Reading a delining pastime

[Gavin]

[Color=royalblue]I have noticed now, that many people would rather go out and see a film based on a book than read the book itself i.e. Lord of the Rings, which has been made into a very successful film series but doesn't stick to the book too well.

For me the greatest for of entertainment is a good book, there is now other form, which stimulates the imagination so much. However I fear that this form shall not be around much longer due to the mindless crap that we now embrace into modern society. It is only those who enjoy reading now do not see it as a boring pastime that lack colorful visuals.

Fewer people now of my age group enjoy reading and prefer to watch television. I can't blame them because I to do this when I do not have a book to read. I wonder does anyone else notice this problem in our society today[/color]

[treton_noir]

as far as the tolkien writings are concerned, i would rather see the movies. i like the books and all, but they are over written. he included way too much stuff that just gets in the way of the story. the movie, in the interest of time, has removed most of the useless information. this also makes the movie more interesting(not just shorter).

i think overall, though, i enjoy the book more, whether i read it before or after the viewing of the film. i.e. Frank Herbert's "Dune". i saw the movie and then read the book. the movie was good (the old one, not the crappy remake "Dune 2000"), but the book blew me away. it's also overwritten to a point, but not nearly as much as the tolkien stuff.

[Corey]

I want that damn avitar...

Anyway, I too enjoy reading. The only problem is, is that I don't have all that free time anymore. I used to be able to get home from schol, pick, up something to read for an hour or so, then do my homework, eat dinner, go to bed and read for another hour or so.

Now I get home from school, go to work, get off at seven pm minimum, come home, eat, shower, and do homework. By then it's at least ten. Sometime later if they have me close. I simply don't have the time.

So how do I make up for this lack of reading time? I go see the movies. LOTR one and two were great. I attempted to get into the books about three years ago and fail miserably. I couldn't get out of the prolouge of The Fellowship. The movie gripped me. I saw it three times and all three were great.

I don't think it's a question of preference, I think it's a matter of time.

[Zidargh]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=darkblue] Well I always enjoy a good book. Films are great to witness, especially if they're based on a book that happens to be very famous and you can really pick out the interpretation of it, but when I read at night, homework catches onto my mind and I find it hard to imagine what the story is about any more. Especially if my eyes become tires and my legs just ache from a static motion, I dont know. I just wish I had time to sit down and read, without worrying about daily things that are necessities in life.
Though still, I disagree with the fact that Tolkien wrote too much as he had a dream of creating his own world, and reading his books lets me respect that, imagine the effort.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Kittcat]

[color=crimson]I prefer television, normaly. Even though the stimulation of the imagination is good, I just like a good movie about the book over a good book. Its a shame, though. I think more than half the movies I've seen that were based on movies weren't anything like the book. They were actually kinda bad, compared to the book. I never learn, though. :rolleyes: I still see them, anyway. Once in a great while, I pick up a book, and read it... (I can't stand LOTR in book or movie form, though.)[/color]

[Armadillomon]

To be honest with y'all, I think it depends on the TV/book. Some things are just butchered when brought from book to TV/movie. But of course TV and movies help you to visualize what you have read. I guess the jury's still out on this one!

[Kei]

[color=royalblue]I've noticed that people's interest in books have declined in recent years as well.

It is a fact that most people simply don't have the time to read, but it is also a fact that television is probably why they don't have the time to read. A lot of kids in this day and age are addicted to TV and movies, as they have never been introduced to all that books can offer.

I, myself, am quite the avid reader as I don't really get homework and have a lot of spare time on my hands. I've been reading books like the Redwall series and other things similar to it, as the fantasy genre appeals to me, that really stetch one's imagination, but with all the advances in cinematography and all the high-action, flashy shows as of late (i.e. Lord of the Rings, Fastlane, and the soon coming Miracles) the people who frequently watch television and movies have no reason to read anymore, as the special effects on the screen replace what the imagination can do in the mind. It's quite sad really, as later generations might lose interest in books all together...[/color]

[Queen Asuka]

[color=deeppink][size=1]I prefer to read a book. I love reading, but it's actually hard to find time to do it with all the other responsibilites that I have. I don't ever watch TV either.

And the only way I could see myself prefering TV over a book is in Anime VS. Manga, but even then I still prefer to read manga a lot of the times.

And another thing, TVs aren't portable. You can't just carry a TV around everywhere you go. (Well, some idiots can...), but a book is always there and can go anywhere you do. Books are awesome and it is a proven fact that people who read are smarter people. So there...

All you idiots out there, do us all a favor, go read an educational book. And no, magazines do not count.

Hey, does anyone else's school do Silent Reading once a month?[/color][/size]

[Mr. Maul]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Queen Asuka [/i]
[B][color=deeppink][size=1]

Hey, does anyone else's school do Silent Reading once a month?[/color][/size] [/B][/QUOTE]

YES! and no.
Our school makes us read for half an hour after lunch every day.
I say read the book first, see the movie, then get mad at what a horrible job they did.

[wrist cutter]

Bleh... I really dislike reading. Unless I'm forced to read something for school. But other than that all I read is Garfield.

But then again I don't watch much TV either. I find a lot of movies to be unappealing and same goes for television shows...

[Semjaza]

The thread title is rather ironic.

I used to love reading. I own well into hundreds of books, and there was a time where I seriously collected them. I own a 2nd editon Uncle Tom's Cabin, some original Longfellow poetry books, original Wizard of Oz books, the first Hardin Craig Stanford Shakespeare book and an original Mein Klampf (with a Nazi stamp on it even). Books were something that obviously [i]really[/i] interested me.

Then I got to highschool. The first couple years were okay... Even if we did read a lot. Stuff like the Odyssey and the Aeneid. The only problem was that we were expected to read those entire books within about a week each. Normally, that's not horrible, but if anyone has ever read those, they aren't exactly written normally. They are hard to follow at times, and coupled with other schoolwork... Well it sucked.


The farther we got on in high school the more we had to read. It just turned reading into a chore, instead of something I could honestly enjoy. I've barely read since then. I can't even remember finishing a book outside of a manga (or magazine) in recent memory. Only other things I read are online or in a videogame.

[Mnemolth]

Well you people might blame TV, but actually video games and the PC are eating much more into children's leisure time.

And the idea that reading is a declining past time is problematic. Why? Because more people now read than ever before in the history of the world. Don't forget you need to read to surf the net. And things like fanfiction is very popular amongst your age group.

And if you say these things don't 'count'? Then I would ask who are you to decide what constitutes reading and what does not? :D

Personally I don't think the problem is with reading. The problem is with time. People don't seem to have time, regardless of how little or how much they do. We're all very busy running in circles. ;)

People never idle anymore. And that is a shame. Because it is often in moments of idling that we free the wings of imagination and let loose the power of creativity.

But we don't idle. We don't concentrate. And books, rich rewarding books need both.

[Queen Asuka]

[color=indigo][size=1]I think alot of people quit reading once they hit high school because they force you to read those horrible novels and you have to keep in schedule and forced reading is not good. Especially for me. I never really liked it. I like to read at my own pace.

At our school, every month and a half, we have what is called Silent Reading. It is where at the beginning of every class, for fifteen minutes, you have to read. It's quite simple: Read, make a 100. Don't read, get a 0. I personally choose to read. :bluesweat[/color][/size]

[eleanor]

My sister usually gives me books after she's used them for school, her highschool picks some pretty good books, they always become my favorites!
I guess movies that are based on books of action are more appealing than the book, since kids these days seem to be getting more violent. (I think it's due to video games)

[Rhys Mayiessen]

[color=navy]I love to read!!!!!!! I read all the time and yes I do prefer to read books than watch tv. I read all the book of the Lord of the Rings, and the Hobbit, and I'm going to be reading the Silmillarion (sp?) and Unfinished Tales. I actually started to read more in late grade seven and I still love to read and I'm in grade 10.[/color]

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]Books are vastly better than television in my opinon. My imagination is vast, sometimes too vast, and it explodes whenever i'm reading a book. Television shows you WHAT is happening, like it is set in stone most of the time. Books, you can let yourself wander, absorbing the words and transforming the adventure into reality. Its alot more fun than letting someone else transform a story into a reality- IE TV.[/color]

[Sara]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Queen Asuka [/i]
[B][color=deeppink][size=1]Hey, does anyone else's school do Silent Reading once a month?[/color][/size] [/B][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1]Heh, I wish...

I love reading, I really do... But the truth is, I read a [i]lot[/i] less than I used to [still more than most people I know...o0]. And it's not because of television or movies. :p I still hardly watch television. What's changed in the past couple years?

Dun dun dun..... Internet. Most of my free time is spent online, or messing with photoshop.

Which is why I really enjoy Trig class. I understand the assignment, I work ahead...and I just relax and read and write during class. ^_^

I prefer book to television adaptations because my imagination is always much more vivid than what they can cram into a TVscreen. In a few cases, I've seen the movie before I knew there was a book [I watched [i]Tuck Everlasting[/i] years andf years ago....] and when I found out there was a book--wow, was I ever ecstatic. But then it was more about the movie's Winnie, not my own version. So it was like I was reading a book based off the movie, more than the other way around, I think. The characters were already there, I was just learning more about them, instead of starting out with the book and falling in love with Jesse all on my own. Heh. I don't know if that made sense to anyone. :toothy:[/SIZE]

[Queen Asuka]

[color=indigo][size=1]Oh gosh, the internet. I waste so much time right here on the internet everyday. I just sit here and post on the Otaku Boards for hours. And when I was in OBB, it was just me and Ken back and forth for like a whole page of posts. I need to get out more...

Heh, Sara, Trig class. I had that last year and my notebook was like a picture book with math problems. The only thing keeping me awake was doodling. Man, I had some cool looking anime chics in there. ^_^[/color][/size]

[PiroMunkie]

[color=indigo]Egh, I really am not much of a reader. I never really have been. Of course, as Mnemolth said, I am reading when I surf the net and look over people's posts here, but I do not really enjoy reading books. None of them interest me at all. Plus my comprehension level is not all that great, and with the things we have to read in high school, reading just makes me insane. Last year when we were reading [u]A Tale of Two Cities[/u], we pretty much always took a short quiz at the beginning of class each day over what we read. We did not even get a chance to talk about it or anything. We were just expected to [i]know[/i] every little thing about the chapter(s). So obviously, my grade plummeted. In fact, I had an 'A' in that class before we started reading the book. By the time we finished, I was at a low 'F'. I think my percentage was somewhere in the upper forties. So yes, obviously this is not going to boost my opinion of reading into something positive. We read [u]The Scarlet Letter[/u] this year. I did a much better in that. My grade only dropped to a 'B', but I have a really good teacher this year. She makes reading seem interesting, and makes the class fun. By far the greatest English teacher I have ever had, but that is another subject.

On the other hand, though, I do not watch much television or go see many movies. Television today is just crap, and I doubt that many will honestly deny that. I mostly watch late night Comedy Central (late night television is yummy). I do not really have any money or means to go see movies. I probably would not be seeing much if I did. Most movies these days do not interest me to the point where I would actually go out and see them.

So where does my literary and visual fun come in besides the rare book and occasional television show? Simple. I do not like most television. Yet, I am quite a visual person. I do not like to read a lot of tiny little details and hidden sub-meanings. Yet, I cannot get too far if I do not read. So, if you put the facts that I am visual, but do feel the compulsion to read [i]something[/i]... what do you get?

Comic books! ^__^ Or any book with pictures, really.

I used to read these a lot when I was younger. It all started with the ever-famous Dr. Suess. After a while, I started reading my brother's comic books, which were the common [i]X-Men[/i], [i]Spider-Man[/i], [i]The Hulk[/i], and [i]The Fantastic Four[/i]. Eventually, you just get tired of having the same steroid-pumped, muscle-bound, testosterone-driven (minus the invisible woman) heroes and villains. So I set those down and went back to books with pictures. When I was in the fifth grade, my teacher had some books in his room of classic stories like [u]20,000 Leagues Under the Sea[/u], [u]Sherlock Holmes[/u], and [u]Moby Dick[/u]. They were not the original stories with all of the nitty gritty details (like [u]Moby Dick[/u]), but the story was just the same, and every ten or so pages they had a picture of something to do with what you had read. Those were fun. Then we started getting into evil books like [u]Where the Red Fern Grows[/u] and [u]Johnny Tremain[/u]. So I just started to shy away from it because it had become so torturous to me to have to read such things.

In the recent years, though, I have gotten into Jhonen Vasquez's work. True, some of the comics are utterly pointless ([u]Bad Art Collection[/u]... *cough* It was still rather humorous, though.), but [u]Johnny the Homicidal Maniac[/u] is quite interesting. If you just look at the panels, it just seems like a blood bath every time you turn the page, but when you read everything and all, you begin to see things within the words. Not too mention I can relate to pretty much everything he says, so it is a lot easier for me to understand. Even my room and part of his house look similar.

Though, I still do read a normal book every-so-often if I find one that actually interests me. I received [u]Walden[/u] by Henry David Thoreau for Santa Day, so I plan on reading that. I have yet to start reading it, but I shall probably wait until I go back to school. I have acquired an keen interest in the Transcendentalists, and to think it all started from the musical [i]Clue[/i], lol. Professor Plum (my character) quoted Thoreau a few times, and was even ostracized by the Detective for doing so.

So yes, that is my story. o-O[/color]

[Queen Asuka]

[color=indigo][size=1]Ah, Transcendentalism. Much fun was that in 11th grade Lit. We did that last year and we had to come up with a song that was Transcendental and have a visual aid and everything. It was pretty interesting.

When we read "Self-Reliance," we had to write a response, and mine was so awesome. It was all Anti-conformity. You'd like Self-Reliance, Piro.[/color][/size]

[PiroMunkie]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Queen Asuka[/i]
[B][color=indigo][size=1]When we read "Self-Reliance," we had to write a response, and mine was so awesome. It was all Anti-conformity. You'd like Self-Reliance, Piro.[/color][/size][/B][/QUOTE][color=indigo]By Emerson, yes, I have read that, and I did enjoy it. Though, on the subject of non-conformity, I prefer Thoreau's [i]On the Duty of Civil Disobedience[/i] (more commonly known today as just [i]Civil Disobedience[/i]).[/color]

[Syk3]

Well, I was originally going to say that I prefer television, because I don't have a lot of time to read books, lately, but when you introduce message boards into the equation, I guess I do prefer reading. Hmm, funny how you do things without realizing it. ::is currently involuntarily kicking over a trash can:: (seriously o_O)

[James]

[color=#507AAC]Mnemolth is right; do you realize that you are reading ALL day long when you visit OB? Interesting. ~_^

Red XIII is right though. There are few things in this world better than a truly great book. Even though I adore games like FFVII, which are like an interactive novel...I also love imagining the scenery by myself...and getting wrapped up in the characters and the setting.

I used to read a lot but I haven't read a novel recently. The main reason is that I simply don't know what to read! lol

Either that, or I end up spending my money on something other than books.

But, yeah...this thread reminds me. There are a few books I want to try out. I think Tom Clancy's latest book looks interesting...[/color]