After reading part of Ch 2, I realized almost all of Birkerts statements in Ch 1 about reading and technology result directly from his childhood. A lot of emotion is associated with reading for Birkerts. My theory is that a lot of Birkerts’s father’s comments were extremely painful for Birkerts to hear. He had a deep passion for reading and thoroughly enjoyed almost all aspects of literature. When reading Birkerts could escape his world; he looked for characters in his stories for advice and companionship. This section of the book was extremely captivating to me because of all the psychology involved—I’m a psych major.
Birkerts’s father
Some of Birkerts’s father’s thoughts about reading were extremely negative. Birkerts’s father believed that reading was “feminine” and that Birkerts should not spend his time isolated in an imaginary world (pg 38). His father also believed that “doing is prized over being or thinking”, one only read when “all other options have been exhausted” (pg 38). Maybe a somewhat casual comment this left Birkerts extremely tortured. In a sense it was wrong for Birkerts to enjoy reading, so he read in private. This could be why Birkerts believes that reading in privacy is the only way to fully experience writing–when Birkerts most enjoyed reading, and possibly when he most enjoyed his life.
Isolation
Reading in a secretive manner became a thrill for Birkerts because it was forbidden and this was how he expressed teenage rebellion. Birkerts said he was most attracted to books with “moody-looking young [men] with some suggestion of meditated rebellion” (pg 36). This sentence is particularly revealing. Earlier in chapter one Birkerts states there are no leaders outside of literature. That statement he truly believes because when he was growing up the characters in Birkerts’s books were his idols and mentors. Even in school Birkerts felt isolated from his peers. English was his second language and he enjoyed school (pg 39). Birkerts said he was “playing the role of the normal American kid” (pg 40). He “concealed” his life and hid “behind the mask” 9pg 40). How awful it must have been for Birkerts to pretend to be someone else his entire life; his only escape was the literature. What’s worse was that “private absorption” was challenging his father’s authority (pg 37). Birkerts states: “this notion of hiding, secreting myself in a text was important to me—it underlies to this day my sense of a book as a refuge” (pg 35). Reading was the only time Birkerts felt he wasn’t being judged and it also served as a way for Birkerts to fight his “father’s strictness” (pg 34).
Attachment
Birkerts believed that reading was rebellious and exciting. He also believed that reading was a way he could find acceptance and role models.
Are there other attachments that Birkerts has towards reading?
Well Birkerts describes his feelings towards reading as “love”, “pleasure”, “sensuousness”, and “finding joy” (pg 39). Those are very strong emotions. I’m not sure if there are more reasons why Birkerts loves reading so much, but it is clear that he is quite captivated by literature. Also Birkerts realized that many authors had exciting and unusual background stories—in laments terms…unique—so he felt he could relate with them. From this evolved Birkerts’s desire to become a writer (pg 41).
Connection to Technology
One sentence I found particularly unusual was when Birkerts described his favorite books. Growing up he referenced “James Bond” as a favorite series with its reek of “high-class gadgetry” (pg 36).
If Birkerts hated technology so much then why would he enjoy reading the James Bond books AND particularly mention the gadgetry involved?
This question I pondered for a bit and realized that in fact Birkerts does not dislike technology. He may admire the times of the past before technology, but he really doesn’t hate technology. In today’s society technological advances, such as television, iPods, and internet, have replaced reading. There lies the problem. Birkerts loves literature so much that anything that may impact its success is automatically an enemy. If all of a sudden sports were the most important thing in American culture I believe that Birkerts would take offensive to that as well. Birkerts will defend literature until his death, because as a child it was his only source of safety and pleasure. I believe this is why Birkerts seems so close-minded towards the benefits of technology.
