Thursday, May 29, 2008

Booking Through reading, fundamentally



What is reading, anyway? Novels, comics, graphic novels, manga, e-books, audiobooks — which of these is reading these days? Are they all reading? Only some of them? What are your personal qualifications for something to be “reading” — why? If something isn’t reading, why not? Does it matter? Does it impact your desire to sample a source if you find out a premise you liked the sound of is in a format you don’t consider to be reading? Share your personal definition of reading, and how you came to have that stance.

One very complex question. What I personally feel is reading, might not be true for the next person. All printed matter is not reading. I would say books that give me pleasure, stimulated my grey shells are what is reading all about. It can be in any form, be it novels, short stories, poetry, comics or graphic novels. I do draw the line at e-books and audiobooks. I do not thing that listening is reading. Nor do I find pleasure in e-books. I need to hold a book, clutch it, inhale it and savour it, if I so desire. So format does matter, as for as I am concerned.

Comics still give me a lot of pleasure. Especially Asterix and Tintin. I am yet to read graphic novels, though. I like to read poetry. All kinds of poetry, classics as well as modern. Both in academic point of view as well as for pure pleasure and sheer beauty of words. For me a book has to have a beginning, middle and an ending for it to be considered as reading.

To read something for knowledge is not really reading. It falls under the category of studying. If I read something in the field of medicines or technical knowhow, I consider it as enhancing my knowledge in that area. Reading? No way!

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