flight paths discussion

Kinkajou asked Isn't reading all about putting yourself in the place of the characters somehow?


Why do we read books at all?

I struggled for years to articulate this. And then I found a quote in Winner of the National Book Award: A Novel of Fame, Honor, and Really Bad Weather that says exactly what reading is for me:

"Reading was not an escape for her, any more than it is for me. It was an aspect of direct experience. She distinguished, of course, between the fictional world and the real one, in which she had to prepare dinners and so on. Still, for us, the fictional world was an extension of the real, and in no way a substitute for it, or refuge from it. Any more than sleeping is a substitute for waking."

An aspect of direct experience...an extension of the real. That's IT!

Her Royal Orangeness wrote: i>
quoting
"...the fictional world was an extension of the real, and in no way a substitute for it, or refuge from it. Any more than sleeping is a substitute for waking."

An aspect of direct experience...an extension of the real. That's IT!

:)

That's a great quote! And it's interesting to explore why we enjoy reading.

I love it when I am so into a book that I'm not aware of the turning of pages or the passage of time. It happened to me last night as I was finishing up The Caine Mutiny (especially "The Court Martial" chapters). In contrast, I'm also finishing Something Borrowed, and it's a chore. The characters annoy me, but I only have 100 pages left and I'm mildly interested to see how it ends (it was a library book I had on hold, so I felt a further "obligation" to read it).

I like to think that even when I don't like a book, I learn something from it, even if it's just about my personal tastes or opinions. Reading is not an escape, just new experience - that IS it!

"Maybe this is why we read, and why in moments of darkness we return to books: to find words for what we already know."(Alberto Manguel)

Having thought about this for the first time, I get the impression I hold a multiplicity of reasons, including most of the above. Technical reading aside, the rest is a hobby so relaxation comes high in the rankings.

from j.m. coetzee summertime p 61 a book should be an axe to chop open the frozen sea inside us. What else should it be? (quoted in another thread)

Maybe this is why we read, and why in moments of darkness we return to books: to find words for what we already know."(Alberto Manguel) (quoted above)

or to unlock what is blocking us from knowing what we have forgotten or only partially realized. Insight, in other words, that works both ways, to develop compassion by enteringing other points of view, but of equal importance,to see into our own secret hearts. To see ourselves in them, and them in us.

But then what are books for if not to change our lives?
summertime byJM Coetzee p34

still amazed at all the ins and outs of this site
I am reviving this thread for some fresh input from our fresh new members ( and maybe some of our fresh old ones who still havent put in their lofty ideas on the subject.)
As Traveller commented, we could benefit from a tip book

Thanks, Magdelanye! So much to catch up with in this group! ..and things on GR in general - sometimes I actually find the site rather overwhelming - it siphons up so much of my free time that I don't get around to actually reading books - LOL

Well, a basic reason to read, would of course be to gain information, so it depends what you mean by 'read'. Do you mean: "Why do we read fiction"?

Because I wouldn't know how to live if I didn't-I suppose I would have to figure it out but it would be so limited.

There are people who can read, and do when necessary;and those of us (like Ellie says, above) who feel a need to be reading and chose to do so at every opportunity.

It's way more than just a need for information. We want embellishments, and stories, and backstories.We want ideas and inspiration, and company. Fiction is only part of it, some belittle it even, so no, I don't restrict the question.