After we finish reading a book, our memories of it quickly fade and can even get distorted. Andrew Elfenbein has studied how the things we read get transformed in memory. What we remember may diverge from what’s in the book, but that doesn’t mean we’re sloppy readers – we’re actually using highly sophisticated skills without even noticing. By understanding this process we can better appreciate how books live on in our minds long after we’ve read them.
Tag: memory
We tend to think of literature as something that’s written down. But Martin Puchner is interested in cases where the spoken word precedes, coexists with or even comes after the written word. From Ancient Greece to medieval Mali to Stalinist Russia, he explores why certain literary artists have preferred speech to writing. By understanding why and when these artists relied on speech, Martin argues that we can better appreciate their written works too.