Re: reading

Angel M.Y. Lin (mylin who-is-at oise.on.ca)
Wed, 13 Dec 1995 15:23:35 -0500 (EST)

Dear Don,
I find your question very interesting... to share my experience:
I read certain materials in Chinese much faster than in English (e.g.,
novels, literature); I read certain other things much faster in English
than in Chinese (academic articles); I find empirical studies/reports of
a certin field much easier to read than theoretical expositions; I find
ethnomethodological works extremely difficult to read (especially
Garfinkel's writings :-)! but they are much more intelllectually
challenging and tend to stay in mind longer than straightforward empirical
reports... well, does that help? :-)
Angel

On Wed, 13 Dec 1995, Don Cunningham wrote:

> The recent thread on reading and several off hand comments
> (e.g., Jay not having time to write because of being busy
> reading, Angel's article summary based on key words, etc.)
> leads me to ask how the members of this list read.
>
> For my professional reading, it almost never happens unless I
> have a good reason - writing a paper, preparing for a class,
> trying to solve a problem, etc. I blush to admit how many books
> I've read and promptly forgot because they had no real impact
> on what I was doing at the time. And I groan to think how
> many books I have bought and never opened! Yet time and
> again when I am exercised about some theoretical issue or
> problem, an unsystematic search through my books yields
> insights beyond my anticipation. Some books I've struggled
> through with barely a clue as to the point they were trying
> to make. Yet some years later, reading for another purpose, the
> book seems like a message from the gods, the solution to a real
> conundrum. I almost never take notes as I read, but frequently will
> embed my current reading into whatever I'm writing. I don't
> use keywords as Angel seemed to but I certainly seem to approach
> the task with some key purposes in mind. Some folks I know keep
> a jopurnal of their reading and their responses. Can anyone
> report their experience with this sort of strategy?
>
> djc
>
>
> __________________
> Don Cunningham
> School of Education
> Indiana University
> Bloomington, IN 47405
>
> PH: 812-856-8316
> Fax: 812-856-8440
>
> Email: cunningh who-is-at ucs.indiana.edu
>
>
>