The Lonely, Good Company Of Books By Richard Rodriguez

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“The Lonely, Good Company of Books” by Richard Rodriguez is an autobiography about his childhood and finding his love for books. The 2005 Stanford Commencement Speech given by Steve Jobs talks about his early life, college, Apple, starting Pixar, and returning to Apple. Both readings depict not knowing the purpose behind reading or taking classes. Then finding the purpose in the end. Both Steve Jobs and Richard Rodriguez had similar questions during their childhoods. Steve Jobs was given up for adoption by his birth mother because she felt that she was not capable of providing the life she wanted him to have. She wanted Steve to go to college which was a necessity. Richard grew up in a family that didn’t read literature but was forced to read extensively at school. He never enjoyed books until he found the love of free reading and analyzing books to find the message behind them. In his speech Steve Jobs stated that when he went to college and after six months of drowning his parents’ savings, he did not enjoy the experience and said “…I couldn’t see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life…” (pg. 111). He dropped out and sat in on some classes he found interest in. Richard while being forced to read books he wondered “What was the connection between reading and …show more content…

After dropping out Steve attended a calligraphy course that made the beautiful typography on the first Mac possible and changed the word of computers forever. Richard’s parents always pondered what he saw in reading. His response was, “What did I see in my books? I had the idea that they were crucial for my academic success…” (pg. 105). He was able to recall meanings of novels to use in essays and speeches. He received praise and respect from his teachers, librarians, and many others. Richard found academic success in his love for