"Reading is boring"

[Prezbucky]

I was chatting with a co-worker over IM earlier today. Somehow, the topic of reading came up.

I start going into what types of books I enjoy most.

She replies (paraphrasing), "I hate reading. Reading is boring. Books suck. I only like to read facts...."

And I thought to myself, "I don't think I've ever been so offended."

Now... this person is otherwise cool. But to me, reading is one of the coolest, most beneficial (emotionally, intellectually, etc.) activities available to us.

And here she is, spitting in literature's eye!

Well what could I do but insult her back? She had taken a piss on my beloved literature, my favored act of reading.

I made some hint to the effect that her statements made her sound like an uneducated, dumb hick. Well... of course I didn't SAY that, but man that's what I was thinking.

What more could one say to convey that he or she doesn't give a crap about LEARNING or IMAGINATION, than to say that she hates reading?

(She'd said something about entering chat rooms for the sake of fomenting her imagination, as opposed to reading books to do so... to which I replied "Yeah, and aside from being fun, a good thing about chat rooms is that they really exercise your brain...")

I am still troubled. I've never wanted to convert anyone -- to any cause -- as much as I feel like bashing her over the head with a book (figuratively) and leading her to the light of literature.

How horrified would y'all be if someone made such a ghastly admission?

Would you go into shock/defense mode as I did?
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Prezbucky]

I was chatting with a co-worker over IM earlier today. Somehow, the topic of reading came up.

I started going into what types of books I enjoy most.

She replies (paraphrasing), "I hate reading. Reading is boring. Books suck. I only like to read facts...."

And I thought to myself, "I don't think I've ever been so offended."

A Bears fan could tell me that the Packers suck.

A Gophers fan could tell me that my Badgers suck.

And I would not be as offended as I was when she said that books (she was talking about fiction generally, though if she doesn't like fiction i would imagine she doesn't spend much time with encyclopedias either...) suck.

Now... this person is otherwise cool. But to me, reading is one of the neatest, most beneficial (emotionally, intellectually, etc.) activities available to us. And here she is, spitting in literature's eye! Well what could I do but insult her back? She had ripped on my beloved literature, my favored act of reading.

I made some hint to the effect that her statements made her sound like an uneducated, dumb hick. Well... of course I didn't say that, but man, that's what I was thinking. What more could one say to convey that he or she doesn't care about learning or imagination, than to say that she hates reading?

(She'd said something about entering chat rooms for the sake of fomenting her imagination, as opposed to reading books to do so... to which I replied "Yeah, and aside from being fun, a good thing about chat rooms is that they really exercise your brain..."). My statement positively oozed sarcasm.

I am still somewhat troubled. I've never wanted to convert anyone -- to any cause -- as much as I feel like bashing her over the head with a book (figuratively) and leading her to the light of literature.

How horrified would y'all be if someone made such a ghastly admission, if someone denounced one of our greatest achievements ever -- the written word? Would you go into shock/defense mode as I did? I bet Frost, Whitman, Shakespeare, Faulkner, Hemingway, Poe (et al.) are rolling over in their graves.
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Proalyssa199]

Well I think that she was impudent and thoughtless to say so, but you shouldn't let yourself be frustrated like that. The matter is that she hates what you like, so don't let that difference in interest interfere your friendship, and in future, don't mention the topic of reading any more!

[Innominata]

I remember at school teachers usually make U reading in order to complete school programme. Some pupils enjoy to read but the rest just had to do it. But as they became an adult they reread the same books and found out them very interesting and useful. So maybe her time hasn't come yet and in some years she'll find a lot of information from books which would help her in life.

[Prezbucky]

proalyssa199

Yeah, I'm not going to bring it up again. "Yo, do you want to go to the book fair with me?" hehe

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Innominata

Absolutely. I had that experience with The Sound And The Fury (by Faulkner). We had to read it in 8th grade. Why our school board saw fit to ask 13- and 14-year-olds to decipher that book I don't know, but that book was more or less over my head.

Then I read it again maybe a couple of years ago (age 29) and it made a little bit more sense. The fact that I didn't have to write a one-page summation (lol at grade school writing assignments) of each chapter made the second reading far more enjoyable... though I still must admit that understanding Faulkner in this book -- for me -- is still not the easiest thing in the world. That dude could really write in a muddled style when he wanted to!
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Yankee]

Hi Tom

Although Hollywood often does a wonderful job of turning novels into movies, I almost always enjoy reading the book more. I can still remember going to see Gone With the Wind at the movies. (Yes, way back then it was still being shown in theaters. ). I had read the book before I saw the film and I still remember weeping through the all of the final 50 pages. Even though I liked the film, it just wasn't as good. I was disappointed that it wasn't better. The book had seemed so much more vivid and real.

Your friend just doesn't know what she's missing. On the other hand, I admit that my enthusiasm for reading dwindled just a tad a couple years ago. That was when I finally had to get reading glasses, and I still haven't gotten completely used to needing the darn things.

[Rosalisa]

I think reading is really a great fun for me. But it also depends on what kind of books and stories I read. A lot of people enjoy reading literature and very useful topics.

People who don't like reading perhaps don't prefer concentrating because reading needs time to concentrate and think. I think reading is really very useful in improving a person's intellectual thinking.
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If you want to change the world, be one of the change.

[Lost_Soul]

[Innominata]

Actually I turn white with envy because of people who can read books to the end before they started to read another one. Majority of my friends won't read the next book before they don't finish previuos one. E. g. now I read 8 books in Russian, 3 in Ukrainian and only 2 in English (which seems to me like very difficult and I read them ve-e-e-e-ry slowly ) Of course I read them depending on my mood but very often I forget the details and have to riffle in order to remember what I was reading about.
P. S. Please, let me know if I make mistakes, ok?

[Prezbucky]

Just one thing, Innominata:

Instead of "now I read 8 books", use "now I'm reading 8 (or "eight") books" or "currently I'm reading 8 books".
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Prezbucky]

Amy

Yeah

It seems that for every case in which I've seen the movie and read the book, the book ends up being superior.

There's generally loads more detail in the book, and it's fun to be able to use one's imagination to visualize the scene, the appearance and voice of a character, etc.
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Rosalisa
That might be her hangup -- it seems as if she can't sit still (mentally) for more than five or 10 minutes. She hosted a party which some of us (from work) attended. We sat around and watched a movie. She couldn't sit still. Might be some mild ADD (Attention Defecit Disorder) there, or its adult equivalent.
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LS
I'm not really into chat either. The few times i've been in an actual chat room, the progress of the chat has seemed to get lost in a bunch of grade-school jibberish. In that sense, I hear you.

On the other hand, I suppose that with the correct ingredients (mature posters who can communicate effectively, a decent subject, etc.), one could have an enjoyable and fruitful time in a chat room.
_________________
Billie Jean is not my lover. Hee.

[Innominata]

[Che Gevara]

There are lot's of boring books...but if someone says "reading is boring" ,
The problem is lack of intelect...
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Bombing for peace is like f.. for virginity

[NinaZara]

Tom,

It could be that she was forced to read books when she was small. I hated doing summaries when I was in school. My English teacher always chose books that were boring to me. As a small kid I loved the series of Sherlock Holmes, and please don't laugh, I loved Christopher Pike, R.L Stine and The Hardy Boys. But she had never, NEVER chosen any of them. I can't even remember the books she had chosen. I guess she was trying to stick too much to the curricular and a certain group of vocabulary that she wanted us to learn. But I've seen friends who learnt to hate reading because they were forced to read something they didn't want.

And by the way, for those who have children, watch their reading habit or they will end up like me, wearing glasses at a very young age. I used to read books with a sleeping lamp because I had to follow the sleeping curfew.

Nina

[Pamela]