Posts tagged ‘reading’
POEMS AND FLEETING THOUGHTS: OLD BOOKS
My old books,
Some two hundred years
Have little value
Except to me,
I wonder at their owners,
Readers long gone.
Gazing into a future
Unknown,
With my words
Hundreds of years gone
Cause the same ponder
Of a lover of books.
STRUGGLING TO GET IT WRITE: A WRITER’S NEED TO READ
I want to approach the making of a writer from a new direction, that with reading in mind.
These thoughts are the result of the ongoing question I have: Can imagination be taught? I have pondered this topic in past posts. You can be taught how to write, but can you be taught what to imagine, taught how to provide that spark which becomes a work of fiction. Some writers use prompts to get their writing juices flowing, but I feel these prompts could provide either the imagination trigger for a piece or merely a subject, depending on the individual. The crux of the effort is the individual.
The birth of this piece is the fact we are told over and over that when a writer is not writing he should be reading. As I write this I continue to perform mental gymnastics. If you must be encouraged to read can writing be in your future? For some reason, I have always had a burning desire to read which required no encouragement and feel naked when books are not present or readily available. I’ve always felt that the more vivid your imagination, the more enjoyment you derive from reading, the more vivid your imagination the more brilliant the pictures created in your mind as you read a book. Images which a video game or television show cannot compete with. In this sense, a writer can’t help but be a reader feeling incomplete without a book close by. For that book is feeding what is the life’s blood of the writer – his imagination.
READING VS VIDEO GAMES TIME MARCHES ON
If you own one of those new watches that does EVERYTHING, even tell you the time, you have wrapped around your wrist more computer power than went on the first trips to the moon.
I have witnessed the birth and development of the home computer, a presence today in the modern home almost as common as a fork or knife. One fact that constantly amazes me, perhaps because I reside in the population of the well-seasoned is what I find to be the primary use of these machines. That observation is what prompted the birth of this piece.
When we read, one of my favorite pastimes, whether it is fiction or nonfiction we; our mind, our imagination, created the setting of the story, ‘sees’ the story take place. In my opinion, the more we read the more ‘muscles’ our imagination develops. And the more you read the more satisfying the experience becomes. That is my opinion. I cannot speak for anyone else.
The following is pure conjecture and I hope my young readers will correct me if they find fault with what follows.
We are constantly told that the youth of today do not read as much as the youth of the past. Today there is a host of activities to keep the mind occupied. One of these modern marvels is the video game.
I must admit that I have dabbled with the media with my girls when they were young, but an interest never developed. Recalling my limited exposure, the imagination did not come into play. The story line was presented to you visually. It was more or less as if you were watching a television program which you controlled. Your imagination did not grow any ‘muscles’, only your thumbs. Are we raising a generation which lacks the wonder of what an active imagination can provide?
These are the thoughts of a well-seasoned citizen. My youthful readers, am I wrong?
ADDICTED TO PRINT
Perhaps it is my age or my past or a combination of both, but I am addicted to the word printed on paper. I know my love spells doom for many trees but I am in too deep. I also know that this is the age of the eBook. Some of my work is available in this medium. I am intrigued by the Kindle White, the prospect of carrying a thousand books with you. But for now I’ll stick with paper.
One question I have is, “How well do the eReaders bounce?”
I am forever falling asleep while reading, either in bed or in my favorite chair (I am getting old). When I awake my book is usually on the floor and closed; my place gone. In my daughter, Lynn’s, younger days I would tell her I lost my place and she would answer, “Don’t worry, Dad. It’ll turn up.”
Here are more reasons why I may never switch to the electronic medium. I love the smell of books. I know many of you are also closet book sniffers. When I begin a new book I open it up to its middle and breathe in its scent. I love holding books and being surrounded by piles of them waiting to be read.
I especially love the smell of old books. Some you need not open to gain their odor. The smell of their history bombards you. I have a bookcase full of old books. My oldest is a book of English history from the late 1700’s. I doubt if my old volumes have much value. Why I cherish them is, as I hold them, I wonder who held them when they were new, and how those people lived. I wonder if they appreciated the books scent when it was new.
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