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A review by rossbm
Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain by Maryanne Wolf
2.0
(read as physical book)
What's it about?
It's not about Proust nor about squids. It's mainly about the different parts of the brain that are involved in reading, and how people learn to read. Almost a third of the book is about dyslexia. About a quarter of the book is about the history of reading, with a discussion of why Socrates was opposed to reading (he thought that reading was passive and didn't facilitate intellectual discovery). Almost a third of the book is about dyslexia. There's some speculation about how "digital" media might change how future generations read.
The title comes from the fact that Proust wrote about the beauty of reading, and the neurons of squids were studied extensively.
What did I think ?
I read this book just after finishing The Language Instinct by Stephen Pinker. In The Language Instinct, Pinker explains how human brains are hardwired for language. This is in contrast to reading, which is a relatively recent innovation, so the evolution hasn't adapted us to do it. In the Proust and the Squid, Wolf explains how different systems of the human brain are recruited into the reading process. For example, visual systems used to recognize objects in the environment help people process letters quickly.
I thought that this was a good book to read just after The Language Instinct, but I was kind of disappointed. Wolf's writing style is overly flowery with long winding sentences at times. I think that the title of the book is reflective of her writing style. Overly stylistic. The title has very little to do with the contents. If Wolf hadn't explained why she included "Squid" in the title , I would still be scratching my head.
I was bored by explanations of what parts of the brain "light" up when reading. I like the parts about the history of reading, and the comparison of English with other languages.
What's it about?
It's not about Proust nor about squids. It's mainly about the different parts of the brain that are involved in reading, and how people learn to read. Almost a third of the book is about dyslexia. About a quarter of the book is about the history of reading, with a discussion of why Socrates was opposed to reading (he thought that reading was passive and didn't facilitate intellectual discovery). Almost a third of the book is about dyslexia. There's some speculation about how "digital" media might change how future generations read.
The title comes from the fact that Proust wrote about the beauty of reading, and the neurons of squids were studied extensively.
What did I think ?
I read this book just after finishing The Language Instinct by Stephen Pinker. In The Language Instinct, Pinker explains how human brains are hardwired for language. This is in contrast to reading, which is a relatively recent innovation, so the evolution hasn't adapted us to do it. In the Proust and the Squid, Wolf explains how different systems of the human brain are recruited into the reading process. For example, visual systems used to recognize objects in the environment help people process letters quickly.
I thought that this was a good book to read just after The Language Instinct, but I was kind of disappointed. Wolf's writing style is overly flowery with long winding sentences at times. I think that the title of the book is reflective of her writing style. Overly stylistic. The title has very little to do with the contents. If Wolf hadn't explained why she included "Squid" in the title , I would still be scratching my head.
I was bored by explanations of what parts of the brain "light" up when reading. I like the parts about the history of reading, and the comparison of English with other languages.