Writerly Wisdom: V
Scrolling through all my former posts, I rediscovered a forgotten series I started way back when I first began blogging: quotes from writers.
Here is a quote found in Marja Mills’ The Mockingbird Next Door, a biography on Harper Lee:
p. 80:
[referring to her lifetime habit of reading, which she traces to her family reading aloud to her when young]
Now, 75 years later in an abundant society where people have laptops, cell phones, iPods, and minds like empty rooms, I still plod along with books. Instant information is not for me. I prefer to search library stacks because when I work to learn something, I remember it.
This quote encapsulates my philosophy about the learning process. As a teacher, I encourage students to look up information so that they will better remember it. The brain is a muscle and it needs a workout to stay strong and viable. I use both technology and the library stacks, yet I prefer thumbing through books over scrolling screens any day.
Pam Webb 
Amen!
Also, when I pore over books to find information, I often stumble upon some unexpected something that captures my imagination.
I often stumble upon unexpected somethings on the Internet, too. But, well, a Grumpy Cat isn’t much of an imagination capturer.
I so adore hanging out in the library and pulling down books for info gathering. Yet that grouchy puddy tat does somehow grab my attention
I’m with you! Did you see the article (can’t recall where at the moment) about taking notes on a computer vs. hand writing them? Writing things down makes your brain work harder to decide what’s important, so you learn more and retain it longer.
That makes sense. I think my students do better when they write out their notes versus typing them on their iPads.