EconTalk host Russ Roberts welcomed back Doug Lemov, of Uncommon Schools, for a very interesting conversation about reading, and especially, reading rigorously. In his book, Reading Reconsidered, Lemov’s primary audience is educators, but as Russ notes, and as should be evident from their conversation, it has relevance far beyond the classroom.
How much do you read today, and do you prefer electronic reading to “real” books? How has the digital age- and your cellphone, in particular- changed your reading habits? Those of your children and/or students? Do you ever read aloud anymore? Share your thoughts on this week’s episode with us; we love to hear from you.
1. What does Lemov mean when he says that reading is “first among equals,” and to what extent do you agree?
2. What’s the last book you really struggled with? What did you gain from the experience?
3. What are Lemov’s “tricks” to use when someone is reading something that’s very challenging? Which of these tricks have you tried, and how successful were you? Are they any other suggestions you might add?
4. How did this episode influence the way you think about reading? Will you change your own reading habits after listening to this conversation, and if so, how?
5. Is reading a fundamentally individualistic or social pursuit?
READER COMMENTS
Lowell Smith
Dec 2 2016 at 12:39pm
I enjoyed this week’s podcast and am glad that you are ranging away at times from purely economic topics to other issues of society.
Keep up the good work!
Jonathan Spence
Dec 2 2016 at 1:35pm
Interesting podcast.
I am currently enjoying audiobooks*, but have been reading e-books for a number of years.
I don’t make notes in books so the e-book format is as good, if not better for me than paper. I note that paper still doesn’t have scalable fonts, takes significantly more space and is more difficult to transport in bulk.
I don’t indulge in “deep reading”, but do understand the joy that it can bring. However I’m not convinced that being able to puzzle out the references is a virtue rather than a form of entertainment and self-congratulation. The reason why Red Riding Hood / Little Red cap, a young maiden, is associated with the colour red is all very interesting and obvious when pointed out. But is it really that different than a “who done it” or other fun things authors do?
I immerse myself in a book when I read so in that sense I regard it as individualistic, but book clubs, radio discussions, conventions etc. indicate that it’s not that simple. It can be part of a social life as well.
*On the subject of audiobooks, they are a DIFFERENT media. Things that work on paper can work less well spoken. Things produced for the spoken word likewise can suffer when translated to print.
Luke J
Dec 2 2016 at 3:41pm
1) Learning requires imagination and imagination requires…reading? Maybe not.
2) “A Wrinkle in Time” by L’Engle. 2nd grade I refused to read it because of the micro-analysis req. by my reading teacher (think packets of worksheets). Picked it up again in 6th grade; what a gem!
3) See #2 above and epidode comment from “D”
4) I agree with much of what the guest offered and I do read aloud to myself and my kids. Would encourage Lenovo not to disparage macro-analyses
5) Social. There is no such thing as an individual.
Steve
Dec 5 2016 at 1:07pm
Excellent topic. Most teachers and parents don’t even know how important reading is and about the benefits discussed in this podcast. Post-1995, human resources don’t even consider a well read person about the job or industry for which a person is applying for.
JK Brown
Dec 6 2016 at 12:28pm
The last book I read that took effort, at least at first, was von Mises’ ‘Liberalism’. The struggle was to reform my thoughts so I didn’t apply the modern misuse of “liberal” when I read the word. It was beneficial in provoking thought on the topic. I now use “ironic liberal” when applying the term in the modern sense to Democrats, Progressives, and others on the Left.
Another writer I’ve found requires effort to read is Frederic J. Stimson. An article in Scribner’s Magazine in 1887 on ‘The Ethics of Democracy’ uses a complex syntax that requires effort for the modern mind. His later writings in the early 20th century are a bit simpler, but I have taken the following as one of my favorite complex sentences. The effort required to follow it to the end helps provoke thought on the subject. You would definitely get points off for a sentence such as that below in English class. And yet, crafted so well, the length of the sentence adds to the weight the topic implies.
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