Blog Post #5 (Reading as Thinking)

 My mom has always told me, "reading is like a movie in your mind." Last we talked about how for some people reading isn't like a movie and a lot of people agreed that they don't experience that when they're reading. However, for me, I really do see a movie in my head as I'm reading, and the more I read of a book the more detail is added to the movie I see in my head, or my mind's eye. Obviously, fiction and books with characters and a plot make richer pictures in my mind compared to non-fiction texts. I do feel like if it's a shorter text like a short story then the picture is more like a painting. However, when I read novels my mental picture as I'm reading is very similar to a movie. When I read novels, not only are the visuals compared to that of a movie, but so is how I hear it. The characters have voices that match their gender, but the narrator voice is my own inner voice. I picture characters as they're described by the author and then I'm able to see a mental picture of the characters and as the story continues I'm able to develop the characters' personalities too. If a text is too confusing or difficult it's probably a textbook or another informative text, and so I'll have to read in smaller portions and at a slower pace. When I'm reading these more difficult texts I definitely feel frustrated and like giving up reading unless it's mandatory. However, when I'm able to read an intriguing novel I really enjoy it and am constantly wanting to dive deeper into the story! A few specific books that I really remember enjoy reading are Hunger Games, The Knife of Never Letting Go, Wonder, and The Giver. There are so many different pieces of our mind that are used when reading, so reflecting on those different aspects are important in becoming active readers.