The Letter

Hello Mr. Coon. The story of my reading history would be a short book. Therefore, I would probably enjoy it. Let me highlight two important pieces of information regarding my reading habits for you. First of all, I naturally read for comprehension. Yes, I do forget stuff but I try to acquire an understanding of the information presented in the text. However, my style of reading combined with my being a slow reader makes me a really slow reader. A long text can quickly become a grueling marathon of imaginative exercise and deep vein thromboses. And I do believe that your imagination and mind can easily be overworked and sometimes needs to be numbed by a concentrated dose of downtime.

Second, as a result of this clash between the thirst for knowledge (or stimulating entertainment) and the brain’s cry for help, I tend to read in spurts. Like many people I think, I go through a period where I want to read a bunch and then period where I want to read nothing at all. Usually, the former is triggered by a certain subject matter that I, of course, find fascinating, and the latter kicks in when exhaustion begins to take hold. I continually fluctuate by reading way more than the average amount and then way less than the average. I guess my “reading goal” is to minimize the amplitude of that change and come closer to reading a consistent amount that will not erode my desire for written entertainment over time.

I do like to imagine the world of the story in my own terms and play out the plot in my mind, but I certainly do not need any stimulus in order to drift off into my own little “happy place”, a place that would probably scare most of you. In fact, most of the time I have to make myself focus on the present or the task at hand. I guess that makes me a daydreamer even though my dreams are not necessarily all ponies and rainbows. Anyway, I look forward to taking your class this year. I think it’s going to be a great time. (359)