As a noun, reading is the activity of looking at written words and understanding them, or a particular interpretation of a text or situation. As an adjective, it can describe things related to this activity, like reading skills or reading glasses.
It comes from the verb “read” plus the noun-forming suffix “-ing.” “Read” goes back to Old English “rǣdan,” meaning “to interpret, advise, read.”
When critics talk about “a new reading” of a story, they’re treating interpretation itself as a kind of creative act. The same basic skill that lets a child decode letters later lets adults decode laws, cultures, and even other people’s behavior.
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