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hampton_reads's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
2.75
There are some interesting thoughts in this book and Wolf is very easy to read -- she has a writing voice that is really welcoming and relaxed.
I struggled with a lot of the conclusions in this book, and while I know the author is an expert on early development, this mostly felt like the author was just making a bunch of observations with the throughline of "the impacts of young people reading digitally and/or experiencing digital life should be mitigated". There's also a really heavy emphasis here on how early life educators should approach these dilemmas (probably >25% of the book), for which I'm not really the audience, I must admit.
The best insight of this book, and one I think everyone should abide by without doubt is that you really should keep your children off of tablets.
My previous paragraph is only somewhat facetious, but I think that's a good takeaway. Beyond iPad kids, this text is a way more nuanced take than some of the other more recent books that seem to be directed more towards shaming 'the youth' (see Jonathan Haidt et al) than those mercenary books that are seeking to make money off of millennials aging into the era of shaking our fists at these 'youths' for doing things differently than we did (even if those things are not that different). (I'm not going to go so far as to say this is necessarily what Nicholas Carr was doing in 2010, but there are definitely contemporary echoes in both this book and Haidt's recent work!)
The strengths here really kick off the book (really in the second 20% or so), especially as Wolf makes the case that fiction empowers our imaginations to draw connections and symbolically ponder things we might not otherwise be equipped to do so. I think that's a really interesting insight! And she has the studies to back all of this up, which is great. I'm just not entirely convinced that we're all less equipped to e-read versus reading in print (and also I feel there's a really heavy personal preference associated here!). Some of the most beautiful and inspiring texts I've read in the last year have been digitally, and it has only made it easier for me to consume and return (and use a dictionary/translator in-app if there's a word I didn't know!).
Ironically, the format of letters worked conceptually but in technical application really made this text tougher and more circuitous than it needed to be.
I may adjust my review in the coming days when I have more time to digest this book a bit further, though. Ultimately, I think enjoyment of this book is mostly going to be based on perspectives with regard to digital versus physical media. I'm not ambivalent on this issue, but I wouldn't consider myself a digital partisan, either.
I struggled with a lot of the conclusions in this book, and while I know the author is an expert on early development, this mostly felt like the author was just making a bunch of observations with the throughline of "the impacts of young people reading digitally and/or experiencing digital life should be mitigated". There's also a really heavy emphasis here on how early life educators should approach these dilemmas (probably >25% of the book), for which I'm not really the audience, I must admit.
The best insight of this book, and one I think everyone should abide by without doubt is that you really should keep your children off of tablets.
My previous paragraph is only somewhat facetious, but I think that's a good takeaway. Beyond iPad kids, this text is a way more nuanced take than some of the other more recent books that seem to be directed more towards shaming 'the youth' (see Jonathan Haidt et al) than those mercenary books that are seeking to make money off of millennials aging into the era of shaking our fists at these 'youths' for doing things differently than we did (even if those things are not that different). (I'm not going to go so far as to say this is necessarily what Nicholas Carr was doing in 2010, but there are definitely contemporary echoes in both this book and Haidt's recent work!)
The strengths here really kick off the book (really in the second 20% or so), especially as Wolf makes the case that fiction empowers our imaginations to draw connections and symbolically ponder things we might not otherwise be equipped to do so. I think that's a really interesting insight! And she has the studies to back all of this up, which is great. I'm just not entirely convinced that we're all less equipped to e-read versus reading in print (and also I feel there's a really heavy personal preference associated here!). Some of the most beautiful and inspiring texts I've read in the last year have been digitally, and it has only made it easier for me to consume and return (and use a dictionary/translator in-app if there's a word I didn't know!).
Ironically, the format of letters worked conceptually but in technical application really made this text tougher and more circuitous than it needed to be.
I may adjust my review in the coming days when I have more time to digest this book a bit further, though. Ultimately, I think enjoyment of this book is mostly going to be based on perspectives with regard to digital versus physical media. I'm not ambivalent on this issue, but I wouldn't consider myself a digital partisan, either.
haircutshort's review against another edition
The last half of the book seemed repetitive and less about the research. It also had an entire chapter about the first 5 years of development that I am already familiar with.
Im general the book was a mix of interesting research, great quotes and quips and some heavy handed conjecture. There were some sizable leaps and was really focused on how the only way to achieve the rewards of reading was to an old way of reading books.
Im general the book was a mix of interesting research, great quotes and quips and some heavy handed conjecture. There were some sizable leaps and was really focused on how the only way to achieve the rewards of reading was to an old way of reading books.
melody_p0nd's review against another edition
Dnf at 11% (audiobook). The circus analogy annoyed me, as it wasn’t useful in any way and came across like the author just wanted to come up with an analogy to appear intelligent. Author seemed pre-biased about digital reading. Felt like an old woman who isn’t able to move along with time. Luckily I got this book for free in a 2 for 1 sale. I’ll now use my time better listening to my next MM romance audiobook.
ovenbird_reads's review against another edition
Ultimately not what I was expecting or hoping for. The first half will leave you in terror at what digital media is doing to your brain. The second half focuses entirely on how to develop children into deep readers in a digital world. I was hoping for something that would inspire me to read more deeply and provide some strategies for doing so, but that isn't really what this book is about. It's about the underlying functions of our brains that allow us to read deeply and engage with complex texts, and then how to develop those functions in children. I came out of this feeling a bit hopeless and discouraged. No rating because this was an interesting investigation, but I didn't personally enjoy it much.