Reading: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #600

by Belinda Jack

Today many people take reading for granted, but we remain some way off from attaining literacy for the global human population. And whilst we think we know what reading is, it remains in many ways a mysterious process, or set of processes. The effects of reading are it can be informative, distracting, moving, erotically arousing, politically motivating, spiritual, and much, much more. At different times and in different places reading means different things.In this Very Short Introduction Belinda Jack explores the fascinating history of literacy, and the opportunities reading opens. For much of human history reading was the preserve of the elite, and most reading meant being read to. Innovations in printing, paper-making, and transport, combined with the rise of public education from the late eighteenth century on, brought a dramatic rise in literacy in many parts of the world. Established links between a nation's levels ofliteracy and its economy led to the promotion of reading for political ends. But, equally, reading has been associated with subversive ideas, leading to censorship through multiple denying access to education, controlling publishing, destroying libraries, and even the burning of authors and their works. Indeed,the works of Voltaire were so often burned that an enterprising Parisian publisher produced a fire-proof edition, decorated with a phoenix. But, as Jack demonstrates, reading is a collaborative act between an author and a reader, and one which can never be wholly controlled. Telling the story of reading, from the ancient world to digital reading and restrictions today, Belinda Jack explores why it is such an important aspect of our society.ABOUT THE The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Books About Books, Literature, World History

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Belinda Jack is Fellow and Tutor in French at Christ Church, University of Oxford. She features regularly in the press and media thanks to the popularity and insight of her published works, including books such as The Woman Reader, George Sand: A Woman’s Life Writ Large and Negritude and Literary Criticism: The History and Theory of "Negro-African" Literature in French.

Professor Jack obtained her D.Phil. in Negritude and Literary Criticism at St John’s College, University of Oxford in 1989, having earlier obtained a degree in French with African and Caribbean Studies from the University of Kent. Her academic career over the past twenty years has been at Christ Church, University of Oxford, where she is an ‘Official Student’ (Fellow and Member of the Governing Body) and Tutor in French. Her main interest lies in French literature of the 19th and 20th centuries.

As well as her five books, Professor Jack is widely published through her many articles, essays, chapters and reviews. Her recent articles and reviews have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Literary Review, Times Literary Supplement, Times Higher Education Supplement, BBC History Magazine and Littérature. She is a regular on the BBC and international radio and television, as well as a frequent speaker at literary festivals throughout the British Isles and beyond.

In 2013 Professor Jack was appointed the Gresham Professor of Rhetoric.

Reviews

[Oleksandr Golovatyi · Rating 5 out of 5]

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Best notes:

"Reading can have myriad effects on us. These can be frightening, spiritual, emotional, erotic, motivating, entertaining, informative, and enlightening—and so much more."

"Mostly we think of reading as a process of decoding written and digital material"

"Reading is both a physical and mental activity. It stimulates neurological pathways in ways which remain to some extent a mystery, despite sophisticated methods of brain imaging. Physically, or more accurately physiologically, the eye (or finger in the case of Braille) has to ‘see’ (or feel), identify, and recognize the printed words."

"The eyes are involved in various movements, first: fixation (the eyes dwell), then inter-fixation (the eyes move from one point of rest to another) and return sweeps (when the eye travels backwards and forwards)."

"Spans of recognition are the expert reader’s ability to take in large groups of words at one go."

"Reading is also a highly complex activity requiring an understanding of heterogeneous linguistic phenomena, including speech sounds, spelling, and grammar. It has been argued that it is not monolithic (singular and straightforward) but rather a creative process which reflects the reader’s attempt to find a particular meaning, or meanings, within the strictures of language."

"Reading is the result of a slow assimilation of skills under the direction of patient teachers (see Figure 5). It begins with sounding words out and learning how to make sense of them, then sentences, and finally what we might call the ‘global meaning’ of a text."

"Marcel Proust, in his essay On Reading (1905)"

"The Industrial Revolution, from the late 18th century on, brought changes to reading. Printing processes developed further, in particular typesetting. Friedrich Koenig (1774–1833) developed a printing press powered by steam. The first commercial unit was bought by the Times of London in 1814. It could print 1,100 copies per hour, which was a very significant improvement on hand-operated presses."

"Reading is inextricably bound up with writing, and writing with speech and rhetoric."

"We read for pleasure or to appreciate beauty; we read for reading’s sake."

"Cavallo, Guglielmo, and Chartier, Roger (eds), A History of Reading in the West, trans. Lydia G. Cochrane (Oxford: Polity Press, 1999)."

[Jason Ray Carney · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting VSI about several facets of reading. There is a brief historical survey of the origins of reading and print culture, with a historical rather than anthroprlogical perspective/emphasis. There are chapters on the history of print culture and how it changed reading practices (e.g. verbalizing manuscripts for groups or reading silently in solitude). Then there is a chapter about modern reading. There is a chapter about “forbidden reading,” which considers the recurring theme of censorship in several cultures (the Roman Catholic Index, the Nazi book burnings, censorship in modern China and Iran). Finally, there is a chapter about “pluralities,” which considers the future of reading in our digital milieu. Unlike my favorite VSI’s, this one hews closely to reportage and doesn’t speculate. I would have enjoyed a more theoretical approach. Also, the neurobiology of reading was given short shrift, I think. I am very interested in that and have read about the history of print elsewhere. Always, though, I must remind myself that these VSI’s are for whetting the appetite and inspiring future (and deeper) reading.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing a hundred-odd page introduction to the topic of "reading" must be a tricky task. What to include? Or perhaps, what to leave out? As well as the history and physiology of reading: readers, writers, writing, printing, publishing, types of texts, critical theory, translation, censorship... This "Very Short Introduction" attempts to cover all of these areas which is, I suppose, admirable—but the result feels like ChatGPT had been let loose on Wikipedia with the search terms above and a strict word limit. [I'm absolutely not suggesting that this is how the book was written, but this is how it reads.] The first chapter is the worst of anything in the nineteen VSI volumes I've read so far: non sequitur after non sequitur. Things get a bit better as the book goes on, and there is plenty of interesting stuff to be found here - I knew nothing about the 18th-century female readers mentioned, for example - but overall Reading: A Very Short Introduction is not much more than a loosely-organized collection of factoids.

[Ipsita Saikia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a book! I don't know how I didn't know a series called "A very short introduction" existed till I walked into the Oxford Bookstall at World Book Fair, Pragati Maidan (so glad they still exist in the era of digitization of almost everything!)! The history of how reading came to be, from cave paintings to reading in secret, in fear of being punished, to reading in silence, reading aloud for others to reading with others in a club/classroom/library and finally becoming a compulsory life-skill deciding a country's economy. It blew me away how an every day routine thing that we do can have so many layers to it. Really enjoyed the entire book! I would definitely recommend for all the curious readers out there. I am definitely getting my hands on more topics from this series!

[Allison Tsui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clearly written, no nonsense introduction. Can use as a guide to reach further readings on the subject

[Jay Rothermel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jacks gives us a brief survey of who, what, where, when, and how we read. Or are not allowed to read. Chapters are touched by a breath of historical context, but heavy lifting on that subject will have to be sought elsewhere.

Excerpt:

[....]Reading is inextricably bound up with writing, and writing with speech and rhetoric. Speeches, and anything that is written, are written for a purpose. That’s why there is an intimate and fascinating relationship between rhetoric and reading. Plato famously defined rhetoric as the ‘art of enchanting the soul’. And this idea of magic or enchantment accounts for the suspicion often associated with it. Today rhetoric is mostly used as a critical term associated with political spin and empty promises. The derogatory meaning implies an eloquent, elegant, or ornate use of language, calculated to persuade—irrespective of the truth. Used pejoratively it is language characterized by artificial, insincere, or ostentatious expression. While the derogatory meaning only comes into the language in the 16th century, suspicion of rhetoric has a longer history. It was in 5th- and 4th-century bce Athens and in 1st-century Rome that the idea of codifying persuasive language into an ‘art’ was first conceived. Cicero’s manual On Invention (84 bce) is a handbook for orators. It was originally made up of four books, but only two have survived. Cicero is not uncritical of the potential risks of rhetoric. At the same time he regards the discipline as contemporaneous with the beginning of civilization....

[Ryo · Rating 4 out of 5]

「閱讀主要是建立聯繫，收穫知識累積知識，而不是一個在虛假中辨別真理的批判過程。」

本書主要在講閱讀(這個行為)的歷史。不是在告訴大眾閱讀的樂趣或是閱讀指南，更多的是閱讀從古至今對世人的影響。

內容大致上分成閱讀是什麼?、古希臘羅馬時期的閱讀、手抄本和印刷術的歷史，焚書以及和閱讀相關的事。總而言之，就是一系列閱讀演變的過程。

而究竟什麼是閱讀?
我們大多數人將閱讀視為在理所當然不過的事，就跟平常看電影追劇一樣，而當我們指導他人閱讀的時候，才會意識到閱讀這個行為是一連串複雜的過程。雖然現在關於腦科學的技術發達，但閱讀如何刺激我們的神經網路，仍是未解之謎。
我們每一個人對於所讀文本的詮釋，未必與另一個人相同，這也是閱讀的奇妙之處。

在探討了什麼是閱讀之後，作者講述古希臘羅馬時期的閱讀，當時多為口述文學，皆為只聽不讀。學術圖書館也是古羅馬文化的特色之一，有些藏書還是戰利品。
直到造紙術的進步和印刷機發明後、開始將閱讀推廣給更多的群眾，宗教相關書籍為普通人最常閱讀的類型。

閱讀如何隨著印刷術的出現而改變，是個耐人尋味的問題。

工業革命後為閱讀帶來了更多的變化。報紙誕生了，讀者廣為流傳，也帶動了後續的發展，書這時也進入了鄉村地區，而這群讀者以閱讀小說為大宗。 小說的出現，讓閱讀不再是資訊、靈感或是娛樂的來源，而是談話和討論的催化劑。
小說的特別之處在哪? 在於它的現實主義，尤其是人類欲望和行為中不太討喜的方面，成了該體裁重要的一部分。某方面來說，小說促成了自我意識的崛起。

書中幾個讓人印象深刻的地方:
1.歌德的作品-《少年維特的煩惱》這本小說所展現的奉獻精神，讓當時不少青少年讀者受到影響，導致失戀就模仿主角尋死。後來的精神病學家也證實，「維特效應」(自殺模仿)是存在的，也證明了小說的險惡力量，而這和作品如何被讀者解讀有關，並非故事本身。

2. J．K．羅琳和她的筆下人物哈利波特也受到宗教裁判，被控為異端。😂 控訴原因為宣揚巫術，加上違反聖經的價值觀，以至於這本風行全球的系列小說成了基督教基本教義派焚燒的對象。

[Ivan Monckton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent short book that covers the subject of reading in a very thorough way, from a host of angles. What really struck home to me, a part time bookseller, is the fact that books as we know them have existed for such a minute part of humans’ existence, and the ability to read by the majority is less than two lifetimes old!

[Norhan Rafat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting,the content is very rich but i found it quite boring.I loved the writer focused more about the influence of women in writing and their reading habbits that my next book will be about Sappho.

[Evenlotus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading is not only a simple input, it is an integration of a reader's previous knowledge, the place he/she is in and his/her past experience. Reading classics is like talking to someone who passed away long ago. He/She takes your hand and says to you "Let's me show you what it's like..."

[Leena Althekair · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the end, I DNF this at 20%. It was too academic. I shelved it with my other academic books for one day. Hey, I might decide to pick it up later.

Overall is pretty interesting. Does NOT qualify as a very short introduction AT ALL.

[İbrahim Şamil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Konuya ilişkin giriş seviyesinde, akademik olmayan bir kitap. Kimi yerlere açıklayıcı notlar eklenseydi, Türkçe okuyanlar için çevirisi daha kıymetli hale gelebilirdi. Bu “Kılavuz” serisinin ebadı, kâğıt kalitesi ve punto büyüklüğü çok sevimli, insan elinden bırakmak istemiyor.

[Ainsley Jeffery · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Reading allows for a transcendence of the self, a new sense of belonging in time and space and, most contentiously, a critical perspective on the society to which the individual belongs.”

“We read for pleasure or to appreciate beauty; we read for reading’s sake.”

[Helen Geng · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read February 2022

NYPL book

[Matt Beaty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting history of reading, worth the quick read

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

interesting stuff but wasnt what i expected and wasnt mind blowingly new info

[baaaniee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Elle Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great topics and side stories but I felt that this book lacked depth and was exceptionally dry.

I’m glad that I read this book and think that it’s served as a good index for ongoing research.