I'm a Bad Reader

I'm a bad reader.  I'm not trying to be self deprecating here, it's simply the truth.  We tell the kids, "good readers: 1) visualize, 2) make predictions, 3) make inferences, 4) summarize, 5) figure out the meaning of unknown words etc."  I'm feeling a little like Joaquin Phoenix's whiny character in the beginning of Gladiator, "As I read the list I knew I had none of them..." 

I could probably blog about how I neglect almost everything on that list.  But I think my most embarrassing offense, is número uno: visualizing.  I just barely picture stories in my mind   It's embarrassing to admit it, because if I'm not really visualizing, what in the world is going on inside my head?  I'm following what's going on.  I understand it.  But during a dialogue I'm not picturing characters in a particular setting, nor their facial expressions, body language etc.  For me, it's more like putting your ear to a wall and eavesdropping on a conversation taking place in the next room. 

And if it's a scenery description, you can forget it.  You might as well be Women's Day magazine because I want nothing to do with you.  I am one step away from skimming at that point.  I abandoned Grapes of Wrath six months ago because Steinbeck spent the first three pages describing the scenery of dust bowl ravaged Oklahoma.  I started it twice and both times I wanted to sleep after three pages.  There must be better ways to start a book, Steinbeck.  Is it the worst opening chapter of any classic book?  (And yes, I am aware that my criticizing Steinbeck is a little like my 6 year old nephew giving Pujols batting tips.)

I'm realizing however that I hate scenery descriptions because I'm a bad reader.  If I'm not taking time to visualize the setting then of course scenery descriptions are worthless to me.  No wonder I'm skimming.  I'm like a six year old saying, "Yeah, yeah, what happens next?!"  Could be why I love Hemingway so much.  He never would have described scenery for three pages to open up a book.  There would be some witty dialogue and then everybody would have had a delicious cocktail of some sort.

So if I'm getting into the spirit of this assignment I've got to change, I must dive into scenery descriptions and mentally create fully developed physical attributes of my characters.  I gotta tell you though, it's hard.  I'd like to say I've made this choice to visualize and suddenly I'm the Einstein of Visualization.  But it's like any life-long habit you try to change: in the beginning it is continual effort. Conscious choice after conscious choice.  Nearly 30 years of lazy reading isn't going away because I'm a reading teacher, and I don't want to be a hypocrite.
  
My first conscious choice to visualize was in The Island of Dr. Moreau.  The main character was in a cave surrounded by half animal/half human creatures of various types. They began rhythmically chanting their 10 commandments in some sort of religious ceremony.  I picked a hell of a time to start visualizing.  I started think about the heat coming from the breath of the hog man standing inches from him.  It was such a powerful experience that I had to stop reading.  I mean imagine going from a black and white TV, to an HD, IMAX, 3D, digital surround sound theater. It was a bit jarring.  I wondered, "Is this what I've been missing the whole time?  Can what I was watching before even be considered TV?  Is everyone else's TV this good?" 

I've found, however, that part of me immediately resists this new habit regardless of my pleasure in the experience.  For one, it makes reading much slower.  I'm not use to simultaneously reading and deeply visualizing. It feels like the old, "rub your belly, pat your head" challenge.  I can feel the new brain muscles beginning to develop and it's exhausting.  My visualizing stamina is capable of about one lap around the track right now. 

The task master voice in my head doesn't help either.  He rushes in like a football coach shouting at players taking too long at the water fountain, "Daniel!  Lets get back on pace! 25 books in 9 months aren't happening while you are wasting away in Dr. Moreauville!   You want to wear your wife's wedding dress to work Daniel1?!"

I'm doing my best to push through the mental exhaustion and the annoying coach.  Last night, I read about Teddy Roosevelt as a young boy reading Rob Roy with his family by candle light, in Scotland.  It was such a sweet and peaceful image.

A comfortable chair, a perfectly quiet room...and a good book.  It can be so sweet, can't it?  

And what about you, dear readers? Do you have well-developed pictures of your characters in your mind?  Is the scenery just right?  How are you at visualizing?  Are you a good reader?!

Thanks, as always, for making it this far.

Happy reading,

-td

1. A student suggestion for Mr. Daniel if he did not complete his 6 books this quarter.