TEACHING THE ART OF READING IN THE DIGITAL ERA
As the art of close reading has declined, a cohort of experts has emerged to reverse the trend and encourage stronger reading habits.
JAMES MCWILLIAMS
FEB 12, 2018
Pacific Standard
https://psmag.com/magazine/teaching-the-art-of-reading-in-the-digital-era
Thread on audiobooks for 8 year old girl
D.L. Mayfield
@d_l_mayfield
I want to buy my daughter an epic audio book for her 8th bday. She listens to Harry Potter 1-3 and the chronicles of narnia nonstop. Got any suggestions?
https://twitter.com/d_l_mayfield/status/1022575382569005056
D.L. Mayfield
@d_l_mayfield
Jul 26
related: she uses both a CD player AND a cassette tape player because we are old school like that. I usually just find things at garage sales etc so I don't know how to find specific things in these mediums!
Andy Rowell
@AndyRowell
Jul 26
More
Replying to @d_l_mayfield
My 8-year-old daughter uses Overdrive audiobooks from library: Magic Tree House, Boxcar Children, A-Z Mysteries, Wayside School, Doll People, Great Brain, Gooney Bird.
D.L. Mayfield
@d_l_mayfield
Jul 26
On what kind of device? We only have a very old crappy kindle fire but that could work! I kind of wanted to buy one classic set that she could listen to again and again
Andy Rowell
@AndyRowell
Jul 26
Old iPhone 3 with cracked screen.
Andy Rowell
@AndyRowell
Jul 28
Replying to @d_l_mayfield
Requested these! Grade 3-7: Penderwicks – Jeanne Birdsall, Mysterious Benedict Society – Trenton Lee Stewart, Tuesdays at the Castle – Jessica Day George, Emerald Atlas – John Stephens, Spiderwick Chronicles – Holly Black, Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg – Gail Carson Levine
38% through Jordan Peterson's 12 Rules for Life. Positively, it is fun to listen to. Negatively, you could get the good parts from Christian sermons. Rule 1 is icky– promoting seeking ability to dominate. Contradicts good material in Rule 5 on parenting that helps kids socially.
Now in Rule 7 Jordan Peterson is condemning domination as wrong. He also rightly slams expediency. He rightly argues that Christianity has brought about a much more moral world, which many people are oblivious about.
Jordan Peterson's analysis at the end of Rule 7 of the valid criticism of unworldly and passive religious Christianity by people from the outside like Nietzsche and the inside like Dostoevsky is well done.
When Jordan Peterson says that it is psychologically far-fetched to invent your own values as Nietzsche suggests, this is similar to what Stanley Hauerwas says about modernity producing people "who believe that they should have no story except the story that they choose."
Again, Jordan Peterson is correct to see the reality of evil as the human problem that must be countenanced. He's also right to point to Carl Jung saying that the pinnacle of someone's moral hierarchy is effectively their God.
I finished listening to Jordan Peterson's 12 Rules for Life. As a Christian, I optimistically hope his work might be a catalyst to people discovering the wisdom of Jesus. I still think his first chapter is the most dangerous as it almost implies the good of domination.
As with any best-selling author or speaker, it is stimulating to think about their communication style and appeal. Jordan Peterson uses earnestness, personal stories, dictums, and psychological data. I find his use of archetypes and metaphor not as effective as a good preacher.