Post by N3B on Feb 4, 2007 6:17:29 GMT -5
I really like reading. However, it's unfortunate that I like playing video games more.
What's great about both is that they're a method to get away from reality to relax and let one's mind wander. They both achieve this differently, however.
The thing about video games is that they provide a definite world for you to mess around in; you can control what happens and actually have/see an effect on the world, something that very often we can't experience in reality, as we frequently don't have control over anything or don't make a noticeable difference in much of anything.
In books, they allow you to create, using your imagination to build the world and the people in it, giving you immense freedom for your mind to wander. Not to mention, they almost always have superior character development and plot.
That said, I enjoy reading, but it's a shame that I enjoy playing video games more. I had, however, a recent craving for literature. I was watching the Goblet of Fire and started thinking about why I like the Harry Potter books (no matter how much I complain about them and the movies).
What I concluded is they create a fantastical world for you to have fun with. It's creative, imaginative, and has plenty of space for your own creativeness. And in the case with HP, being a school environment, it kind of catches my attention, being a student myself -- you know, it's a school and classes that I imagine would actually be fun to take, instead of the ridiculous stuff I'm taking.
Some of my other favorite books/series have also had this theme of first and foremost establishing a world and atmosphere to immerse you in, feeding you tasteful amounts of plot to keep it moving and to keep you motivated. Then, toward the latter half, the focus shifts from creating the world to fully carrying out the plot, which by that point, begins to fit together you get a really great appreciation for what's going on, and often revelations/epiphanies that suck you further into the pages.
Such examples of other books are the Lord of the Rings (Tolkien), Chronicles of Narnia (Lewis), the Dark Elf Trilogy and the Icewind Dale Trilogy (Salvatore), and numerous Star Wars books that I've also read. While there are different things I like and dislike about each author, I feel they each delivered, overall, good books (except Salvatore who began to suck after a while).
Some authors excel at this idea of creating a believable, solid, fantastical world. However, most feel rather empty and shallow because they either offer you too little or too much plot at once, or don't connect with the characters, or some other simple thing that makes the stories uncaptivating and cause you to put the book down, uninterested. The above examples do a fine job of providing the proper amount of plot, character development, and character/world connection at the proper times.
I generally like the fantasy genre of books, however there are several things I dislike about it. First, it seems to be the most over-done genre, thus you wind up with so many stories that sound almost exactly alike and most of them feature the same elements. The other, is that they almost always set themselves up to be huge stories with tons of sequels that requires just so much reading to finish them. They deliver so much more content to enjoy (and often more enjoyable content), but it lacks that charm of being concise enough for you to pick up, read, be done with it, and recollect on it.
So, I recently purchased A Game of Thrones of the A Song of Ice and Fire series, as I was told it's exceptional at delivering the qualities I enjoy in novels (however, it's also one of those long-winded series with 800-1000 page books, 7 in all (I think 2 of which are yet to be finished)). I was also advised to look into His Dark Materials, which was unfortunately placed in the Young Readers section (like where Harry Potter would be) at the bookstore, right next to all of the kiddie stuff that I didn't feel comfortable being in.
What's great about both is that they're a method to get away from reality to relax and let one's mind wander. They both achieve this differently, however.
The thing about video games is that they provide a definite world for you to mess around in; you can control what happens and actually have/see an effect on the world, something that very often we can't experience in reality, as we frequently don't have control over anything or don't make a noticeable difference in much of anything.
In books, they allow you to create, using your imagination to build the world and the people in it, giving you immense freedom for your mind to wander. Not to mention, they almost always have superior character development and plot.
That said, I enjoy reading, but it's a shame that I enjoy playing video games more. I had, however, a recent craving for literature. I was watching the Goblet of Fire and started thinking about why I like the Harry Potter books (no matter how much I complain about them and the movies).
What I concluded is they create a fantastical world for you to have fun with. It's creative, imaginative, and has plenty of space for your own creativeness. And in the case with HP, being a school environment, it kind of catches my attention, being a student myself -- you know, it's a school and classes that I imagine would actually be fun to take, instead of the ridiculous stuff I'm taking.
Some of my other favorite books/series have also had this theme of first and foremost establishing a world and atmosphere to immerse you in, feeding you tasteful amounts of plot to keep it moving and to keep you motivated. Then, toward the latter half, the focus shifts from creating the world to fully carrying out the plot, which by that point, begins to fit together you get a really great appreciation for what's going on, and often revelations/epiphanies that suck you further into the pages.
Such examples of other books are the Lord of the Rings (Tolkien), Chronicles of Narnia (Lewis), the Dark Elf Trilogy and the Icewind Dale Trilogy (Salvatore), and numerous Star Wars books that I've also read. While there are different things I like and dislike about each author, I feel they each delivered, overall, good books (except Salvatore who began to suck after a while).
Some authors excel at this idea of creating a believable, solid, fantastical world. However, most feel rather empty and shallow because they either offer you too little or too much plot at once, or don't connect with the characters, or some other simple thing that makes the stories uncaptivating and cause you to put the book down, uninterested. The above examples do a fine job of providing the proper amount of plot, character development, and character/world connection at the proper times.
I generally like the fantasy genre of books, however there are several things I dislike about it. First, it seems to be the most over-done genre, thus you wind up with so many stories that sound almost exactly alike and most of them feature the same elements. The other, is that they almost always set themselves up to be huge stories with tons of sequels that requires just so much reading to finish them. They deliver so much more content to enjoy (and often more enjoyable content), but it lacks that charm of being concise enough for you to pick up, read, be done with it, and recollect on it.
So, I recently purchased A Game of Thrones of the A Song of Ice and Fire series, as I was told it's exceptional at delivering the qualities I enjoy in novels (however, it's also one of those long-winded series with 800-1000 page books, 7 in all (I think 2 of which are yet to be finished)). I was also advised to look into His Dark Materials, which was unfortunately placed in the Young Readers section (like where Harry Potter would be) at the bookstore, right next to all of the kiddie stuff that I didn't feel comfortable being in.
