At the beginning of this essay, Yutang starts speaking about the differences between the mind of a person who reads and of someone who does not read. Lin show his point of view very cleary telling us how small can be the thoughts of someone who does not read can be when “His life falls into a set routine,” a non reader can be easily impressed by the world outside because, Lin says, “he only sees what happen in his immediate neighborhood.
Expressing a point of view as radical as comparing the mind of a person who frequently reads with another which does not read can be dangerous for an author. What I mean by saying “can be dangerous” is that he can be easily misinterpreted by the reader. Lin took the risk and, in my opinion he achieved his goal. It was since the very first paragraph that he captured my attention expressing an idea which I personally did not agree with at that moment. Lin says that reading expands our minds and our horizons, but also points out the non reader and describes them as someone who is incapable of having big thoughts, with a mind as a prison without an exit.
I am definitely not a frequent reader. I have read books that have caught me in a way that I cannot stop reading until I finished, but I do not consider myself a person with limited mind just because I do not spend my time reading many books every day. All my life I have felt an immense passion for traveling. I am so blessed because I have had the opportunity to travel a lot. When you travel, you not only cross the borders of your country, but you also give your mind the chance to see new scenarios. When I speak about traveling, I do not refer only to traveling for a week or two, but staying in the place for amount of time in which you can learn a little about the culture of the place you are. Being able to talk with someone who has been in the Second World War fighting for their country, or perhaps a survivor of the September 11 event that kind of stories are the ones that fill me. Listen from the mouth of a person’s experiences, the details and the feeling with which narrate his story is what I consider fascinating; as fascinating as people who enjoy reading describe it is to read a good book.
Lin confess how incredible it could be to travel to a thousand words by reading, “Such a change of environment is really similar to travel in its psychological effect. As a reader, reading something that he or she are interesting in makes them get involve in the story, somehow being part of the story they are reading. “The best reading is therefore that which leads us into this contemplative mood.
They are only a couple sentence about Lin’s opinion about the newspaper. He claims to the point that newspaper should not be consider reading because of the amount of people who are only reading to get informed instead of actually reading the value and details of the lecture.
It is amazing the way he gets to let us understand the power of reading, but he also knows very well how to be radical while expressing a point. “Time spent on newspapers I regard as not reading at all”. how can he write down that powerful sentence and make it public? There are people (me) who is actually studying to write articles; maybe not for the newspaper, but that is basically the work of a journalist. You never know, but what if one day I will want a newspaper to print my article. I think newspapers have been for many years ago a very important tool for us to know what is happening in the world.
“Hence I consider flavour or taste as the key to all reading. Lin confess. Reading when a reader feels like, and what he or she feels to read, will let them take out the best of that lecture. As Lin says if he or she claims to the “flavor” of a lecture then he will never forget what he or she read, and they will even start speaking different with sort of a “flavor” in the way the reader describe events and tells stories. But Lin add something interesting ” The most hygienic way of eating if, after all, eating what one likes, for the one is sure of the digestion; he talks about how schools have made so boring to kids to read. Reading should not be something that inspire a negative feeling in children.
Therefore I think he is completely right. In my opinion the 60% of people who does not read is because how forced they were in school to read something they never cared about. Reading something you are interested in its the opportunity to be seated in a place, but at the same time being everywhere; to create faces, landscapes, scenes, is your chance to travel without paying a single penny. In the other hand I think reading things we are no interested in is something we will never get rid of. School is a phase in life we have to pass, lucky you if you are positive and just face that phase with a positive attitude. Being in a denial of not reading is a mistake, and this essay is the perfect one to read if you are one of those.
We are all so different from each other, Lin try to make us understand “There can be, therefore, no boos that one absolutely must read . He says there are no books we need to read but instead maybe there is going to come the time a reader will need to read some a specific book. We all get different “flavor” of lecture in spite of the situation or mood we are going through. That is why Lin also writes about how can a reader can get different impressions of a book if he or she reads it in different periods of his/her life.
Elizabeth Scott is the only author who has managed to keep me glued to a book from the time you started until the end. The stories she tells and how she uses words and the way she described details make me create images in my head that perhaps look more real than the ones I can watch in movies. Elizabeth may not have received the award for the best writer or the best book in stores, but she is the only one that has made me read and not get bored in the way. We are so many people in this world that to find a book that appeals to all of us is impossible. So in my opinion they will never be enough books written. We all look for something different; probably we can have things in common, but there will always be something that differentiates us from one another.
After reading this essay I have been reminding myself how incredible it was while I was reading those three Elizabeth Scotts’ books. Now I am very curious about how it must feel to read those books again now that I’m in a relationship with someone unlike to one year ago that I was single. It definitely make sense the way you will interpret thing while you are in love, or mad, or may sad.
The way Lin expresses himself in this paragraph makes you breathless. He relates love at first sight with finding your favourite author. Lin show us examples of different famous Chinese philosophers and their feelings when finding that perfect writer who knows exactly what and when to say something. By reading books of your favourite author you will always feel incredible you will never stop reading cause you have found that person who knows the way you like details to be describe, and Lin share with us that when this happens “everything is right.
Lin wrote this essay mixing so many way of writing; he starts being so radical with his opinion, then talks about appearances, he also relates eating and flavor in food with the flavor we can get of a lecture and finally he ends up with this amazing relation he made between love at first sight and reading. Is he right about what everything he says since the beginning? I think yes, he just do not knew the perfect way of writing it. Reading is definitely an art. It is the beautiful way of a self-education in almost every aspect. The most amazing thing is that in my opinion, we do not need a talent to practice this kind of art; we just need to open our minds and start looking for that book that will have all of what we are looking for. Everyone should give themselves the opportunity to read even though they just keep thinking they do not like to read, but after they find something they are interested in I am sure this essay will totally make sense for them.
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” ― Dr. Seuss
