Nothing makes me sadder than when I’m talking with someone about a book or movie based off a book and they say, “Oh, I don’t read.”
Instantly, I internally cringe and my level of respect for that person drops like a weight in water. Snide remarks then shoot through my head like, “What do you mean you don’t read? As in you don’t know how?”
I try to keep those comments to myself, but as someone that loves books it can be quite difficult.
Books open up your mind to a whole new way of seeing things. They broaden your imagination as well as your ability to think beyond preconceptions created by your upbringing or background.
The worst is when someone says he or she didn’t like the movie version or saw the movie and therefore does not want to read the book.
Books and movies are quite different. While many books are starting to read more like screenplays – think Harry Potter – books include such vast detail and insight into the protagonist’s thoughts and emotions that it is impossible for a film to capture it all.
Choosing to watch a movie or TV show instead of reading a book is essentially the same as choosing fast food over a home-cooked meal. It is much faster, but half the substance and taste.
Recently, the popularity of a particular series and its upcoming movie release has inspired many to read, but others are simply waiting to see the movie. The movie adaptation of “The Hunger Games”, a three-book dystopian series, came out at midnight, and advance ticket sales have already sold out 2,000 theaters.
Some, however, have opted not to read the books because they are so popular. This way of thinking doesn’t make sense to me. If you heard a restaurant was really good, and everyone was raving about it, you wouldn’t miss out because everyone loved the food. So why would you resist a book because it’s popular?
We are a predominately literate society – there is no reason someone shouldn’t read. So please, do me a favor. Before you rush out to see “The Hunger Games” because everyone is talking about it, take the time to actually read the books, or even just one of them. You may think you’re “selling out” and reading what everyone is reading, but at least you’ll have something more meaningful to talk about than the latest episode of “Jersey Shore.”
Emilly Martinez is a senior journalism – public relations major from Houston and is the copy desk chief for the Lariat.
