What Makes a Reader?

Today I've been thinking a lot about what makes someone a "reader." This is something parents used to ask me when I was teaching and I never had a good answer. Is it nature? Nurture? Like many subjects to which those questions are posed, it's probably some of both. Sure, my parents are big readers and I grew up with a lot of reading material around, so there was probably a good chance that I would end up reading a lot as well. However, I know many people who grew up in similar environments but just never really got into reading.

NPR's Fresh Air did a story today about the release of the new "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" book. Apparently, like Harry Potter, this is a series that has gotten kids' attention and has made many kids interested in reading who weren't before. The book critic spoke about her daughter who has never really been interested in books, despite her mother's career. Wimpy Kid is different apparently.

Later, when I was on the bus going downtown, I watched as the guy across from me pulled a book out of his bag. He was about my age so I was curious to see what he was reading (oh hell, I'm always curious about what people are reading, no matter their age). It turns out that it's a book that I own but have never read and, just yesterday, had pulled off of the shelf to decide whether or not to keep it. I elected to keep it and now, having seen someone else reading it, perhaps I'll have to read it too.

Are you a reader? If so, what do you think made you that way? If not, why not?

Political Borders

If you've read any of my other blogs and/or have known me for a while, you know that I have always liked studying maps. I spent many hours after (elementary) school with my dad looking at our atlas and globe. Both were made prior to 1989, so by the time I could actually read, many borders had changed. The USSR had broken up, some of the last parts of Africa to become independent had done so, and Yugoslavia was being divided. Then, for many years, not a lot changed. The borders that were added or subtracted were short and I got it in my head that the world was probably pretty close to its final political divisions. I was so optimistic — I figured the world was a pretty stable place, so why would the borders change further?

Although my view had changed a bit in the last few years, as I watched wars, governments, and global warming change the shapes of a number of countries, it wasn't until I watched this video on TED.com that I realized how many more border changes are likely to come.

Uighurs—Remember them?

This past summer, China decided to stir up trouble in its far-Western province of Xinjiang. For many, this was the first time they'd heard of Xinjiang and its people, the Uighurs, and the only time, for after a week or two, the fighting and rioting died down and the media turned to other stories.

Today as I was going through an old issue of The Economist I came across a link to a photo essay about the Uighurs. Intrigued, I made a point of watching it. The photos are of the people and the region and truly convey what it's like to live in China and yet be so different from the image of China one normally conjures. Watch it here:

The Reason

Why another blog? I created this one as an outlet for all of the interesting/nerdy/dorky things I come across everyday and want to share with my friends but don't necessarily want to send as e-mail/Facebook spam.

The title comes from a question my last boyfriend used to ask me in the evening: "Tell me one nerdy thing you did or thought about today." The answers were varied, but gave an indication of my mood or the political situation or the weather.

So, I present to you: One Nerdy Thing.