Harris' Introduction

Joseph Harris takes reading and writing to a new and more personal level than I possibly could have imagined. It is the probably the blatant way he tells us that we aren’t really reading books but rather getting the information and “forwarding” it to either another source or just writing it down in different words. Harris does not believe this is the true way to read; rather, when reading and writing you need to understand what you are reading and writing; it is a matter of diving into the text and researching what you are dealing with in a way. He mentions how there will be a personal bias or what I see as just the readers’ beliefs included in the response to a piece. Furthermore, Harris makes writing out to be a social activity rather than a personal one as is the common thought with most pieces written.
Sullivan and Harris have a decent connection I believe when it comes to the writing as a social activity. When I think about blogging, everyone is able to read what is being written by the specific blogger and comment on it which makes it more personal for the interested readers out there. In addition to this, blogs are flexible unlike the kind of writing Harris is talking about and are capable of being transformed to give the audience a better understanding and even examples through other sources. Nevertheless, most writings go back to what Harris was saying, which is that a main document being repeated again, and includes an idea that was evoked by the piece or your understanding. In the end, I believe that Joseph Harris was telling us that what we do is rewrite information and add a personal spin to it; the goal is not to lose focus of what the original piece is but to react to it after understanding it thoroughly.