Love Letter #78: Learning to read all over again

"Why you read" may lead to a different "how you read"

Writer/Reader

I don’t remember learning to read; nor do I remember not being able to read. I’m sure my mother must have taught me sometime before I went to school; however, that is odd also … she was not a reader; nor was my father. Except in my room, books didn’t have a place in my growing-up home.

My first advice on how to write better came in a four-classroom country school when Mrs. Baber (who taught 5th and 6th grades), wrote on an assignment: “There are better ways to tell a story … too many ‘and then’ transitions.” It hadn’t occurred to me, at that lofty age, that there were ways to write better. Since then, advice has flowed freely and soaked in slowly.

What was never heard … or maybe just tuned out … was how to read better, other than when my 9th grade teacher (town school) remarked that I should be reading “better” books. What did she mean? I was zooming through the fiction section of the Carnegie library, having started at “A.” Some I liked more than others, but what did better mean?

There are a zillion resources for learning how to write better … workshops, books, videos, Substacks, coaches, editors, story guides, card decks, AI, grammar checkers. Probably far more money is made teaching people how to write better than is made by people actually writing better … (whatever that might mean.)

On the other hand, resources for reading more effectively tend to focus on speed, vocabulary, or content choice. There are far fewer “how to read” articles, and they basically boil down to two words …

WHY? and ENGAGEMENT

As you may know, I’ve recently begun an experiment in reading (See LitSoup tab on my home page navigation bar for details about process and intentions.) This arose out of a deep dive into learning methods ushered in by my extreme frustration with trying to learn Spanish.

Long ago, I diagnosed myself as having a brain like a sponge … it soaked up everything quickly and then most leaked away almost overnight.

Speed reading: When I was 14, I heard about JFK’s “speed reading” and fell in love with the possibility. Maybe that’s where I got the idea that fast reading was good reading. Anyway, I identified as a fast reader and loved the dopamine rush of finishing a book … which also meant I could get another hit by starting the next book.

Yay! Finished a book! (dopamine)

Yay! Get to start a new book! (more dopamine)’

(And, all the stuff in between … just a hit-or-miss pin ball course.)

MY WHY? Somewhere along the way, however, I noticed that some people could actually tell me about a book they read last year … or last week. And, some could actually recall details, remember character names, quote passages, and apply insights. Why couldn’t I?

Spanish was my first real learning challenge and it didn’t go well. Several times it didn’t go well. As I turned to exploring effective learning methods, one message appeared repeatedly: reading and re-reading is not an effective learning technique.

Apparently it is all-too-easy to “shallow read,” which

Stephan Joppich

defines as “skimming a text without internalizing it” as opposed to his definition of “deep reading:”

“To deep-read is to crawl through the page into a different universe.”

Wow! That’s what I’m looking for … adventuring into a deeper connection with the world as well as life around me and to myself.

A couple of weeks ago, I titled my reading experiment “slow reading;” now, I think “deep reading” is a better description. And, so far, one of the biggest insights is how the process seems more like a conversation with the authors than just gathering information. There are five authors involved and I’ve taken the time to assemble light backgrounds on them … getting to know them almost as if we’re in the first stages of a friendship (although one is tuning in from a different plane.)

Joppich shares: “Nicholas Carr* writes in The Shallows,

‘Deep reading becomes a form of deep thinking.’”

Joppich suggests that deep reading needs to be a priority:

“So, if you really want to submerge into the pages of a book, here’s what I can recommend:

• Eliminate all other distractions. No music, no other people, no snacking. Just focus on reading. Forget about multitasking altogether.

• Set a timer for 30 minutes and commit to reading for that time. If you get distracted too often, start smaller and work yourself up. You’ll quickly notice how much your focus improves.”

Not all reading needs to be “deep;” however, if you want to feel that “crawling into a new universe” sensation, you need to engage with the author’s thoughts by reading deeply. Here’s another enticement from Joppich:

More information:

*

Stephan Joppich

Substack: The Bibliosopher’s Club

*Nicholas Carr Substack:

New Cartographies

Deep Reading: The Skill to Absorb Everything You Read by Stephan Joppich

… and for a special treat, read his Why We Will Always Feel Lonely

The Secret Psychology on Why We Love Completing To-do Lists, by Sara Davis at Workast

To understand more of what you read, actively engage with the text by asking questions, identifying the main idea, using context clues, looking for supporting details, summarizing key points, and considering the author's perspective; essentially, this means reading with a critical and thoughtful approach rather than passively scanning the words on the page.

Key strategies to improve reading comprehension:

• Pre-reading:

  • Scan headings and subheadings to get a general idea of the topic.

  • Consider what you already know about the subject to activate prior knowledge.

  • Formulate questions you want answered while reading.

• Active reading:

  • Read at a moderate pace, allowing time to process information.

  • Highlight key points, important vocabulary, and supporting details.

  • Annotate by writing brief summaries or questions in the margins.

  • Look for connections between ideas and concepts

• Critical thinking:

  • Question the author's assumptions and evidence.

  • Evaluate the author's perspective and potential biases

  • Compare and contrast information with other sources

• Post-reading reflection:

  • Summarize the main points of the text in your own words

  • Answer questions you posed before reading

  • Discuss the content with others to solidify understanding

Important factors to consider:

• Vocabulary:

  Building a strong vocabulary helps decode complex text and grasp nuanced meanings.

• Context clues:

  Use surrounding words and sentences to infer the meaning of unfamiliar terms.

• Text structure:

  Pay attention to how the text is organized (e.g., cause and effect, compare and contrast)

• Visual aids:

  Utilize diagrams, charts, and images to enhance comprehension