Victor Hugo's Les Miserables with Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway has hit the big screen. Charles Dickens' Great Expectations with Helena Bonham Carter will start screening soon. There is a buzz about these movies and they will draw an audience and perhaps make Hollywood and the actors quite a bit of money. But it made me wonder about the actual books and how many people will have read or will read these books. Do people today simply prefer to watch the movie than read the book? Is there anything wrong with this?
Why does it seem like classic novels are only read by the elderly, reading groups, classes, students and writers? Most people who work and lead busy lives want to read great novels but don't seem to make time for them. It is that they are no longer relevant or enjoyable? Has our idea of what is a great novel changed?
We'd rather be couch potatoes watching reality television than curl up with a book. It's work to read, we spend all day using our brain and we want to switch off, it takes too long, what's the point, you'll read when you are on holiday - the litany of excuses goes on. But then we don't mind playing with ipads and surfing the internet. Do we just want snapshots and postcards rather than big long trips exploring the world of make believe?
I find that I do like to watch certain actors and actresses. They take a story and bring it to life, colouring my imagination with the interpretation and vision of others. I have read Great Expectations, but sadly never finished Les Miserable, though I tried many years ago. Dickens is brilliant and creates character and story like no other. There is a reason why he has stood the test of time. Les Miserables, the musical, is loved by many and continues to be produced by theatre companies year after year. It was one of my favourites for a long time.
We have so much to choose from and we don't choose to appreciate the written word as much any more and we don't choose to encourage greatness in our literature today. It doesn't bring instant rewards and it doesn't provide immediate gratification.
I admit that I watch too much television. I can't help it. I love all creative mediums and I get quick fixes hearing what script writers have come up with, little stories and learning new things. But I did google the other day whether watching too much television is bad. I read that television doesn't relax you like music because you become invested in the character.It's true. The essence of any good story in any medium - be it television, movies or books is conflict. It is this tension that keeps people staying to find out what happens.
Perhaps it is also the fact that we use multiple senses when we watch television - audio and visual so it takes more out of us and we do feel like we become more involved.
What place does Dickens and Hugo have for us in the future? Will it continue to be classrooms and the big screen?. Are we seeing the death of the novel with ebooks and thus they are just another diversion which we might happen upon and never again revisit given the multitude of material out there? Have we lost our way with quantity rather than quality? Should we audit quality and ensure that it maintains a firm place for the generations to come?
I hope they do continue to be recognised for their greatness and that the novels are appreciated for the language, structure, creativity and story. The movies never are as good as the books. Project Gutenberg provides many classics for free, so please download a copy and invest your precious time in the rewarding experience of reading. You may be amazed at the result.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
To kindle or not to kindle
I resisted ebooks for a long time. I'm old school and dismissed the kindle as a fad. Libraries are time honoured traditions where you discover the world of books, you wander the aisles and carry your treasures home with you. You buy your favourite books and read them again and again and again. It's my dream to have a lovely collection of beautiful volumes of classics. I love the smell and feel of books, turning pages and seeing how many more pages until the next chapter. It's delicious reading the first page and you savour the last few pages, feeling like you are bidding farewell to a good friend who you will no longer spend as much time with.
However, I have to bow to practicalities and realise that technology has come a long way. The kindle is like a jukebox of your favourite songs and you can play whichever you so fancy at any point in time.
It achieves my dream of owning a library, it's just that it is not quite as I envisaged - it's a virtual library. What I love is that you can read pdfs and access all the free ebooks on gutenberg. I miss the weight of a book and it can never be comparable to the experience of holding a real book. But it does make sense when you are on the tube, waiting for the bus or a friend, or going on holiday.
I wonder what Shakespeare, Dickens and Woolf would have thought about these contraptions. As avid readers, would they have embraced the kindle and realised the potential of an increasing market of readers, that books continue to vie for the hearts of today's busy person who may often rather reality television, a dark cinema or nightclub, or a pint at the pub, to being curled up and hearing a great story?
The kindle is good for readers and writers. And you know what? Libraries have ebooks you can borrow now too!
However, I have to bow to practicalities and realise that technology has come a long way. The kindle is like a jukebox of your favourite songs and you can play whichever you so fancy at any point in time.
It achieves my dream of owning a library, it's just that it is not quite as I envisaged - it's a virtual library. What I love is that you can read pdfs and access all the free ebooks on gutenberg. I miss the weight of a book and it can never be comparable to the experience of holding a real book. But it does make sense when you are on the tube, waiting for the bus or a friend, or going on holiday.
I wonder what Shakespeare, Dickens and Woolf would have thought about these contraptions. As avid readers, would they have embraced the kindle and realised the potential of an increasing market of readers, that books continue to vie for the hearts of today's busy person who may often rather reality television, a dark cinema or nightclub, or a pint at the pub, to being curled up and hearing a great story?
The kindle is good for readers and writers. And you know what? Libraries have ebooks you can borrow now too!
Praise for Timbuktu by Paul Auster
We read for many reasons - to escape, be inspired, relax and learn, just to name a few. Timbuktu by Paul Auster is an absolute job for its simplicity and beauty. It's a novella about a man and his dog, and the reader has the joy of flipping point of view from the master to his pet.
Auster is daring, outrageously creative and perhaps one of the best modern writers alive today. The first novel that I read by him, and one of his most well known is The New York Trilogy. Its a dark and clever series of short novels, with characters called Blue, Brown, Black and White. It has a unique sense of being a comic book within literary fiction.
When writing today for the modern reader, we should dare to experiment and strive to surprise. What also interests me is that Auster shows that size doesn't matter. His books are often novellas and leave you hungry for more. It may be a strategy in itself to develop a strong readership and adapt to time poor consumers.
My only question is do great writers need to flex their imagination a little more and move away from protagonists who are writers? Mr Bones (the dog) is funny and sweet. Willy G Christmas is quirky and interesting, but again Auster has chosen a character who is also a writer.
If you haven't discovered Paul Auster, then I cannot shout more loudly - please read his novels and encourage other readers and writers to do so. Timbuktu is a great place to start, but there are many more as he covers a range of genres which is admirable. We need more of Auster's ilk.
The Macmillan website has links to interviews with Auster. The Paris Review - Paul Auster, The Art of Fiction is particularly great if you are interested in the craft of writing.
Auster is daring, outrageously creative and perhaps one of the best modern writers alive today. The first novel that I read by him, and one of his most well known is The New York Trilogy. Its a dark and clever series of short novels, with characters called Blue, Brown, Black and White. It has a unique sense of being a comic book within literary fiction.
When writing today for the modern reader, we should dare to experiment and strive to surprise. What also interests me is that Auster shows that size doesn't matter. His books are often novellas and leave you hungry for more. It may be a strategy in itself to develop a strong readership and adapt to time poor consumers.
My only question is do great writers need to flex their imagination a little more and move away from protagonists who are writers? Mr Bones (the dog) is funny and sweet. Willy G Christmas is quirky and interesting, but again Auster has chosen a character who is also a writer.
If you haven't discovered Paul Auster, then I cannot shout more loudly - please read his novels and encourage other readers and writers to do so. Timbuktu is a great place to start, but there are many more as he covers a range of genres which is admirable. We need more of Auster's ilk.
The Macmillan website has links to interviews with Auster. The Paris Review - Paul Auster, The Art of Fiction is particularly great if you are interested in the craft of writing.
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