Lauren Lavecchia Comp. 1 8-23-11
The most beneficial way to read a book is to read between the lines. If the reader just skims through the words of a novel, they will not be able to possess the full knowledge the book contains. They must dig deeper than the surface, and read into the words. The reader will then better understand the point the author is trying to get across. In order to really absorb the information, an effective method I have personally used is highlighting quotes in the book which struck me as interesting or meant something to me. I used this method while reading Life Safari over the summer. I highlighted quite a few lines written by John P. Strelecky. One of favorites includes, “If we are always worrying about what is coming next, we sacrifice the chance to interact with everything that is going on around us. We can never get to the future, young Jack. When we arrive there, it is no longer the future; it becomes the present. So we can either enjoy life as it happens, or we can always be getting ready to enjoy it. (pg. 24)” This quote stuck out to me because Strelecky was able to put this thought into words so well, and I completely agree with him. By highlighting this quote, I was able to better understand the knowledge John P. Strelecky was intending to convey to readers. This quote is one of value when it comes to life lessons, and can be put to good use. The book-marking methods mentioned by Mortimer Adler can only increase the information intended to be learned by the reader. These methods allow you to connect with the author’s thinking process on a deeper level.
The quote you used from John P. Strelecky is also one of my favorite quotes from Life Safari. Coming into our first year of year of college there are so many thing changing in our lives. There is so much talk about our future and we get so caught up in the commotion we don't enjoy the actual experience. Now I'm not implying we shouldn't think about our future, but we need to enjoy the present while it is here. We need to soak up everything we can from every experience in our life. Amazing things happen everyday, but we're too caught up in everything else to see how amazing they are.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the reader has to dig deeper than the surface. If we are able to do this then we carry the books message for the rest of our lives. The simplest books can have an underlying message behind it and if we don't try to connect with the author/book then the reader may never truly grasp the books intentions. The quote you pulled on pg 24 can be applied to almost everyones lives. If someone is always getting ready to enjoy life, they'll never have to time to actually experience the joy the world has to offer. As it applies to reading, if the book is being read to get it over with then the book was never truly read.
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