Meg's review of Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain
Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain by Maryanne Wolf
Reading is not a natural function of the brain. It has taken humankind over 2000 years of neuronal recircuiting to learn to read. This book is a user-friendly look at the cognitive miracle that allows humans to make marks and then interpret those marks so that we share some meaning. Reading as meaning-making necessity is the object. There is one whole section of this book that deals with dyslexia and the fact that not everyone finds reading "easy." I deal with students all day long who don't like to read because it is hard. They are not lazy or stupid or unwilling; they just need to have someone help them find the switch to turn the light on. I love this book. It combines the best I can ask for in terms of empathetic and scientific functions about a subject matter for which I have great love. Anyone who wants a cogent, intelligent, heartfelt look into the miracle that is reading will enjoy this book.
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