tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143485269626703118.post7774061635827671374..comments2024-03-19T20:17:41.903+11:00Comments on A peaceful day: Dickens in an Age of DistractionJeannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09573473465011631325noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143485269626703118.post-79199381932684674182012-02-16T09:17:52.743+11:002012-02-16T09:17:52.743+11:00Oh joy! Indianapolis' main contribution to the...Oh joy! Indianapolis' main contribution to the culture war--the Hudson Institute!Hopewellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02510172065585770709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143485269626703118.post-37789838109455471342012-02-11T11:05:09.098+11:002012-02-11T11:05:09.098+11:00Because most of our curriculum consists of read-al...Because most of our curriculum consists of read-alouds, I am constantly amazed at the attention-span of my 8,7 & 4 year old boys. Now that the older 2 are independent readers, They will often curl up with a good book.<br /><br />Me on the other hand? I found that I found it hard to concentrate on a good book because I was heavily distracted by Facebook, Twitter and blogging. Since deleting Facebook and Twitter again recently, and choosing to back off from blogging, I have found myself being able to concentrate for longer periods again on good books.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143485269626703118.post-27001666148276326322012-02-10T05:03:30.540+11:002012-02-10T05:03:30.540+11:00Re Great Expectations: that is, the girls were te...Re Great Expectations: that is, the girls were ten years old--I was a bit older. ;-)Mama Squirrelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06941211100125966917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143485269626703118.post-61673955472689953772012-02-10T05:02:30.847+11:002012-02-10T05:02:30.847+11:00None of my girls read Dickens to themselves during...None of my girls read Dickens to themselves during their homeschooling years, but two of them listened to me read Great Expectations, all the way through, at age ten, without any difficulties. Also A Christmas Carol, but that goes without saying.<br /><br />And, on a similar level, the current fifth grader and I are almost finished reading George Eliot's Silas Marner together. Again, I am not sure that she would have gotten much out of it herself the first time around, if I had just handed her the book. That's not so much because of the attention required but because of a few cultural things that we needed to unravel as we went along, and making sure she was following the timeline of the early scenes (there are some flashbacks). I also drew a page of the characters for her before we started; and we have watched few scenes from the 1995 movie with Ben Kingsley, via You-tube, just to get the idea, for instance, of what the New Year's dance looked like.<br /><br />So does having the books read to you not count as "reading" them, according to these articles?Mama Squirrelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06941211100125966917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143485269626703118.post-15535075441694764772012-02-10T01:28:47.885+11:002012-02-10T01:28:47.885+11:00My friend and I were JUST talking about this very ...My friend and I were JUST talking about this very subject. The ability to pay attention or enjoy ANYTHING really after being immersed in movies, internet, or video games....it takes a sorta "detox" from this stuff for me and my children after holidays/vacations from school to get back into just enjoying nature, literature, and just "being". It takes work to enjoy/learn in these ways, whereas we get accustomed to being entertained with NO output of any energy or of any sort required. Ack. I don't like that kinda living. I do like my Internet but I really need to keep all these things in proper perspective/amount of use.<br /><br />PS - I have yet to read ANY Charles Dickens myself. I started Little Dorit? and the language threw me. I have A Tale of Two Cities on my 2012 list and maybe I will try the one you recommended. <br /><br />AmyAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11291951073853426272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143485269626703118.post-35714338775421966762012-02-09T20:57:20.219+11:002012-02-09T20:57:20.219+11:00Well, I dislike Dickens ~ A Tale of 2 Cities did m...Well, I dislike Dickens ~ <i>A Tale of 2 Cities</i> did me in before I'd even heard of the French Revolution but I am perfectly capable of focused attention for prolonged periods. Heck, I read profound tomes through band & choir practise. It's t.v I have no attention for. I can't sit through a movie unless its exceptional & I drive Star nuts because I rarely last the length of a 30 minute show, let alone anything longer. Star's world needs to be pretty settled before she can concentrate on anything deeper than a graphic novel but she's ADD so has some excuse & is capable of he other ~ though I don't think she's tried Dickens either. She wasn't keen on the televised stuff ~ which I understand but I like my characterisation a lot more subtle than Mr Dickens generally manages & not so over the top. Generally. I still have a soft spot for Falstaff...Ganeidahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17176246964466185315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143485269626703118.post-4796062150618988152012-02-09T14:28:37.329+11:002012-02-09T14:28:37.329+11:00Jeanne
My husband recently read The Shallows; wha...Jeanne<br /><br />My husband recently read The Shallows; what the internet is doing to our brains by Nicholas Carr. We were discussing this very matter and I have to confess I believe my brain is no longer proficient at reading deeper material.Erinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04448595911801738792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-143485269626703118.post-5615629596181455352012-02-09T08:53:19.459+11:002012-02-09T08:53:19.459+11:00It IS an age of distraction, and that distraction ...It IS an age of distraction, and that distraction can be insidious. I am not sure that my attention span has diminished, but I AM sure I am a much fussier (or more discerning?) reader and viewer nowadays. <br /><br />My son amazes me with what he reads. He is equally at home with graphic novels as he is with lengthy literary tomes I would never attempt. But he also still re-listens to The Goon Show, and that makes me very happy!BookChookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06230711251425187241noreply@blogger.com