Moody's & Manguel's Passion for Reading

Reading is a powerful tool that assists people in understanding the daily activities one is involved in. It is the catalyst for learning functions such as math, science, art, music, etc. When one develops consistent reading habits, his/her communication skills improve. Reading allows one to acquire knowledge and expand on his/her knowledge. With good communication skills and the ability to expand one’s knowledge by reading, an individual becomes more valuable within his/her chosen career field. The more valuable one feels the more confident he/she will have when executing his/her tasks. With the knowledge and confidence one achieves through reading, he/she will have the ability to open doors that otherwise may not have been opened for him/her. Both, Moody and Manguel, are passionate about reading because they know and understand what a powerful tool it is and where reading can lead an individual, to success. Rick Moody believes in, “the absolute and unlimited liberty of reading”. Moody contributes his belief to past teachers that inspired him to read. In the 10th grade, Moody’s teacher, Mr. Buxton, pointed out the repetition of motifs in Macbeth to Moody, but allowed Moody to come his own conclusion about the story. Mr. Flanders, Moody’s 11th grade religious studies teacher, encouraged Moody to have his own relationship with the Gospels. In college Moody read Umberto Eco’s “Role of the Reader,” in which it is said the reader completes the text. Eco calls them, “the open text”. Moody read other open texts by European and Latin American authors. One of the books Moody read was “Metamorphosis” by Kafka. Upon completing the reading, Moody did not know why it was about a guy who turns into a bug, but he knew that some said it was a cockroach, and others said, European dung beetle. Moody believes, “there is not now and never will be an authority who can tell him how to interpret, how to read, how to find the pearl of literary meaning in all cases”. He believes, “in the

Cited: Davis, Deanna. “Actively Reading Our World” Pearson Custom Publishing The Joy and Enthusiasm of Reading. Rick Moody Reading Ourselves and the World Around Us. Alberto Manguel