John Lark
09-28-2009, 04:55 PM
Hello,
If you're anything like me, then you probably read books quite regularly, and you probably read more than one at a time; you're pretty tall, you're called John, and you enjoy early morning walks across brightly lit, dew embellished meadows, around late July, especially when there are flagrant and ornate flowers to pick.
Well John, the following assorted fragments from random places (I think most were actually discovered in windmills), you may just find to be quite intriguing, or, if tempestuous waters permit, even of some use.
It is never sensible to read more than one novel at a time, particularly if these novels happen to be rather large, as these tend to be quite uncomfortable to hold, and furthermore laborious on the eyes; it is even less sensible if these novels are also fairly long, somewhat engaging, and are, respectively, filled with a tumult of events -- The mind can only concentrate on so many things, and when it concentrates on certain things, it often forgets about other things, especially when these other things are similar to those initial things. (See Hume’s An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding)
The longest consecutive interval one should spend reading a single book should be no more than five hours. Beyond this point, or around this point, the content of the book begins to submerge into the subconscious, and one will quickly find oneself repeating character’s names, distinguished locutions, and sorts, in one’s mind, without any volition of one’s own.
Don’t be afraid to take pauses for thoughts and recollections in the middle of sentences; a pause for thought can hardly be called a pause at all (-- in other words, it is well worthwhile).
Reading too much is bad for you
Too much is precisely that quantity which is excessive
What is in excess is a contingent truth; and thus, is subjective
Know what is in excess for you
Reading a book is like climbing a mountain; it is done best with great care, precision, and ardour, but even more importantly, with regular breaks. (It helps if the mountain is rather small, has a well constructed route, and exhibits a memorable view at its peak)
Certain skills are compatible with multitudinous and multifarious disciplines; reading, as such, is one of them; and even in the limited confines of literature, there is the novel, the play, the poem, the essay, the short story, &c. in which it is able to freely indulge itself – Variety is a beautiful thing, because choice is a beautiful thing, because freedom is a beautiful thing.
The beauty of poems, amongst other things, lies in their nature of often being quite short, and though ‘short’ is often followed by ‘sweet’, in this instance, short is sweet. Now, with the pace of modern life being what it is—the busyness of work, the numerous and mindless leisure activities, the increased speed of transport—most people just haven’t got the time for longer mediums of text; which is reason enough for poetical adherence. But moreover, even for the more studious reader, they offer the perfect break from and between larger and more prosaic works; be they novels, philosophical tracts, text books, or anything else.
Don’t like poetry? There’s no need to worry, the innate magnoliophyta seed will indubitably grow in time; all it takes is some well nourished soil and a modest degree of exposure.
That's all I could gather for now; criticisms of the above and further such advice are welcome, though, in your cases, there is license to be as particular and as specific as you like.
If you're anything like me, then you probably read books quite regularly, and you probably read more than one at a time; you're pretty tall, you're called John, and you enjoy early morning walks across brightly lit, dew embellished meadows, around late July, especially when there are flagrant and ornate flowers to pick.
Well John, the following assorted fragments from random places (I think most were actually discovered in windmills), you may just find to be quite intriguing, or, if tempestuous waters permit, even of some use.
It is never sensible to read more than one novel at a time, particularly if these novels happen to be rather large, as these tend to be quite uncomfortable to hold, and furthermore laborious on the eyes; it is even less sensible if these novels are also fairly long, somewhat engaging, and are, respectively, filled with a tumult of events -- The mind can only concentrate on so many things, and when it concentrates on certain things, it often forgets about other things, especially when these other things are similar to those initial things. (See Hume’s An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding)
The longest consecutive interval one should spend reading a single book should be no more than five hours. Beyond this point, or around this point, the content of the book begins to submerge into the subconscious, and one will quickly find oneself repeating character’s names, distinguished locutions, and sorts, in one’s mind, without any volition of one’s own.
Don’t be afraid to take pauses for thoughts and recollections in the middle of sentences; a pause for thought can hardly be called a pause at all (-- in other words, it is well worthwhile).
Reading too much is bad for you
Too much is precisely that quantity which is excessive
What is in excess is a contingent truth; and thus, is subjective
Know what is in excess for you
Reading a book is like climbing a mountain; it is done best with great care, precision, and ardour, but even more importantly, with regular breaks. (It helps if the mountain is rather small, has a well constructed route, and exhibits a memorable view at its peak)
Certain skills are compatible with multitudinous and multifarious disciplines; reading, as such, is one of them; and even in the limited confines of literature, there is the novel, the play, the poem, the essay, the short story, &c. in which it is able to freely indulge itself – Variety is a beautiful thing, because choice is a beautiful thing, because freedom is a beautiful thing.
The beauty of poems, amongst other things, lies in their nature of often being quite short, and though ‘short’ is often followed by ‘sweet’, in this instance, short is sweet. Now, with the pace of modern life being what it is—the busyness of work, the numerous and mindless leisure activities, the increased speed of transport—most people just haven’t got the time for longer mediums of text; which is reason enough for poetical adherence. But moreover, even for the more studious reader, they offer the perfect break from and between larger and more prosaic works; be they novels, philosophical tracts, text books, or anything else.
Don’t like poetry? There’s no need to worry, the innate magnoliophyta seed will indubitably grow in time; all it takes is some well nourished soil and a modest degree of exposure.
That's all I could gather for now; criticisms of the above and further such advice are welcome, though, in your cases, there is license to be as particular and as specific as you like.