The Perfect Way to Read a Book

     I'm sure you've heard people talk about "good lighting" and "you'll strain your eyes reading in the dark".  Focusing on reading for an extended amount of time or with bad lighting can cause eye strain. Some symptoms of eye strain include blurry vision, headaches, irritated eyes and pain in your neck, shoulder and back. Another problem from reading extended amounts of time is straining your neck and shoulder from reading in the same position for an extended amount of time 

How do you prevent it?

1. Lighting

     Don't worry reading in dim lighting will not damage your eyes, but it can have short term effects like eye strain. When you read in a dim light your eyes tend not to blink as much which can dry them out and cause. Also reading in dim lighting can give your eyes mixed signals; relax to collect light, but contract to focus on the words. Also, in dim lighting your eyes must work harder to distinguish the words from the page. (if you want a more in-depth answer then what I have given you I recommend looking at this site https://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/eye/reading-in-dim-light.htm) 

    When you are reading you want your light source to come from behind you, and you want it to be a bright, direct light. Try to minimize glaring from outside light sources and any shadows casting onto your page (for right-handed people place the light on your left-hand side, so there's no shadow from you turning hand page, left-handed people do the opposite). As for type of lighting, experts say that halogen and florescent lighting does a great job illuminating writing material. 

     2. Positioning 

    For the positioning of a book, you want it to be around arm's length away or to be more precise 14 to 18 inches away. Also, you want your text to either be at eye level, or slightly below. 

    For positing yourself want to sit in a chair where your upper legs are parallel to the ground, and your lower thighs are perpendicular to the ground. If the chair is higher than this try resting your feet on a raised platform. Try avoided straining your neck by avoiding reading with the book in you lap or laying on your side. Using a book holder can help prevent neck straining. Lastly for back pains sit up straight, by reading at eye level you can help promote a straight back. Also try placing a small pillow at your lower back to help support the curve in your back (lumbar curve).

     3.  20-20-20

    Lastly remember to take breaks! This could be a short stretch break or 20-20-20. In 20-20-20 you want look away every 20 minutes at something at least 20 feet away for a minimum of 20 seconds. Doing this will help you prevent eye straining from looking at something for an extended period. 

Thank you for reading my blog post, and if you are interested in learning more about how to read a book check out these sources!

   -  Sophie A.

https://www.lampsplus.com/ideas-and-advice/lighting-for-readers/   

https://www.helpmyreading.com/Site/Proper_Reading_Posture.html

https://www.healthline.com/health/eye-health/eye-strain 

 

On Epic Poetry, The Monomyth, and Societal Propaganda

I recently stumbled upon a copy of the 2006 translation of the Aeneid by Robert Fagles; written by the Roman poet Virgil and widely regarded as one of the greatest works in Latin literature, the Aeneid spans twelve books and compiles various legends surrounding the origin myth of Rome and its hero Aeneas, a Trojan. Although I did not get a chance to read through the poem this week, I was inspired to do some basic research about the genre of epic poetry and the theory of a ‘monomyth’ and theorize about their overall purpose.

 

  Defined by the English Oxford Dictionary as “A poem, typically derived from ancient oral tradition, which celebrates in the form of a continuous narrative the achievements of one or more heroic characters of history or legend,” the epic is formulaic in structure and tells the story of a “heroic-age” in the history of a civilization. The epic is narrated by a formal, objective voice, and can take hours or days to perform depending on its length. Epics serve an important social function, as they solidify national identity by describing founding myths and national heroes; they are typically the product of a society where warlike nobility seeks to perform heroic actions to obtain fame for themselves and their lineage.

 

An important theory of mythology that relates heavily to epics and literature is the existence of a ‘monomyth,’ or “hero’s journey,” first introduced by Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero With A Thousand Faces. This theory proposes the idea that there is a general structure that all myths created by human civilizations and cultures follow. It describes the trend of a hero venturing from the known into the unknown after being called to action by an external force; in this unknown world, the hero is transformed through a series of trials, and returns home having acquired benefits to bestow upon others. This structure can be observed in many epics; for example, in the Aeneid, Aeneas ventures out into the unknown as he flees the destroyed city of Troy, and ultimately returns to the known as he settles in Latium.

 

Having defined and introduced both the epic poetry genre and the theory of a ‘monomyth,’ we can now discuss why they were created by societies and what that means for our modern-day world. As mentioned previously, the epic poem serves to establish a strong national identity by recounting myths about a heroic figure in its founding history; in this way, it motivates the warrior aristocracy to perform heroic actions to obtain fame, thus benefiting society overall. The monomyth also encourages actions that will provide a civilization with benefits; by describing how venturing into the unknown brings one benefit, the monomyth encourages the members of a society to explore the unknown and therefore obtain more territory for themselves. Therefore, we can infer that the myths described by both epic poetry and the monomyth theory are the inventions of a budding civilization that needs to develop a strong national identity and acquire more resources for that identity; therefore, it creates myths and uses them to encourage resource-seeking through fighting with neighboring civilizations and exploration, furthering its agenda in a manner akin to modern propaganda. Overall, both epic poetry and the monomyth demonstrate how people can be influenced by the stories that society tells and the common themes it perpetuates. Thus, as writers, we should be careful about what we convey in our work, as it will influence the thinking and decisions of the people who read it. 

- Jade Li

Works Cited

Gill, N. S. "The Genre of Epic Literature and Poetry." ThoughtCo, 10 May 2019, www.thoughtco.com/epic-literature-and-poetry-119651. Accessed 15 Oct. 2020.

"Monomyth: The Hero's Journey Project." Berkeley ORIAS, Berkeley UC, orias.berkeley.edu/resources-teachers/monomyth-heros-journey-project. Accessed 16 Oct. 2020.

Yoshida, Atsuhiko. "Epic." Encyclopædia Britannica, 18 Oct. 2019, www.britannica.com/art/epic. Accessed 16 Oct. 2020.

Reading Experience of Webtoon by Zhaoxin Sun

I’m sure we’ve all read the reviews on the back of books. A few sentences long, they offer praise for the author’s mastery and a promise of the book’s brilliance. However, we rarely see people discussing their thoughts on a particular book in our day-to-day life. There are almost no group interactions about the same reading outside of a reading group or class; people don’t generally share every step of their reading process because everyone reads at a different pace and it seems unnatural to stop and discuss something. Where can we find informal opinions and real-time dialogue between readers about reading? The comment sections of online storytelling forms. There are many sites that serve as platforms for online storytelling, such as Tapas, Webtoon, Wattpad and WebComics. I personally interact the most with Webtoon so I will focus on it for my analysis. 

Allow me to explain the system on Webtoon: Webtoon is a webcomic publishing portal with many comics in a wide range of genres. They have a “Featured” collection of comics that are Webtoon-supported. These comics are much better drawn and told than the rest. All Featured Webtoons are updated weekly, and there are options to like and comment on the chapter, as well as like or dislike comments. After a while, the three most liked comments become Top Comments. I have noticed certain patterns in the contents of the comments that make it to Top Comment, so I tallied the ones that fell into each category. 

I categorized the three Top Comments on the most recent chapters of the Featured Webtoons I read and here’s what I found:

• 9 on character development

• 1 on cliffhangers

• 20 jokes

• 84 reactions

• 32 observations/theories

• 1 about other functions of webtoon like liking the chapter

• 8 on author appreciation

• 9 #relatable-type comments

• 15 direct message to a character

When a professional book reviewer is writing, they are writing because it is their job. In Webtoon comment sections, we do see many of the same topics that professional book reviewers talk about come up, such as comments on character development, reactions, and other observations, but they are not written with the same mindset. With Webtoon comments, we see a great motley of reactions that are unacceptable in a traditional book review setting. Some are personal testimonials on ways a chapter touched them, others lists of affirmations from strangers that are completely unrelated to a chapter, emergency hotlines when a chapter touches on sensitive topics, confusion on plot holes, and speculation and theories. Comment threads have a much more personal and engaged presence. Instead of serving as an advertisement for the book, which is what book reviews often do, these informal comment sections delve into whatever commenters can offer. While some are similar to book reviews, like comments on character growth or commendations for an author, Webtoon comments allow for the spontaneity and randomness that are able to stir someone’s emotions in a way that formulaic reviews do not.

Books are a unique and personal experience that may inspire epiphany, relatability, joy, and many other emotions in a reader. However, this experience is mostly kept private. Other media have platforms to interact with a community through a shared adventure of reading and discussion. If you have the time, I encourage you to follow some online storytelling; it is an interesting and interactive form of entertainment.

The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu

       

The first time I heard of Nannerl Mozart was when I read a picture book about her brother, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Now, years later, I got the chance to read another book about Nannerl, The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu. The Kingdom of Back tells the story of Nannerl, a child prodigy who is incredibly talented at playing the clavier. Yet despite her talent, Nannerl fears being forgotten, especially while her even more talented younger brother, Woferl will not be. She gets a chance to change her future when at the beginning of the story, Nannerl has a dream of a magical kingdom called The Kingdom of Back. It becomes a fairytale story she tells Woferl, and then it becomes more than just a story when the two of them start having experiences entering the kingdom and spending time there. Nannerl learns that she must save the kingdom and starts discovering secrets about its present and past. The secrets could help her be remembered, but becoming famous could damage her closeness with Woferl so she has to carefully choose what is best for the kingdom and her family.

I thought Nannerl’s passion for music was interesting. In many places, especially the Kingdom of Back, she could hear music, and it influenced her impression of people and places. When the music was off key, she sensed something was wrong and when it was light and airy, she felt happy. She brought music into her everyday life. When she composed, she tried to bring these feelings into her music and I liked reading about it. I also admired her concentration and hard work when she practiced. She imagined other worlds as she played so that she could really express the music the way she wanted to. I thought her hard work was inspiring because she not only wished to be known for her music, she also worked very hard for it, even when it did not seem to be going her way.

Another thing I really liked about the book was how it was both a historical fiction book and a fantasy book. I love both those genres and I think that finding a book with a combination of the two is rare. Both Nannerl’s worlds were vivid and fascinating and easily came alive in my head. It is not hard for me to picture the Kingdom of Back with its twin moons shining over the enchanted forest of upside down trees and the author also made it easy to understand the world of 18th century Europe with its kings, queens, palaces, and opera houses. One way the author made it easier for me to understand the time Nannerl was growing up was by having characters mention other historical events such as the French and Indian war. It felt natural when the characters talked about what was going on in the world and it helped me understand more about Nannerl’s world by comparing the time to something I knew a little more about. The mix of both the worlds made the book more interesting to me, because just when I got a little bit tired of one world, the book switched to the other world which captivated me again.

I would definitely recommend this book, especially if you like historical fiction, fantasy, or both.

-Maya

The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennet

    This week in the Anderson book club we read The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennet, a book that follows a family's struggles with race, class and lies. This book is jammed pack with discussion topics which made it a perfect book club read, though it is also great to just read by yourself.  

     The book starts off in the late 1960s, with a set of light skinned black twins living in a small southern town named Mallard (so small it's not on a map). At the age of sixteen they run away, from the small oppressing town they lived in, to arrive at New Orleans. From here they part ways (Stella runs away) and go on to live two very different lives. Desiree moves up North where she has a daughter Jude. Her husband is abusive, forcing her to flee with her daughter back to the town she tried to escape, Mallard.

    In Mallard Jude is bullied for her race (she's black) and escapes at the first chance she gets, a track scholarship to UCLA.  Meanwhile Stella live as a white in Los Angeles, her husband knows nothing about her past, and the family and identity she left behind knows nothing her whereabout. She has a daughter, Katherine, around the same age as Jude and struggling through life (quit collage, struggling actor). 

    Jude needs money, so she ends up getting a job as a caterer, traveling around the rich neighborhoods as a bartender. One day while she is at a party she runs into Stella and her daughter. She only sees her for a second, but it's enough for her to realize who it was. Later she runs into Katherine at one of her plays and befriended her to figure out what happened to Stella. As Jude and Katherine grow closer to each other, more truths are reveled. As the story goes on the effects of the two different paths of the twins shows in their lives and kids' lives from how they live, to the relationships and happiness.  

    The story does such a great job of exploring the difficulties of identity, following the story of this family for a generation. How the actions of the parents trickle down to affect their kids and effect their relationships. One of my favorite aspects of this book is the way the information is presented to us. The author dedicates chapters to different characters thoughts and perspectives and will jump around to different time periods. So, you will know information that the character doesn't know adding a bit of suspense. This is an amazing, well written story and I would recommend you check it out. 

    - Sophie A.