One half who graduate from college never read another book.
Reminds me of a college friend and fellow English major who admitted to me, and not shamefully, that she had never read a book all the way through college. Her boyfriend was also and English major. They took all their classes together, and he just told her about the books. I never understood the point. Why would one choose to be an English major, yet never read a book?
Quote #4 here.
Quote #3 here.
Weekly Geeks Quote #2 here.
Weekly Geeks Quote #1 here.
4 comments:
I was an English Lit major, and I rarely read any of the books assigned to me (and I graduated with honors). I would dissect the book by reading the last chapter first, then reading the first chapter, and then reading every 3-4chapters.
For me, I wasn't reading for pleasure. I was reading to pass a test, which meant plot and character development took a back seat to foreshadowing, literary allusions and analyzing narrative techniques.
NOW, I read for pleasure, but I can still hear those English Lit voices in my head screaming when I stumble upon literary trope!
=) Jill
http://mrstreme.livejournal.com
I dunno. I was an English major and history minor because I loved to read. The idea of earning a degree for something that was sheer pleasure made me love every English class I took. And I read all the books - and a few more that weren't assigned for my coursework, but were for other professors' classes.
Obviously that's not the case for everyone.
Yow. Jill's comment on reading to pass a test makes sense. Once schooling becomes all about measurement and good grades it loses something. Taking a book apart in order to "learn" about it may destroy the joy of reading. Maybe it depends on the teaching philosophy of the English program.
Bleah.
Since college I have read only a handful of books. But reading is hard for me. I've listened to several more in audio format, which works great for me.
Now I just need to start actually utilizing the various audio book sources that are available.
~Luke
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