Post by Clipper on Feb 13, 2016 9:02:29 GMT -5
Feb 11, 2016 17:31:06 GMT -5 @alanquigly said:
At one time I was a voracious reader. Usually had 4 or 5 books going at a time. Began to read less fiction and more history in my forties. Also about that time discovered "the classics." Authors like Thomas Hardy, Hawthorne, Melville, Stendahl, Faulkner, DHLaurence, etc., (Funny how I got started on the classic literature. I had always wanted to augment that part of my limited literary education and I used to visit a used book store (Annie's?) that bought your old books and priced them as a percentage of the original cover price. Turned out all of their classics were from people trading in years-old college paperbacks priced at between 75 cents and $1.25. In other words, the classics were the cheapest books in the house.
And I figured that these works became famous for a reason. They must have been very good. I found some of the best stories and some of the most terrific writing in these classics. That should not of course have been a surprise, but I guess it was to me. Often the language usage is archaic, but after the first chapter or so my modern mind got used the flowery language and the slow but steady pace. A book, in the view of a Victorian man or lady, was not supposed to move too fast. A chapter, read slowly and savored, was seen as an evening's entertainment. Novels weren't considered worthwhile if they weren't long and drawn out and filled with floral phrases. If you consider, for example, Herman Melville's "Moby Dick," written in the classic manner, versus his "Typee," also a novel, but written in shorter, punchy sentences for newspaper serialization and for the common reader, you'll see the latter is much more like what we're used to today. Melville wrote in both styles, depending upon where he thought he could sell the piece.
People have always been a most favorite topic of readers and stories from that era were often heavily involved with Character. Read again what you might remember as a children's story, Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" and you'll see that in the original it's actually a tale of a tough marriage that wasn't improved by Rip's 20 year absence.
Well, anyway ... the point I wanted to make when I began this post is that I no longer read that much. As I age and my eyes deteriorate, reading has become more difficult. My recent cataract surgery has helped and I have begun again to buy books and am enjoying them. But now I fall asleep when I get comfortable in a chair and open a book. Or my Restless Legs Syndrome acts up and I can't sit still and concentrate.
I suppose I've substituted playing around on the Internet for my old reading habits. And that's OK with me as long as either of those activities contains some learning. We read to learn about the world, but also ourselves. The latter is probably the real draw of fictional novels. Fiction has the ability to draw out our best dreams for ourselves.
My reading is not confined to books. I read fiction for pleasure, usually from hard bound, printed books. I track current events and gain new knowledge by reading and browsing on the internet. Before I had a computer I used to go to the library when something peaked my curiosity. Now when I become curious about something, or desire more information on any given subject, I use Google or Bing and search it out on the internet. I read the Utica OD on-line, as well as our local Bristol print edition newspaper each morning, I watch the TV news, both local and national/world news programs, and when I turn on the computer and open my browser it opens to the MSN news page.
We have come a long way from the days when we depended on local TV or printed newspapers for our news, or the library and books for learning. We no longer have to wait until the paper is delivered, or wait for the 6 o'clock news to get an update. Between cable news networks and the internet, the latest breaking news is available to us anytime, day or night, and research information on any given subject is available at the click of a mouse.
I think that those of us with a thirst for learning have become somewhat spoiled. We have come a long ways over the years. I myself tend to take for granted the advances in sources of information, the wide variety of paths to the information we may desire, and the speed at which we can access things.
I only hope that printed books do not become obsolete and disappear in my lifetime. I truly enjoy the pleasure gained in holding a printed book in my hands and reading the printed text. I simply don't care for the idea of doing my nightly reading on a tablet or other electronic device. I like reading my book until I get sleepy, putting the bookmark in, and setting it aside on the nightstand until the next night.