“Unlike much contemporary media, which aims, asymptotically, for a total takeover of the senses, reading doesn’t make demands on more than one sense at a time. Consequently, while one is reading, one’s agency and physical autonomy remain front and center: The feeling of a page-turner is partly so exciting because you still have to turn the page. You can put down a book and start it up again without missing anything – there’s no imperative to sit through it simple because you paid the price of admission, your date is digging it, and you bought a seven-dollar tub of popcorn. This freedom is important. It allows for a dance; it also you to see yourself dancing in reaction. There’s information there. Your choice to keep going can itself become a cause of puzzlement. Or, if you choose to abandon ship, you can then ponder the classic question, did I fail the work, or did it fail me? When, or what, was the tipping point, and why?”
— Maggie Nelson, “The Art of Cruelty”, “The Golden Rule” (via gaygerwig)
