Like dying, everyone reads alone
The best
readers are obstinate. They possess a nearly
inexhaustible persistence that drives them to read,
regardless of the circumstances they find themselves
in. I’ve seen a reader absorbed in Don Quixote while
seated at a noisy bar; I’ve witnessed the
quintessential New York reader walk the streets with
a book in hand; of late I’ve seen many a reader
devour books on their iPhone (including one who
confessed to reading the entire Lord of the Rings
trilogy while scrolling with his thumb). And millions
of us read newspapers, magazines, and blogs on our
screens every day—claims that no one reads anymore
notwithstanding.
What each of these readers has in common is an ability to create solitude under circumstances that would seem to prohibit it. Reading is a necessarily solitary experience—like dying, everyone reads alone—but over the centuries readers have learned how to cultivate that solitude, how to grow it in the least hospitable environments. An experienced reader can lose herself in a good text with anything short of a war going on (and, sometimes, even then)—the horticultural equivalent of growing orchids in a desert.
Mandy Brown is a web designer who understands reading behaviors, and deliciously writes about them -- from A List Apart.
What each of these readers has in common is an ability to create solitude under circumstances that would seem to prohibit it. Reading is a necessarily solitary experience—like dying, everyone reads alone—but over the centuries readers have learned how to cultivate that solitude, how to grow it in the least hospitable environments. An experienced reader can lose herself in a good text with anything short of a war going on (and, sometimes, even then)—the horticultural equivalent of growing orchids in a desert.
Mandy Brown is a web designer who understands reading behaviors, and deliciously writes about them -- from A List Apart.