Reading extensively

In an essay called "The First Steps Toward a History of Reading," Robert Danton makes a distinction between intensive reading and extensive reading. Basically this means either reading a few books often and well or reading many books once and then, in most cases, soon forgetting most of what what we read.

There was a time, before the 20th century, when most homes had very few books in them. These few probably included the Bible, Shakespeare's plays and perhaps an anthology of poetry and something by Dickens, Twain, Eliot or whomever. When you had a few moments to read, this is what you read. Or reread. Or reread again. Chances are you could quote passages by heart. They would come to mind at certain points of your life, and when you recited them, others would know their source and perhaps even finish the quote with you. 

Sven Birkerts calls this "desert island reading" in his book The Gutenberg Elegies. If you've ever made your own list of books to take with you to a desert island, they were probably books you thought were worth reading more than once. Since so few of us ever wind up on a desert island, we tend not to actually reread those books, although we may still keep favorites on a shelf somewhere just in case. We have too many other books we want to read first.

Today most of us read extensively, meaning we read more books than people once did, but we don't get to know any of them as well. After a few months have passed, we barely remember plots or characters. Mostly we just remember whether we liked the book or not. We certainly couldn't quote passages.

We have both gained something and lost something with this shift from intensive to extensive reading. We now have exposure to a much broader spectrum of writers, writing styles and ideas. Different books appeal to different people, so we now have something for everyone on our bookshelves. Each time we open a book we can expect to find something new.

What we've lost is common ground. When we don't all read the same books, it becomes more difficult to talk about books without joining a book club. That's why people are more likely today to discuss movies or television shows around a table, although now we are even less likely to watch the same movies and television shows. Our viewing habits have become more extensive as well.

Mostly what we've lost is the deep knowledge that comes with reading something multiple times. Some people do still make it a practice to read a portion of the Bible each day or to reread a favorite book, such as Pride and Prejudice, every year or two. Most of us, however, when we reach for a book, reach for something new. That is our blessing and our curse.