(U-WIRE) HONOLULU, Hawaii - Observing my friends' leisure habits, I find that hardly any of them read for fun. Does the same go for the rest of our age group?
Reading seems to be a thing of the past. Not required reading, but opening up a book for the pure joy of it.
What exactly am I getting at? Well, compare the number of movies you've seen in the past year to the amount of leisure reading you've done. Unless you live in a monastery you'll probably choose the former.
As technology rapidly progresses, more of life's practical tidbits become visually-oriented. It's no wonder human beings lean toward optical entertainment over the written word. I'm guilty of the same deed.
It is said that by 2000, 1 out of every 4 people in the U.S. will be illiterate. That isn't altogether believable but it does make you wonder. So what can be done to encourage people to read books?
Whatever it is, it has to start quick, or that figure regarding illiteracy may become true.
I think one of the principle issues is entertainment value. A lot of people nowadays don't realize how fun reading can be. Books aren't so bad. Actually, a good book is much more invigorating than a movie.
Right now most of you probably think I'm a few colors short of a rainbow for saying that. However, there are some fairly good reasons why an exciting novel can be preferred over a motion picture.
For starters, when watching a movie, you are seeing the director's interpretation of the story. If you don't like the way a character looks or is portrayed, tough noogies.
While reading a book, how you visualize a character or a scene is all up to you. The author's writing is simply the yarn for the reader's imaginary fabric. Inherently, reading stimulates your brain and develops creative thinking.
If I'm not mistaken, reading is also a superior method for broadening one's vocabulary. Nowadays, the ability to express yourself with a larger array of words is indispensable. What sounds better, "a bit confused" or "a tad perplexed"?
Okay, movies can invoke your imagination and widen your vocabulary. In either case, not nearly as much as reading does. A novel can achieve what a movie plainly isn't capable of: go into vivid and precise detail.
Take George Lucas' Star Wars. Not only does Lucas create such a vast universe with unforgettable characters, he gives us a story line which we quickly become perpetually engrossed in.
The Star Wars trilogy is a legend beyond compare. As good as all three movies were, not everything Lucas brought forth in his books could not be converted to the silver screen.
How many of you know that Chewbacca is bound by honor to Han Solo because Han freed Chewy and his race of wookies from slavery?
Intricate details like that can't be extracted from the books into the movie because there simply isn't enough time. Let's not forget that the Star Wars series comes after the books involving a young Anykin Skywalker who becomes Darth Vader.
I'm not trying to preach abstinence from movie-watching. I enjoy a good one as much as the next person. A good movie is like a roller coaster. It sucks you in and doesn't release you until the very end.
Look at it this way: through a movie, you can escape the real world for a couple of hours. With a novel, you can escape for good ten to twenty (Depending on how fast a reader you are).
The great thing is that it doesn't have to be classic literature to be a learning experience. A good Stephen King or Dean Koontz book does wonders for the brain.
So if you have some spare time on your hands, don't be so quick to flip on the TV. Open up a book. You know how the saying goes - you never know until you try.