A History of Reading: A New Perspective

I began the book with hesitation; the title isn't exactly captivating. But once I got past the initial judgment, I was pretty   intrigued by what Manguel had to say. His universalization of reading is fascinating-- I never took into consideration exactly how necessary and vital reading material is in this world, not just for literature buffs or students, but for every possible genre of person--from astronomers to architects to musicians and beyond. He refers to reading as "the craft of deciphering and translating signs", which broadens the concept of reading to connect to language, culture and history. When he begins to delve into the timeline of reading, it's a bit overwhelming at first-- but he focuses on things I never paid much attention to, like the preference of verbal reading to silent reading in certain cultures, and things like how much of a privilege reading and writing were in the Middle Ages and Renaissance period (p. 71). The transformation of literature over the centuries is fascinating not only in the sense of how immensely language has shifted and evolved over the years, but also because of the cultural context surrounding the writing. So much attributes to the writings of a certain time and place; for example, the church used to hold much authority and precedence over the writings of its students: "The original texts--whether those of the Church Fathers or, to a far lesser extent, those of the ancient pagan writers--were not to be apprehended directly by the student but to be reached through a series of preordained steps." (77) The reading has made me appreciate both what intensity has gone into the great writings of the past centuries, and it has also made me appreciate the artistic freedom we are given today as writers as opposed to the strict methods used in ancient cultures. As far as Manguel's interpretation of this vast history, I love his well-rounded analysis of reading versus being read to and the benefits of hearing a story via someone else's tongue and inflections in contrast to absorbing the text silently. Overall, a very fascinating read (Sorry if this post is a little all over the place, there is a lot of material to cover!)