Booking Through Thursday: What Is Reading, Fundamentally?

Booking Through Thursday

This weeks question suggested by: Thisisnotabookclub

What is reading, anyway? Novels, comics, graphic novels, manga, e-books, audiobooks — which of these is reading these days? Are they all reading? Only some of them? What are your personal qualifications for something to be “reading” — why? If something isn’t reading, why not? Does it matter? Does it impact your desire to sample a source if you find out a premise you liked the sound of is in a format you don’t consider to be reading? Share your personal definition of reading, and how you came to have that stance.

(Two weeks late for Reading is Fundamental week, but, well…)

Reading is that thing you do when your eyes move back and forth across some form of written words. That's my official answer! So with that definition novels, comics, graphic novels, manga (I think.. you know I'm not sure what manga is really... are there words?) and e-books would be reading. So are magazines, newspapers, and blogs. But audiobooks... now THAT would be listening. That's what we do with our ears, you see.

BUT... NO, it doesn't matter. They count, those audiobooks, because the words get into your head whether you read them or you listen to them.

HOWEVER... for some reason, I still haven't been converted to this listening form of reading. I need to be holding something, for the most part. I need to "see" the words, to "feel" the words.

Having said that, I'm still open to the possibility that audiobooks have their place, especially in the car, or while exersizing, or while crafting or whatever. But at this point, when I read, I want to lie (lay? I can never remember which one!) down and relax and really get involved in the book. So for me, that's what reading is all about.