Vertical VS Horizontal Reader {Page-Turner}

If we want to speak of passion, reading is my number one. My favorite reading material is literature - novels, to be more specific. Over the recent years, I have noticed a shift in the way I read and have started wondering: where does this come from?

After a (very) few moments of hesitation, I have decided that it is pointless to beat around the bush and avoid the obvious truth: online reading has changed the way I read. Online-based information has changed the way I gather, analyze and utilize information.

Mind you, I still read novels, tons of them, with no haste and mostly with sheer pleasure. They are essential to me. On top of literature, I now read a whole new array of online resources, bringing to me information of a different kind: newsletters, courses, blogs, webzines, tweets and so forth. My horizon has definitely expanded in a way that I am enjoying - no need to deny it. That can only be a good evolution, right?

Well, yes and no. I want to read so much of what’s out there, just a click away from my eyes, that I do not know where to start. This is probably a mild case of being overwhelmed even though I do choose and update regularly all my subscriptions as a way to keep things manageable. To make it though - and to keep it a pleasurable and informative activity - I have literally set up  a system based on the use of the Pocket app and extension. The app helps me save and keep track of the information I really want to read and to file it quickly under given topics/tags. In other words, if it ends up in Pocket, it is worth the time. 

Speaking of time, this is where the complexity of the case comes forth: I tend to read online material only partially. I skim. Why? Because it is very easy to do so - a click, a scroll, and a pinch. While I read I feel the urge to check whether the next paragraph contains something more groundbreaking than the previous and so on. Even though the information is worth the time, I act as if I did not have the time.

This habit probably comes from my love of bite-sized, readily available and easy to digest information as delivered by Twitter (@Daydreamerdiary). I am fully aware of this tendency of mine and happy about it, or can fool myself into believing I am. Redemption probably lies in the acceptance and understanding of the roots of these two different reading and information filtering styles of mine: the traditional, cover-to-cover approach whenever I read a book (even one of my new books) - I guess you could call it the in-depth, vertical approach - AND the online reading approach that urges me to quickly scan, grab keywords and concepts and aim for the nugget of information diluted in a thousand different sources and a wave of simultaneous information - this could be called the bullet-friendly horizontal approach, the more the better. 

The bottom line is: I am not looking for the same type and level of knowledge depending on what I am reading. I am not looking for the same reading experience either and, in the end, it so happens that I enjoy both ways. Even the context and background changes based on what I read: you will never catch me reading on my iPad at the beach. You will never catch me reading a novel during the working day.

How do you read? Have your habits changed over the past years? I am secretly hoping I am not alone here…!

Credits: Snappa (edited by TheDaydreamer)

Reality Or Illusion? The Musée Grévin {Discover}

Where does reality start, where does illusion stops? As I walk into the Musée Grévin, along the Parisian boulevards, the kitsch, mirrored decorations and loud music transport me to a different dimension, reflexions blur the view and fog the mind. The visit starts with a 5-minute show: thunder, rain, vibrant reds and changing waxwork figures prepare the rest of the visit where I meet famous people from all over the world and walks of life - whether contemporary or long gone. The museum gathers characters made of wax, a material as ancient as Egypt, used mainly at that time and further down the centuries for religious purposes. The religious and the profane mingle in the museum where Angelina Jolie and Pope Francis welcome the visitors. What a pair! During the 17^th century wax sculptures became increasingly popular at the French Court: portrait artists were then allowed to depict faces with their original features - no embellishment, no censorship. And this is where reality started seeping through the characters lifelines, starting with king Louis XIV himself! Wax enabled artists to stick to reality, showing at least once the true face of the powerful ones to the world.

The Musée Grévin was founded by cartoonist Alfred Grévin, assisted by Gabriel Thomas and spurred by the unique idea of Arthur Meyer, a journalist who wished to help readers have a 360° vision of the people he wrote about in the press - a revolutionary idea at that time, not so far away from today’s buzz about 3-D printers, come to think of it. The museum officially opened in 1882. The premises were renovated in 2001 and in 2014 they welcomed the Fashion Hall where models and fashion designers such as Jean-Paul Gaultier and Christian Dior can be seen. Despite its renovation and the continuous addition of waxwork figures - up to 2,000! - , the museum is infused with delectable kitsch scenes and a sense of mouldy and mysterious shabbiness. This is part of its charm: as I progress down winding corridors, from one small room to a corner and a larger hall, there is no sense of direction and harmony. Is this a haunted mansion? Will I be able to find my way out of the labyrinth of faces, postures and stories? They all seem familiar to me, but I have actually met none of them… Nostradamus, gives me no hints.

For some characters, the resemblance is more astonishing than for others: I suppose this is due to the skills of the sculptor or to the fact that some figures are sculpted with the real models posing while others were sculpted from photographs. To make a successful sculpture, one needs not only to capture the contours and lines of a being, but the details, from overall attitude  and gestures to the color of their hair. Just image the set of skilled artists needed to finish one statue! It would actually be interesting to know, for each sculpture whether the artist worked from a real model or a visual and how long it took to complete the full figure. 

If you are lucky, once you get lost in the world of illusions, you will meet your guide: a statue that suddenly comes to life, takes you by the hand, leads you towards the light.