The Practice of Reading Good Books

Our modern world is gripped by the practice of instant gratification. Everything is being made faster, more efficient, and easier. Communication, information, and notifications are only seconds and a click away. It is no wonder then, as Corey Anton explains in his essay The Practice of Reading Good Books, that reading has degraded into some obscure form of information consumption instead of a diligent practice that is enjoyable and beneficial in and of itself.

In his essay, Anton offers the explanation for this degradation as a sort of cultural pitfall. If the classes students attend are focused solely on the memorization of facts and statistics and formulas and neglects the expansion of the individuals' intellect and knowledge of learning, then the practice of reading good books and spending the effort needed to digest them would be of little incentive. He suggests that the value of reading the texts, not simply the value of gaining the information they have in them, is not properly instilled in today's students.

A prevalent example of how little value is placed upon reading by today's students is the number of them who do not even bother to do the readings. In many classrooms, this practice is not severely hinder because of the fact that the information intended to be gained from the text will be provided in lectures. "Most [teachers], I suspect, feel a little uncomfortable [testing students over readings not discussed in class]" Anton speculates, bringing him around to his point that incompetence is far more expectable in today's society than laziness. If a student simply "didn't understand" the reading, no fault will be given as opposed to the student not attempting the reading at all. This allows students to simply "scan" texts for enough relevant information to convey his or her confusion. After all, the teachers' explanation is a far more accessible version of the information then the text itself.

Anton stresses repeatedly throughout his essay that the prevalence of "instant information access" is the leading cause for reading atrophy. In almost every aspect of today's society, the quicker, more efficient method is superior. This standard puts the process of reading good books extremely low on a student's scale of important practices. With the availability of information on the internet, a trip to the library is unnecessary. With the availability of SparkNotes, the slow, grueling process of reading a classic to understand its main point is completely unnecessary. "Difficult reading takes time" Anton states, and today's college student wouldn't eagerly invest such a valuable and limited commodity without the impression that is was well worth the while.

The essay closes with a list of the most valuable things gained from reading good books, according to Anton. Things such as an expanded vocabulary, a more diverse understanding of different thinking patterns, and an improved capability to dissect and synthesize information are all attested to the reading of good books. Perhaps with an increased awareness of the rapidly declining appreciation for good books and a more conscious effort to promote the tried and true practice of reading them, the worlds within their dusty covers will not be discarded or forgotten.