Woah. After taking a sneak peak at some of the blog posts before I read the story, I was curious to know what type of reading could leave everyone so exhausted…and now it most certainly makes sense.
I can’t think of many things more tiring that trying to analyze, let alone read, this text. Despite this though, and it looks like I’m part of the minority here, but overall it was an enjoyable experience. For one thing, the style of writing used here is totally unique – and Shelley earned my respect for such a creative way of informing the reader and making her points.
Although I was completely thrown off by the introduction and all of the strange opening phrases to each section, it came full circle to me by the end of the text. Throughout the read, I began to understand the characteristics and issues with hypertext. I achieved this not only by the content offered, but the style of writing as well.
Shelley Jackson says that in order to keep a person reading, you must give them indicators that they will continue to make more sense of the information, and gain new knowledge. “I am interested in writing that verges on nonsense, where nonsense is not the absence of sense, but the superfluity of it.” Not only is this point true of hypertext, but the point comes completely full circle in the way she uncovers her points in her story. The story left me a little dizzy – not completely sure of what I picked up on. However, with a SERIOUS effort to counteracting my ADD, I did make more sense of it as I got closer to the end.
Overall, it really was interesting. Jackson managed, in my eyes, to do an awesome job re-iterating her points about hypertext in the way she wrote. I can’t say I’ve even read anything like this, or necessarily want to again, but it was definitely eye-opening.