The Art of Reading → SoldeVenezuela

El Arte de Leer…..The Art of Reading.

Hace 5 dias estuve leyendo parte de un libro, especificamente unas hojas fotocopiadas, de un Filosofo Chino llamado Yutang Lin. Las lei porque lo habian suguerido en una de mis clases y ademas porque el titulo me desperto mucha curiosidad: “El Arte de la Lectura”. En promedio la gente que conoce me suele catalogar, entre otras cosas, como habladora. Y este tema bastante controversial me lleno mucho de entusiasmo para poder participar en una discusion basada en un habito al cual considero con mucho respeto: La Lectura.

Mientras lei las paginas, vaya que era algo que disfrutaba, no porque creo que tengo mi habito ya creado de deleitarme con la mayoria de lo que escogo para leer, sino porque Lin escribe de una manera exquisita haciendo que cualquier se siente influenciada por sus palabras y en especial apreciar nuestra vida y nuestro alrededor. Es uno de esos motivadores que me encantan porque escribe con mucho humanidad, con humildad en lo que dice y calidad en como lo dice. Esta forma de expresarse es lo que lo ha llevado a ser un autor codiciado dentro de los mejores libros vendidos en America. Al final de nuestro clase nos pidieron redactar un essay muy personal sobre el tema del lenguaje(al final les comparto lo que redacté). Tuve mi fin de semana bastante tranquilo, pero tenia mucha curiosidad de saber sobre que mas habia escrito ese autor. A todas esas personas que les encanta tambien leer, no pierdan la oportunidad de tener en sus manos el libro “The Importance of Living” by Lin Yutang.. que en espanol seria La Importancia de Vivir. Supe de esta obra por buscar en internet, e incluso tuve acceso a varios otros capitulos que me han tenido atada a ellos. Apenas tenga la oprtunidad de ir esta semana al centro ya se que pasare directamente a comprarlo porque definitivamente es un texto que se merece tener en nuestras bibliotecas personales.

Lin en “El Arte de la Lectura” nos expresa como “el leer” es en si un privilegio, que nos hace ser mas respetados y envidiados por quienes no estan acostumbrados. Es el medio que nos permite liberarnos del mundo inmediato en que vivimos. Sin embargoes un habito que no es tan facil de crear. Hay muchas cosas que influyen para llegar a ser Buenos lectores. Y que sobretodo leer tiene un objetivo principal y es el de agregar encanto y sabor a nuestra conversacion. Que lindo verdad?. Lin de alguna manera nos comenta como dedicarnos a escoger lo que vamos a leer es como ir de compras a una tienda de cosmeticos. Hay tantos productos del cual escoger pero solo tal vez una marca que es la que realmente nos hace lucir naturales y realmente bellos. Hay muchas maneras de leer y muchos motivos por el cual leer que son los indicadores de como lo que leemos reaccionara sobre nosotros. Hay una parte que me encanta cuando el compara el hecho de encontrar el escritor que a uno le guste con enamorarse a primera vista: Todo es perfecto, sus ojos, su cuerpo, su cabello, su rostro, wow su forma de hablar y de cantar… Ya lo que nos queda es deborarlo… jajaja graciosamente eso es cierto. Para poder disfrutar lo que leemos escojamos lo que nos guste, lo que se parezca a nosotros, lo que realmente nos ayude a crecer, lo que nos ensene a dar, lo que nos haga sentir acompanados cuando estamos lejos de quienes queremos…. y como concluye Lin en el capitulo: “Qué es entonces el arte de leer? Simplemente toma un libro y leelo cuando llegue el humor. Para que sea realmente placentero, leer debe ser enteramente espontaneo”.

How Reading Became Part of My Daily Life.

I don’t remember exactly when it was the first time I started reading, neither how I started accumulating books and magazine, nor why it takes me more than 2 hours to find a book in a library. But I do remember some experiences that can help me figure out how I became an impatient reader. I have had the pleasure of experiencing other people lives. Yay! for my books. Thanks to them I realize that through the reading anyone is an eager traveler wanting to find a new place to visit.

My first experience that I will never forget happened when I was a child and was visiting my grandparents’ farm. That day I had nothing to play with and decided to look through the house until finding what to occupy my mind. It didn’t take me too much time as I knew where to begin. I sat in front of my grandma’s little treasure box: a drawer full of antique things and many books, diaries and albums. I took them all out of the drawer; I was excited to see everything in it. Then I found a beautiful illustrated kid’s book based on passages from the Bible. I enjoyed the book. For the first time I read, by myself, a book that had not been assigned as homework. During six hours that it took me to read it, I traveled with those stories, I played roles as angels, Egyptians and even I could listen to the Pharaoh. I was transported to those ancient times. I heard trumpets and I felt the sadness that Moses’ mother experienced when she lost him. Wow, I definitely enjoyed my reading.

Along about high schools time I lived experiences that in somehow was not agreeable at all. I am specially talking about Literature classes. I remember one day I found myself struggling to interpret my assignment. I was frustrated: almost every sentence I did not understand. I was so frustrated that I almost quit if it were not for my dictionary that showed up and for then on it became my inseparable friend. My high school lectures mostly required the students to make the grade rather than to develop skills as a reader. This brings the Chinese philosopher Lin Yutang’s statement to mind. Lin in his essay “The Art of Reading” said, “There are no books in this world that everybody must read, but only books that a person must read at a certain time in a given place under given circumstances and at a given period of his life”(R4).For sure he meant to refer to my tedious Literature classes which was requiring me to read despite my dislike for those texts.

Nowadays, in my 30s, I am reading in another language. I can read almost everything that I want, but, somehow, I am still attached to a dictionary, Longman English Dictionary. It has been useful because not only I am improving my ESL skills, but also because (as Lin would say) my reading has been adding charm and flavor in my conversations and therefore to my writing. Does it mean I am an artist? I do not know. However, after reading Lin’s essay there is something that I know for real, and it is that I read for pleasure. I learned to choose and taste all of the texts I read and what is more, I am still a traveler. I still choose my books with the idea of knowing a new place, a new mind, a new world. Each time I go to a library I could spend money buying a book, a magazine or a novel. But to me it’s paying for my trip. And yes, probably, I would go with my friend Longman.

In the dark and quiet nights when passing pages is the only thing I heard it’s when I enjoy my reading the most. When sleeping, my mind would make up funny stories between what I read and the people I know. How can I help to make this happen? I “…just take a book and read when the mood comes”(R4).