How do we talk about our reading? And what might this tell us? Over the past few years, in the course of research into other areas of the history of reading, I have become fascinated by a series of metaphors that recur when people talk about their reading. They are so ubiquitous in the discourse about reading that we often fail to realise that they are metaphors at all. When we … [Read more...] about Metaphors of Reading
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Reading Digital Fiction
My blog topic for August is 'digital fiction and reading'. It focusses on a form of literature, much like a previous post on digital comics, which can only ever be read in a digital context. Loss of Grasp, Serge Bouchardon (2010) What is digital fiction? Digital fiction is Utilising the affordances of so called ‘new media’, digital fiction often contains … [Read more...] about Reading Digital Fiction
The Language of Reading
Language is one thing which unites the various forms, modes and practices of reading which we have been thinking about so far on this blog. On paper or screen, literary texts and the activities which readers engage in beyond the book are all made of and through language. As such, approaches in the field of applied linguistics can illuminate our understanding of reading: for … [Read more...] about The Language of Reading
Platforms and the Shape of Reader Participation
Last week, I discovered yet another way to share reading experiences online: Call Me Ishmael. It’s a somewhat self-consciously retro website launched in the US in early June that invites readers to call Ishmael and leave a voice message about “a book you love and a story you’ve lived.” Selected stories are published on the site’s main page, along with links to find the book in … [Read more...] about Platforms and the Shape of Reader Participation
Reading as/and Performance
My assigned topic is “Reading As/And Performance”, and I’m approaching it through the material I am currently gathering for my AHRC project, Developing methods for analysing and evaluating literary engagement in digital contexts. This project uses data from social media to consider individuals’ relationships to books and reading, and so an integral part of the research involves … [Read more...] about Reading as/and Performance