My brain sometimes assembles thoughts in odd ways, and this ends up in convoluted sentences, that communicate the point, but sometimes with the wordiness of a victorian novelist.

I really should listen to recorded books.  I have over the years, but haven't for several years.  When I was in law school, the public radio station in Louisville broadcast the Radio Reader, at 9:00 PM each night, I would go to bed, set the radio to shut off in one hour, and fall asleep to the spoken word.  I remember not wanting to miss a minute of "The Perfect Storm."  A novel I probably wouldn't read, but so enjoyed listening to.    


12 comments:

  1. I don't enjoy audio books. I like to reread passages, plus my mind drifts sometimes. I have always loved to read.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't like the pricing structure for the major provider, back the cassette tape days I use to buy them used and play them on long road trips

      Delete
  2. Due to his eyesight, Carlos is getting into audio books, but I'm like Mitchell. I like to reread things and go back to things, and I like the process of opening a book and flipping the pages.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Reading has been a form of escape for me since I was six. I was anxious to learn what was the story behind the pictures. Still my favorite pastime. Crossword puzzles were a major boon in the learning words department, and I always passed spelling tests with flying colors (I'm going to look up that term one day). I seem to be losing words nowadays. I don't like audio books, never have. I've learned to enjoy Kindle books because I can adjust the print and read them at night without a lamp. One of my favorite smells is the aroma of a good used bookstore.
    Your mind is fascinating.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Most of my reading is on Kindle.

      Delete
  4. That's why I can't listen to audiobooks -- they lull me right to sleep! They're like one long bedtime story to me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I remember that one, not wanting to miss a word. I know there were others that I heard half a chapter of as I drifted off

      Delete
  5. I love to read but I think I might be the opposite of you. I tend to be a slow reader. I wonder if that is because I learned reading via phonetics. I tend to savor each word.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What book will I finish reading this week?

      Delete
  6. Good for you! Today I go to an independent book store and support this sort of thing. Audiobooks are good for the 19th century classic that may be challenging to read today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I started a Jane Austen book on tape on a long solo drive one time, I had to toss it out to stay awake.

      Delete