Hi Thomas A.
No! of course non-readers aren't failures; if I implied that,I apologize. Ammo is actually the bigger reader of my two boys. I meant he wasn't going into law or medicine, and has no great academic aspirations. If he wants to scuba dive or climb mountains, it will be with our blessing! CW reads, but not in the same way, not for enjoyment. Yet he is the more academic of the two.
Ammo reads for sheer pleasure or to explore areas that interest him. This is what I would wish for everyone. Reading has nothing to do with being "successful" or "intelligent" at all. That is where your professor errs in his thinking-and what an insulting thing to say.
Intellectual snobbism is a terrible sin! it's evident that this man hurt and angered you with his words, and made you feel defensive by suggesting that somehow you are less than fulfilled or developed or whatever the hell he meant. But don't conclude that all booklovers have that same attitude! I think you already know how wrong he is.
That said, I most heartily DO think that reading is important-so important that it is the one piece of advice I give new parents---READ to your child and let him be surrounded with books and see you enjoy them. So to answer your questions:
Imagination---can be stirred by any experience! For the first few years of life, that is how babies grow! But why would you exclude the written word unnecessarily when it offers such insight and access to different thoughts, to minds no longer with us, new worlds, stimulation, laughter, whatever you could want! Our ability to communicate separates us from the animals and writing is an important development of that ability. But someone has to read it. Unfortunately. some children never get beyond the work stage of reading. It's no fun when your eye struggles to see and translate phrases. When people say they hate reading I figure it's because they haven't really learned to read proficiently.
Obsessive reading-- anything done to excess is damaging. I'm not sure though, that in a healthy person, reading would interfere with reality. I read a lot but it doesn't keep me from functioning. Well--maybe once in a while I forget to make dinner.
Pseudo-imagination? Imagination by proxy? Interesting thought! it sounds like a great premise for a book!!!
Hmm---in some ways--we do borrow the author's imagination ---HG Wells Sci fi), Tom Clancy (adventure), Danielle Steele(gaggy romance), Stephen King (horror!) We temporarily become part of their world. Or in non-fiction, we can time travel...my husband loves that.
Recommending a book! A one-shot deal!! Haaa! I'd have to know you a lot better! OK--tell us what you like-what intrigues you--any particular person, era, thing? ANd we'll see what everyone comes up with and I'll bet they're all different! That would be fun.
Anyway---forgive me if I came across in any way judgmental. I love books and have a religious zeal as an advocate for children learning to read and enjoy it. But it has nothing at all to do with the ability to be happy, successful, smart, or anything else. It's just--neat.
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