Quickly enough, the written word takes upon a preponderant role in the daily life of pupils, whose academic (and likely later professional) success rests upon their ability to read and make sense of whatever they find in their schoolbooks.

The origin of this confusion can be found in schools, where kids are trained to receive, memorize, and digest information on an ever-growing scale, mostly through the medium of books. While reading and being bookish in general is often considered a mark of intelligence and maturity, in reality, the causality between the two is not as straightforward as it may seem. The first of these points of criticism is probably the easiest to comprehend. I believe that there are two, interconnected aspects of reading, or rather, reading culture, that can be detrimental to the reader: first is the all-too-common conflating of reading and learning second is the tendency of reading to shackle the reader and breed passivity.

Let me expand on exactly what I believe to be the main problems surrounding this activity. It is, in essence, an attempt at constructive criticism, outrageous as it may seem.

However, the prospective reader should keep in mind that this diatribe of mine does not come from a place of ignorance or prejudice, but from one of passion, familiarity, and deep involvement with the topic at hand. Even though the title of this essay may seem sensational – if not outright click-bait – I must stress that it perfectly encapsulates the essence of my grievances which will be detailed and, of course, nuanced in the paragraphs to follow. It proved to be a thoroughly enjoyable read.Īnd yet, despite this life-long attachment (one could almost say devotion) toward the written word, I have grown more and more critical of reading as of late, especially in the context of the modern Pagan movement. Fredrick Cook and the so-called North Pole controversy.

The latest I finished was a massive 1200 page brick that analyses of the life of Dr. From Donald Duck to philosophy, classical theater, academic literature, journalistic essays, and archaic poetry, I have gone through more books than I can tell.Įven nowadays, with a small kid in tow, half a dozen part-time gigs, and my own academic writing, I still read at least a book a month. As long as I can remember, I have liked spending time in libraries, scrolling through piles of books in second hand stores and re-reading the volumes making up my ever-growing library. I have a confession to make: I am a bibliophile.

Living wicca