Reverting to Type: a Reader's Story

by Alan Jacobs

Since the publication of my book The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction, a number of people have asked me about my history as a reader: what I read when I was younger, how my reading shaped my own development, and so on. They are sometimes surprised to learn that almost all of my reading, before my college years, involved science (especially astronomy) and science fiction. In transforming myself into a literary reader—so literary that I became an English professor—I was in many ways making quite a break with my readerly past.

But in the last decade or so I have found myself gradually shifting back towards those early interests. I haven’t ceased to be a literary reader, by any means, but my old attractions to science and technology, and to fictions that explore science and technology, have reasserted themselves.

So largely in order to make sense of this matter for myself, I wrote an essay—a brief reader’s memoir—about my shifting allegiances. I think the story is worth reading not because I am especially interesting but because it makes a few valuable points about the shaping power of our early reading experiences, and about the relations between what C. P. Snow famously called “The Two Cultures” of the sciences and the humanities.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Books About Books, Essays

Kindle Edition

First published January 11, 2012

About the author

Alan Jacobs is a scholar of English literature, literary critic, and distinguished professor of the humanities at Baylor University. Previously, he held the Clyde S. Kilby Chair of English at Wheaton College until 2012. His academic career has been marked by a deep engagement with literature, theology, and intellectual history.
Jacobs has written extensively on reading, thinking, and culture, contributing to publications such as The Atlantic, First Things, and The New Atlantis. His books explore diverse topics, from the intellectual legacy of Christian humanism (The Year of Our Lord 1943) to the challenges of modern discourse (How to Think). He has also examined literary figures like C. S. Lewis (The Narnian) and W. H. Auden. His work often bridges literature and philosophy, with books such as A Theology of Reading: The Hermeneutics of Love reflecting on the ethical dimensions of interpretation.
An evangelical Anglican, Jacobs continues to influence discussions on faith, literature, and the role of reading in contemporary life.

Reviews

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The usual Jacobsean mix of lovely, insightful writing and sloppy, vexing overstatement. Rather more of the former than the latter, as is also usually the case.

[Mark Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just really like Jacobs, and I read most of what he writes in print and online. I found it really enjoyable while rocking my newborn in the wee hours to hear Jacobs provide an autobiographical addendum to his great little book, "The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction." He justifies reading-for-pleasure-based-on-your-current-whim via his own interesting story.

A characteristic quote:

"In many respects, going back to the kinds of books I used to read has also meant going back to the kinds of reading habits I used to have. Just as there was a point in my life when I had to remind myself to grab that pencil, the time eventually came when I had to remind myself to leave it where it was and grasp the book (or the Kindle) in my two otherwise empty hands. The object now was not to prepare for class or develop a scholarly argument, but rather to become lost in a book, as I once was often; to be self-forgetful for a while. Indeed, I wonder whether it’s significant that my reversion to type started happening smack in the middle of middle age, in a period of life when the world is almost always too much with us, when time alone is is rare and, let’s face it, rarely seized — especially by people with smartphones."

Here's another:

"I have seen the great value of heeding my whims and allowing myself to read beyond my professional demands and even my long-established sense of self. My reversion to type has been above all else interesting, and has given me an increasingly broad (and I think more accurate) sense of what reading is, or can be, for."

[sch · Rating 4 out of 5]

My AMZN review:

This autobiographical essay accompanies Professor Jacobs's The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction, published in May of 2011. We learn about the books that mattered to him as a child and teenager (you may be surprised), how he got through his first semester of graduate school (Tolkien), and the renewal of his interest, in later adulthood, in various things scientific, mathematical, and technological (like Linux). He also riffs on the literary/genre fiction problem, the experiences and habits of reading (who else in the academy does this? it's delightful), modern literary and textual criticism, and the evolution of C.P. Snow's "Two Cultures" idea. As always he draws on an enormous and varied database of quotations, and delivers his own smooth prose.

I bought it the day it came out, and in this edition (perhaps there will be others?) there were several typos and omitted words: most notably in his quotation of William Carlos Williams's slogan, "No [ideas] but in things."

[Adam Shields · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short Review: This is a short (about 32 pages) companion piece to Jacob's book The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction. Jacobs said he has been asked about his own reading methods and history in regard to what he wrote in Pleasures of Reading, so he wrote this companion piece to flesh out how his own 'whim' reading works and how his background of genre book reading influences is current reading. I think this is a helpful addition to the Pleasures of Reading. But if you have not read that book, then this will not be all that useful. It is currently only $0.99 and worth picking up if you liked Pleasures of Reading.

My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/reverting-to-type/ ‎and my full review of the Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction is at http://bookwi.se/reading-jacobs/

[Magnus Itland · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather short, rather inexpensive and rather amusing partial memoir of a technophile literature professor, reminiscing about the winding road his life has taken from one bookshelf to another. The style could, I believe, be called "charmingly whimsical". This little book drives home the fact that the future is hard to predict and the present is hard to understand, while the past sometimes makes sense.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating essay exploring the author's reading habits and reading history. Out this comes an interesting meditation on how we think about reading and how it might influence the way we see the world.

[William Bradford · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at one person's history of reading. This essay is designed to accompany Jacob's book The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction. It takes a look at his one history of reading (with some sidelights) concluding in his endorsement of reading for pleasure.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

1.1.2016
It's now four years since I read this short piece, and although it's familiar when I go back to check on it, I can't honestly remember much about it...and obviously didn't make any notes at the time. Sorry, Alan!

[Seth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just about anything by Jacobs is worth reading.

[Gregory Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging and stimulating essay on why we should read and think in streams deeply, even unselfconsciously, enjoyed and then beyond.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short companion piece to The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction felt rather unstructured, but I thought it was interesting, nevertheless. I would definitely recommend Pleasures to anyone interested in reading about reading, but I'd probably leave this essay till after the book.