We had been talking about black holes, and he was rather kicked about the fact that a 30 minute programme on TV had given him as much information on the subject as many years of slightly scattered reading had given me. Had I been sensible, I would have backed off right then- it was pointless even attempting to debate the point with someone who genuinely believed books were redundant. But when was the last time anyone accused me of being sensible?
“I agree it is much more convenient to get information from the internet, and some concepts are better explained through a visual medium”, I conceded. “But there are things which only books can give you.”
“Like what?”, he challenged.
“Books let you linger over some pages, and skip through others. With books you can go back and check something you read earlier. You can read books at the pace you choose, and stop whenever you want to stop.” I knew I was starting to sound almost evangelist, but I couldn’t help it.
“I can do all of that on the Internet”, he informed me. “Besides, a TV programme gets over in an hour, you don’t have to spend days slogging over a book.”
“Forget non-fiction”, I said, realising no response of mine could even start making an impression on a person who thought reading was slogging over. “What about the pleasure of reading a story? I like movies as much as the next person, but there is quite a different charm in reading books.”
“What charm?”, he countered. “Movies are so much better than books. You can see everything in front of you, instead of trying to guess like you have do with books.”
“But isn’t that the whole point of books?”, I asked. “You take what the writer has written, and use that to create something of your own. You fill in the details yourself, so the details become your own, not that of the writer’s.” His glazed eyes told their own story, so I tapered off. “But maybe you are right. Good books make you work, and most people would rather not.”
“Exactly”, he said triumphantly. “After a long day at work, I want to relax in front of the TV. I don’t want to do more work by reading book.”
Though he went around with an infuriating ‘I won the argument’ look for a few days, I actually felt sorry for him. Lost to him was the wonderful universe of books and reading. For him ‘Gone with the Wind’ is a simple love story set in the years of the Civil War. Would he ever appreciate the fine irony of Scarlett finally getting Ashley when she no longer wanted him? For him, the highpoint of ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ is the redundant dragon chasing scene. He would not even be aware of the dynamics between Harry and his best pal.
Books, by their very nature force you to think. I must have been fourteen when I read ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, but that one line by Scout Finch- “I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks.”- has guided my interactions with people ever since. I haven’t seen the movie, but I would assume that by the time the line registered with you, the scene would have shifted to something quite different.
One line from a thousand page tome of James Michener – “An age is called Dark not because the light fails to shine, but because people refuse to see it.” - has stayed with me for so long, that when I accidentally stumbled upon the quote a few days back, I greeted it as I would an old friend. There are many equally memorable lines in movies, but few of as peripheral to the main storyline as this one was.
Forget the musty smell of an old book, and the mint fresh smell of a new book. Forget the slight crackle the pages make when you turn them. Forget the feel of paper, the weight of the book pressing down on your wrists. Forget all those, because there may well be a future where there are no books as we know them.
But even if you take away the multi-sensory pleasure that books give me and leave only the words, I cannot comprehend a future without books and reading. How then can people willingly subject themselves to a life without what to me is the life-force?
I do not ask you what reading means to you, because if you have got this far, I know your answer. But I do want to know if you know how to deal with morons such as that one?
And what memorable lines do you remember from books read five days, or five decades back?
“I can do all of that on the Internet”, he informed me. “Besides, a TV programme gets over in an hour, you don’t have to spend days slogging over a book.”
“Forget non-fiction”, I said, realising no response of mine could even start making an impression on a person who thought reading was slogging over. “What about the pleasure of reading a story? I like movies as much as the next person, but there is quite a different charm in reading books.”
“What charm?”, he countered. “Movies are so much better than books. You can see everything in front of you, instead of trying to guess like you have do with books.”
“But isn’t that the whole point of books?”, I asked. “You take what the writer has written, and use that to create something of your own. You fill in the details yourself, so the details become your own, not that of the writer’s.” His glazed eyes told their own story, so I tapered off. “But maybe you are right. Good books make you work, and most people would rather not.”
“Exactly”, he said triumphantly. “After a long day at work, I want to relax in front of the TV. I don’t want to do more work by reading book.”
Though he went around with an infuriating ‘I won the argument’ look for a few days, I actually felt sorry for him. Lost to him was the wonderful universe of books and reading. For him ‘Gone with the Wind’ is a simple love story set in the years of the Civil War. Would he ever appreciate the fine irony of Scarlett finally getting Ashley when she no longer wanted him? For him, the highpoint of ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ is the redundant dragon chasing scene. He would not even be aware of the dynamics between Harry and his best pal.
Books, by their very nature force you to think. I must have been fourteen when I read ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, but that one line by Scout Finch- “I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks.”- has guided my interactions with people ever since. I haven’t seen the movie, but I would assume that by the time the line registered with you, the scene would have shifted to something quite different.One line from a thousand page tome of James Michener – “An age is called Dark not because the light fails to shine, but because people refuse to see it.” - has stayed with me for so long, that when I accidentally stumbled upon the quote a few days back, I greeted it as I would an old friend. There are many equally memorable lines in movies, but few of as peripheral to the main storyline as this one was.
Forget the musty smell of an old book, and the mint fresh smell of a new book. Forget the slight crackle the pages make when you turn them. Forget the feel of paper, the weight of the book pressing down on your wrists. Forget all those, because there may well be a future where there are no books as we know them.
But even if you take away the multi-sensory pleasure that books give me and leave only the words, I cannot comprehend a future without books and reading. How then can people willingly subject themselves to a life without what to me is the life-force?
I do not ask you what reading means to you, because if you have got this far, I know your answer. But I do want to know if you know how to deal with morons such as that one?
And what memorable lines do you remember from books read five days, or five decades back?
_____
Images - author's own, taken on the streets of Bombay, India
