Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain,   ISBN:9780060933845

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This is one of those books that you can't put down. Reading is something we take for granted but after reading this you look at it in a new light.
It starts off on how the brain reads and unlike hearing and seeing which is innate reading is something that we have to teach the brain. It was very interesting on how Chinese and Japanese people use different parts of their brain to read than English readers. The author talks a lot about the history of reading and how humans started to read. There is also a lot of information on neuroscience and what part of the brain we use to read.
If you are interested in dyslexia then she talk a lot about this and talks about the reading brain of dyslexia people.
This book is very well written and Maryanne puts complex science research into an easy to read format.

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Neuroscience is probably the most exciting science now examining how people live and learn. Research on how people use their brains has changed the way we look at everyday processes we thought we understood, but really didn't Maryanne Wolf's Proust and the Squid is the first book I've read that makes the connection between research and the process of reading--one of the most important intellectual achievements humans have ever made. Wolf starts the book by telling us how human beings slowly learned to transfer spoken language into written symbols and how various cultural groups chose different ways to do this. She goes on to explain what happens to an individual child who learns to read. New paths are forged in the brain and these paths are somewhat different for a child who is learning English as compared with Chinese. For parents, teachers and anyone else who wants to help children learn to read effectively, the book offers practical information about why some children have difficulty learning this basic skill. Dyslexic children are often thought to be slow learners, but often they are bright and creative. Anyone who cares about how children learn will find this book exciting and enlightening.

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From the title of the book, I expected more information about the development of reading and writing, and of the changes, which took place in our mind - which clearly did not evolve to read.

I am not saying, that the book does not contain this, but far too much space (2/3 0f the volume) is devoted to dislexia, and what to do about it (As the auther has a child with dislexia, this is understandable, but it should say so in the title...)

All in all, it contained to much child - development - hints and not enough of the science I expected.

Customer Rating: 

1) This book needed editing. She repeats herself. Yes, I probably have a shorter attention span because of using the Internet, but quality demands editing to express things succinctly.
2) Why use Proust to write for English readers? The "Proust" we read in this book is in translation: evidence of shallow thinking by someone who purports to think deeply about language. In like manner, the "Proust and the Squid" title smacks of marketing, which is okay but also shallow.
3) A student of language was "surprised" to learn (recently I guess) that Socrates (or others as writing emerged) was concerned about written language? I learned that at least a decade ago when starting to read about how the Internet is going to change us. It's a wonderful insight, but as much in this book, it is old stuff.

Customer Rating: 

Interesting book for those who love reading. I did lose interest several times, mostly due to not remembering where I left off w/the cd. I do think the book is definately worth reading, informative and enjoyable, but I'm sure I would much more enjoy the written version.