The abundance of online reading material makes it easy to forget the pleasure and benefits that come from reading a book slowly and attentively. In Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World, Maryanne Wolf argues that we should adopt a festina lente (hurry up slowly) approach to reading. As she writes, “you read quickly (festina), till you are conscious (lente) of the thoughts to comprehend, the beauty to appreciate, the questions to remember, and, when fortunate, the insights to unfold.”

This lecture introduces some of the main ideas from Wolf's book, including what occurs in our brains when we skim versus read deeply. We will explore several interesting studies described in the book and consider why cultivating a biliterate reading brain, one skilled at both rapid and deep reading, is increasingly important.

In the second half of the lecture, we will shift from theory to practice. Through examples and discussion, we will explore when it makes sense to read quickly, when it is worth slowing down, and how to approach texts more strategically. You will leave with practical ideas for improving your reading experience and making better decisions about how to read different kinds of material.

If you have any questions about this lecture, please contact me at giovanna.badia@mcgill.ca.

The image is a painting titled, The Bookworm, by Carl Schleicher.