My Dad asked me the other day, “Why did you have to go to
the library? Why aren’t you just reading
on your new iPad?” This made me think of
the new literacies of today. While I do
read ebooks downloaded from the library website for 10 days at a time and they
are very accessible when reading during transition times, I also enjoy a paper
copy of a book once in a while. When
will this trend change? Will the next
generations be strictly ebook readers, placing virtual bookmarks, and sliding a
finger or tapping a screen to “flip” backwards to reread? Do we gain more knowledge or pleasure from
reading an ebook?
While reading Carla Neggers “Declan’s Cross” an FBI thriller
with a little romance thrown in, I thought about how I sometimes read too fast
to comprehend. Just so you know, it is a
hard copy version, found while browsing through the shelves of the library
instead of a computer screen. I have been pleasure reading right before bed
because it gives my mind something to think about other than the stress of
life. I’ve noticed that I go in and out
of engagement with the book. One minute
I am reading along and connecting it with my prior knowledge of the story and the
next I am thinking about what is going on in my life while still reading the
words. I have to stop and track
backwards to find where I stopped paying attention to the meaning. Meanwhile the book is falling out of my hands
or I have to switch positions to see the left page or the right page. I wonder if this is how a struggling reader
reads when they know the words but cannot retell the story because they don’t
know the strategy of going back and rereading?
My question is, is it harder or easier to focus on the
meaning of the text when you are reading before bed or in the afternoon? Is it
harder or easier to focus on the meaning of the text when reading an ebook or
paper text? Is it harder or easier to
focus on the meaning of the text when you have to stop and look backwards?
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