After discussing the form of hypertext novels in class, I went home and discovered that I was a completely inadequate reader. Imagine my dismay as I read through the form of the hypertext story in front of me, only to discover that I had missed a few steps and was therefore completely lost, not in the story, but lost within the cyberspace of the web. The novel was called The Heist by Walter Sorrell. To be completely honest, I chose to start with this one because it was one of the first to pop up on google when you search "Hypertext Novels." The novel is pretty straight forward until you click on the links of the names of people and places to get the background information. After several clicks I was confused, frustrated, and mentally exhausted. Granted, this was probably not the best example of a story with which to introduce myself to the hypertext novel; however, as I continued to read I discovered that I was beginning to relate to the critics of the hypertext novel. Books have been such an intricate part of my life. The sacred act reading from left to right, top to bottom only to turn a page and start all over again is an act that I relish in as I get lost within the linear story. The more frustrated I became with the hypertext novel, the more I wanted to pick up my current pleasure read and escape from the depths of the world wide web. I felt so completely out of my element that I was frightened. Although I don't think the book is doomed because of this new form of literature, there is a great possibility that teachers will be teaching from a screen instead of a paper. Student textbooks will be downloaded onto a computer or special reading device and they will have links students can click in order to read more about a certain subject. There is a great possibility that the hypertext novel becomes a tool in which I will have to become proficient as a teacher of literature. I am willing to try again, but for now I am going to stick to my page turning and linear story line.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Oh where, oh where has my little book gone.
I distinctly remember every book we read in class. It never mattered whether or not I liked the books, but the memory of what it was like to labour over each word as I scrambled to read the chapters assigned so that I could go on to read the books that I wanted to read is very distinct. To this day I still read anything I can get my hands on. I prefer fiction, but have been known to randomly pick up a book about the Rats of New York City and nibble on it until I am a rat expert. Books are the only places I can escape and become a character, a city, a rat.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
It is interesting to see you draw such distinctions between reading for print and reading hypertext. Although you may be a novice reader of hypertext fiction, you are probably relatively skilled at reading web sites. You have been reading print for so long that you have forgotten learning to read it--the struggles to make sense of the black letters on the white page. You are being asked to relearn some aspects of reading.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think it means for you as a teacher of readers to think about/struggle with hypertext? You've begun thinking about the issues--what else might be a struggle?