I don't understand some people's idea that as long as somebody's reading, whatever books, it's better than watching TV.
Take Twilight. I'd like to add 50 Shades of Grey too, but that trilogy I haven't read. What can one get out of Twilight? I can't think of anything. I don't mean that the book has to be excellent and very well-written, I don't mean that it has to be serious literature- think about the Harry Potter series, at least it's about courage, love, friendship, compassion, trust, loyalty, fighting against evil...; deals with racism, the notion of racial purity and ethnic cleansing, class distinction, the distortion of truth in the media...; brings you many creatures and objects from folklore, Greek mythology, Norse mythology... and fosters your imagination.
I'm not saying that Twilight fans are stupid, shallow or uncultured, but what good can one get out of Twilight? If it's about fun and pleasure, why is that better than watching TV? There are tons of good and informative programmes on TV, about history, nature, science, culture, travel... I'm not saying that we should only do things that bring us something, teach us something..., but why do some people think reading, per se, is good, and watching TV, per se, is bad?
I must say that I too fail to understand the logic behind "as long as they're reading something..." business. Of course, people are free to read whatever they want, but as you say, if they are reading purely for light entertainment, I don't see why that should be seen as a superior activity to various other things they could be doing for light entertainment - watching sport, going to the cinema, playing golf, etc. etc. And if people are reading rubbish (which, of course, they are perfectly entitled to do: it's none of my business what people may choose to read!) then I can think of any number of non-reading activities that I would consider more "worthwhile". Like taking a walk in the park and looking at a few trees; or listening to the birds; or just sitting back and watching the clouds drift by!
ReplyDeleteRight....
DeleteOh wait, you consider going to the cinema light entertainment?