Struggling to Read

“Reading, done properly, is every bit as tough as writing….what I’m saying is, a reader must have talent…because even the most talented reader will find much of the land of literature tricky terrain…..the skills that it takes to write…are required to read. Readers fail writers just as often as writers fail readers. Readers fail when they allow themselves to believe the old mantra that fiction is a thing you relate to and writers the amenable people you seek out when you want to have your own version of the world confirmed and reinforced….To become better readers and writers we have to ask of each other a little bit more.”--Zadie Smith in "Fail Better"

My students are preparing to debate on this quote from an essay on writing fiction. I didn't intend to give it to them, but it shouted at me to pay attention. Is reading as difficult as writing? How do you read "properly"? Admittedly: on a first reading, I usually don't analyze sentences, line breaks, or parallelisms. I read to enjoy; I underline so that I can refer to the reading later. All that I read does not soak into my skin and change my perception--but it should! I'm trying to gain the talent of a reader.

Writing often involves creativity, gathering resources/references, organization, revision, time, and thoughtful consideration of a topic. Smith argues that these same skills are required for deep reading. I'm beginning to agree with her. To truly appreciate a piece, a reader must jump into the mind of the writer (as far as he or she is allowed/invited in). As one reads, ideas enter the mind that are new resources, which bring reference points as well as the allusions that are made as built-in references. A reader needs clarity of mind to understand the organization of another's ideas. A reader allows for revision of thought on the writer's part while opening his or her mind to revision. Reading is a way of expanding who we are and recreating ourselves. Reading demands time, time, time. Then more time.

I write this blog with specific purposes (some currently unknown). I want a commonplace book. I want to respond to the writing around me. I want to become a skilled reader. These thoughts on commonplace are an attempt (an essay, if you will) to synthesize, absorb, and give a "little bit more." I am a failed reader and writer, but I am improving.

Is reading more difficult than writing, though? Perhaps my students will convince me one way or the other.