PhenomeWHATology? by Nic Helms

Makenna

2024-03-21 14:26:05 UTC

When I read, I feel that I get really engulfed in the work. Especially with fiction, I see myself in the character. I think that I seek out books that I relate to, and in turn I find myself really emphasizing with that character throughout the work. From the reading, I got the impression that we are supposed to believe that we influence a work when we read it, but I don't feel that way. I feel like a book influences me, and even when it's fiction, I learn a lot about the world and myself.

Cora

cmr1151 — 2024-03-21 16:12:54 UTC

When I read, it depends on how engaged with the text I am. If I'm enjoying a text, I am fully focused on it, occasionally tuning out anything else. If I'm not enjoying a text, I find it hard to concentrate on reading it. I can get easily distracted if I don't enjoy what I'm reading.

Christian

2024-03-21 18:02:34 UTC

When I read a book that I like, I completely forget my surroundings and am completely immersed in what I'm reading. Same with video games and movies/tv. I completely forget who I am and am only focused on what's happening in the world I'm currently immersed in.

Morgan

2024-03-21 18:29:32 UTC

I find that when I read a text I'm enjoying, i get engulfed in the words on the page. If I am enjoying the text I will typically see some scenes play out in my ind as if I'm watching a movie. I'll get caught up in the words on the page that I completely forget where I am, what I'm doing and how long I've been reading. It's kind of scary in a way when you get that lost in the text, but it brings me relief to not exist in our world even for just a short amount of time. However, if the text is something i could care less about, I will often find myself drifting off to a text that does make me happy. And when I draw my attention back to the (for lack of a better word) boring text, I find myself asking ridiculous questions, re-reading sentences and googling stuff from the text until I eventually give up or finish the text. Getting through the texts are a struggle but I am always eager to hear other people's thoughts and opinions on it and to see if they were just as confused as I was. This doesn't just apply to class readings, but also for the training packets I get at work.

Sara

2024-03-21 18:35:12 UTC

When I read a book, I immediately try to picture the scene that I'm reading in my head. I let the words describe the world around me and imagine myself watching this as a movie interpreted through my imagination. My overactive imagination and creative mind always cause me to see the scenes in my head; the more I read them, the more I see and feel what is happening. Part of that portrayal comes from my obsession with watching shows (especially animated ones). Still, either way, reading and watching give me the same fun experience when engaging in a story. I just let my mind do whatever it wants when picturing the scene based on words. But it depends if I'm invested in the story. If I read something that I don't understand or I'm not interested in, then my mind will go blank.

Maria

twinklecat500 — 2024-03-21 20:15:18 UTC

Reading something that is entertaining/intriguing captures all of my attention. I am immersed, though I don't know if I can explain how I imagine it. If a text is not entertaining/intriguing, like if I don't understand what I am reading ( like most texts we have read in this class unfortunately) then my mind wanders and I forget where I was on the page after I remember I am supposed to be reading. Though it's better to read and not understand than to not read at all.

Blake

2024-03-22 02:17:02 UTC

When I read, I trail off, literally - at times - and redirect my distracted ass, but also figuratively - mainly - with and along the text of a given story. My mind loves to craft pictures from words and so I gravitate towards more descriptive pieces. This forms a sort of mental slideshow (mindshow?) that satiates the scene, then catalogues those moments - back into words - to be remembered/enjoyed for a rainy day, "The storm walked around the hills on legs of lightning, shouting and grumbling." (Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites) I tend to build, and subsequently get lost in, worlds from nest to garden, from tavern to realm, from core to crust... you get the point.

Alex

2024-03-22 03:47:16 UTC

When I am reading a text for school, depending on what medium I need the information for, I generally try to skim for just what I need. For instance, in the recent project I was looking at scholarly articles with list of information and instead of combing through every last part of the essay I looked for the specific to correlate to my topic. In the other hand, if I’m reading for a discussion I know I need to be able to talk about the content in detail, so I take more time and mentally note key points and then forget those key points when the discussion rolls around. If I’m reading for pleasure I usually get carried away and read it too quickly and then find myself bored.

Alexa

2024-03-22 06:29:17 UTC

When I read I get transported into whatever I am reading. Especially because I read a lot of fiction, I tend to picture what I am reading in my head and put myself in the situation, basically playing every action and word out in my head. If it is something I am interested in reading and am easily sucked into, I soak up every word on the page.

When it comes to schoolwork and reading articles or something non-fiction, it is definitely harder for me to focus so my brain just atomically ends up skimming and only remembering the important parts. If I am not fully immersed into what I am reading, it is easier for me to lose my place and lose interest. Sometimes I will tell myself that I do want to read something but my brain will decide differently and distract me from getting the reading done, if that even makes sense.

Emma

2024-03-24 15:14:56 UTC

When I am reading, usually a romance novel, I am completely sucked into the world of the book. I imagine characters and settings, trying to put myself into that world so I can get a better understanding of it. When I am reading something I don't particularly enjoy, it's hard for me to focus and retain the information I am reading. My mind wanders a lot when I am reading something that doesn't interest me, I have a short attention span.

Dan

2024-03-25 17:00:39 UTC

I feel like I experience reading on two different levels - of plot and craft. My immediate relationship with the text is one of understanding, trying to figure out what's going on with the narrative. Sometimes this involved comparison with my own life, a sympathetic or empathetic connection with the text, but other times I find myself comparing the plot to other contemporary events. In any case, I'm mapping the experiences of the book onto my real-life experience, even in the case of fantastic sci-fi or fantasy books. This is how I connect with the text, and what I most enjoy about reading.

On the other hand, I think informed by my English-majoring and also my own writing, I'm looking at the craft of the text. I was reading A Visit From The Goon Squad yesterday, and I noticed that the dialogue is formatted similarly to Normal People, without quotations and embedded in paragraphs, which is similar to a whole stack of other writers. I'm noticing the voice, the pacing the technical elements of the text, and them asking how those relate to other works, other movements, what their significance is, etc. I'm trying to experience the craft of writing as the author might have done. If my first experience is driving a car, this second is looking under the hood and trying to understand why it drives the way it does.

Tabby

2024-03-25 20:07:11 UTC

When I read I am an observer. I try to put myself into the text and flow with the words as I read them. It definitely depends on where my focus is at though. I try to be aware of where my focus is, and if I have certain thoughts going on in the background of my mind I might interpret the text differently. If things don't make automatic sense to me I will stop and contemplate them. So to connect to the reading, there is an "I" within me that is interpreting the words I read. Because of this I find myself relating to characters easily since I don't mind getting lost in the text. I try to visualize the characters moving and talking and build a whole world in my head. That's also why academic reading is harder for me because there is less that I can visualize.

Jamie

jamiedasilva1222_ — 2024-03-26 12:27:05 UTC

When I read I find that, for the most part, everything else that may be on my mind is suddenly silent and I am able to become fully engulfed in the words on the page. everything else doesn't seem to exist while I'm reading.

Cassidy

2024-03-26 13:30:34 UTC

It really for me depends on the text that I am reading. If I am really interested in what I am reading all I see is the characters and my version of what they look like and the scenery around them. If it is something that I am not that interested in it does take me a lot longer to get into the flow of what is going on.

Duncan

2024-03-26 17:57:55 UTC

Depending on what I am reading, my attention is either completely at the mercy of the writing that is in front of me, or I am completely unable to focus on it. It's not even like I'm not reading the words though, I am, they just seem to bounce of my brain, like how rain drips off an umbrella. I've read a lot of things in my life, but some of those things, especially some of the class reading that doesn't grab my attention as immediately, I simply can't remember because that information just wouldn't stick. It doesn't matter how hard I try to remember it, it's like I never read it at all. But when I'm completely engaged with what I'm reading, I feel like I'm kind of in a zen space, and the rest of the world just phases away. I hope that answers the question.

Megan V

2024-03-26 18:15:25 UTC

When I read, I am watching it unfold like a movie in my head. I am very visual, I am imagining everything. I find this frustrating when there's a lack of description of setting, or too much. I focus heavily on the sensory experiences. I am often asking myself questions; if there's any second meanings to a word or phrase, what symbols are at play, how does this moment or scene effect the story, what does this dialogue mean, etc. I would say I am often observing writing as a craft.

I think I have a hard time with critical theory readings because they are hard to visualize, and even apply. If I don't know a word, I look it up. But in the case of critical theory, knowing the definition isn't enough half the time, because I have to know how to apply it (and I don't).

kieran

KBondarchuk — 2024-03-26 18:18:06 UTC

When I read I get to inhabit a perspective. And as well, the more I read, the more I realize about myself and the more I understand others, and humanity. It's really just a bit of practice in being delusional.

Sav

2024-03-26 18:25:01 UTC

When I read I’m completely transported to wherever the book is taking me. I become a part of the novel in every single way. I've even been told by my friends that I sometimes mouth characters' dialogue, which I think is quite funny. I feel characters' emotions like they’re my own and genuinely will get upset when they do (only if I like the character though it’s weird). The feelings from the book stick with me even after I’ve finished. Once I finish a chapter whatever emotion that chapter brought on me likely sticks with me for the rest of the day. No matter how the character is physically described in the book I still create my own version of how they look in my head no matter how different it is from how the author intended it. If a movie is made based on the book that follows the author’s description, but differs from mine I get VERY upset.