Yes, I have found my lost love. That love is otherwise known as literature. It is so easy to take advantage of mindless activities, such as television and video games. Of course one can learn from these activities, but in my case they are for entertainment and comfort. I used to read. I used to read a lot, but with my hectic schedule I just found it easier to listen to television rather than think. It reminds me of Fahrenheit 451, and I’ve done away with the books in my world, and there are only walls of television that direct my very being (By the way, I saw Ray Bradbury at a Marie Callender’s.). Well, I won’t let that happen any longer because literature in my life has been revived, and now it is thriving. However, this would have not been the case if it were not for my current critical thinking course. My critical thinking class has enacted this chain reaction, and it was all because of the heavy workload.
I have never had such an intense work load, but that being said, I learned so much, and gained an important habit. This is the first course I have taken at my college that has actually challenged my thinking, or should I say critical thinking. It has expanded my way of thinking due to all the reading and writing. Every week I would dedicate many hours to reading alone. And I think that the reading was probably the biggest challenge for me in this class, but it has actually increased my reading pace. Normally, every week I, along with my classmates, would have to read at least 50 pages. And this is solid text. Reading a lot intimidated me at first. Since I am not a fast reader I was worried that I might not be able to keep up with the readings. I would come home from work, and be tired, and the last thing I would want to do is sit down with a book. I just wanted to sit down, and drown out my thoughts with television. I wanted to stare at a brightly lit television, and just listen to the electricity hum. But instead, I sat down, and read. At first, it felt like I was reading the same page forever. I would distract myself by thinking about my day, or mark the time on how long it took me to read a single page. However, after doing this week after week, I found that I was starting to enjoy it. I thought, “If I have to read this, then why not enjoy it and actually critically think about what I am reading”. So I started scratching at the text with my pencil, and looking up words I didn’t know. I was seriously into reading the class text. Another thing I would do was preview all the texts, and read the most interesting ones first. It was like a treat. I love desert most of all, so why not start with it? I started to actually appreciate reading again, and that’s when it hit me. I missed reading! I had been so busy with school and work that I forgot how great it was to indulge in literature. Not only did I rediscover my love for reading, but I increased my reading pace in the process.
This summer I actually have a list of books that I intend on reading. Firstly, I am going to read Charlotte Sometimes, which is an interesting book that The Cure was inspired by, secondly, Jane Eyre, and thirdly, Pride and Prejudice. It will certainly be nice to read for pleasure again since I will have the time. In fact, I am going to be reporting on my reviews of the books on this blog over the summer. For too long I have neglected and dismissed my love for literature. I have lost my love once, but I’m not going to lose literature again.
Can I give you some advice on your summer reading list? First of all, I commend you on reading Jane Eyre. It’s my favorite book of all time and, where Victorian literature can be a bit tedious and can tend to give off this “if you’ve read one, you’ve read them all” vibe, Jane Eyre is a classic pick. I actually read it for the first time in Jennifer’s Women’s Lit class and I absolutely adored it. It’s got Gothic elements and wonderful love. Please tell me what you think of this novel. It really is a hit and miss type of story. Now, as for Pride & Prejudice, I say really prepare yourself for what you’re getting into. Jane Austen is extremely pretentious and good Lord, does it translate into her fiction. I say give yourself a good few weeks to really sit down and go through the novel. If you give yourself the time the novel needs, I’ve every confidence you’ll love the novel.
ReplyDeleteI am so pleased to hear that you’ve had your love for literature reignited. It’s my belief that we learn who we are through two things: writing and literature. We learn who we are through reading about the tales of others. I say good luck in your future endeavors with everything and beyond all else, keep reading.