[titania7]

Jayaprakash,
Well said. I think reading books is much like other experiences in
life--we get out of them what we choose to get out of them. To put it a bit more concisely, If we seek, we shall find.

To nnyhav, Eric, Beth, & Jan:

Of course there is a great big world out there outside of books. At the same time, books do open one's eyes to many truths about life and human nature--insights many (if not most) of us might not have otherwise. I do feel one should be discriminating. And yes, a mixture of fiction, non-fiction and poetry is ideal. Personally, I am drawn
to reading and writing fiction much as I was drawn to the world of theatre. When I write, I live vicariously through the characters I create. When I read, I oft-times relate on such a personal level to one or more of the characters--or perhaps even more frequently, to the writer--that I feel I'm with them on their "journey." Similarly, when one is an actor, one puts on the "mask" of another and creates an entirely new being. In a way, we are all actors, even in our own lives. Is the world so different than a monumental novel? Are our struggles and concerns so unlike those we read about in books? Of course books aren't guidebooks on "how to live your life." To even imagine such a thing would be ludicrous. But they can teach us quite a lot--if we but open our eyes to see.

titania


"One cannot dwell long upon the same thoughts;
they gradually shift like the bits of glass in
a kaleidoscope....one peeps in and already the
shapes before one's eyes are utterly different."
~Smoke, Ivan Turgenev