Most everyone has read a book, or at least had one read to them.
From story time in kindergarten, AR points in elementary school and required reading in high school English — each of us has experienced literature.
If this is the case, then why is it so rare to find avid readers?
Could this be due to time restrictions? Societal pressures to forgo reading for social media and “screen time?”
I would argue all of these and more. It is disheartening that society seems to be trending from pages to pixels.
While growing up, reading seemed to be such a chore. Why waste precious outside hours looking at words on a page.
Once I picked up my first fantasy book, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” it became apparent why it was so popular. Stories of far-off lands with sword fighting, magic and epic battles kept me entranced all through the summer before third grade. C.S. Lewis opened the door to one the greatest joys of my life and started a hobby that has stayed with me through every summer since.
Learning to enjoy reading at a young age is imperative to cultivating an expansive vocabulary.
Getting children to read while they’re young makes keeping that hobby alive much easier as they enter the world of video games and smartphones.
I won’t argue technology kills brain cells. In fact, I believe the exact opposite. The trend of technologically literate children is an incredible strength for society.
What should not be left to the wayside are books, enjoyment of the outdoors and the like.
Books give us more depth and ability to explore complex topics than digital media like movies or T.V. shows ever could.
There is a reason almost everyone says “the book was better” when referencing book-to-movie adaptations. It is because an author can devote 10 pages to describing the inane thoughts that pass through a character’s mind. They have many pages as they need to finish the story.
With movies and T.V., we’ve set arbitrary limiters — 30 minutes for television and two hours for movies.
Griffen Winget | Argonaut
Books are the cornerstones for the most successful media franchises in history. “Harry Potter,” “Lord of the Rings” and “Game of Thrones” owe their inception to authors who created incredibly immersive tales.
This adaptation-rich society we are living in is a double-edged sword. Yes, these adaptations draw people to reading the source material who otherwise might not have.
More and more, however, people seem to be content waiting for bestsellers to be made into film. Hollywood is source rich but idea poor. It lacks the incentive to create original intellectual property because there is a wealth of books with concepts proven to be successful.
Why waste money and hours coming up with original concepts when you can buy the rights to the new hot book series.
Books aren’t dying. With the ease of access to literature increasing via electronic readers and the internet, a new generation of authors can be inspired by the greats.
The trend seems to be that we will forgo reading in favor of easily consumed media adaptations.
Hopefully, I am wrong and the future holds not more minutes of movies but pages of books.
Griffen Winget can be reached at [email protected]