I went to college full-time while working full-time and rearing four teenagers. My course work had a lot of required reading. I read at lunch, on my breaks, in the car, in restaurants, waiting in line, in the park, in fact everywhere I had sixty seconds of uninterrupted time.
Over the years a lot of people have questioned how I could tune out my surroundings like that. I think it's just a matter of internal focus. We used to do the same while listening to the radio. Since television came along, all our focus has shifted to the visual. And that may be why a large share of the population has difficulty with focused reading. Different media.
Oddly enough, I find myself bored with most movies and television simply because they do all the work. They tell the story, provide the visuals, and control the pace of the work. I find it irritating. I want to decide what the hero/heroine looks like. I want to determine what the surroundings are like. And of course, I can read as fast--or slow--as I wish, unhindered by someone else's timing.
If you ever believe the visual is not important when watching television or a movie, try listening to one from the other room. The visual shortcuts are two-thirds of the story. Without them, the production often makes no sense at all. That's okay. I enjoy a good visual. I'll always remember those first magical moments when the Harry Potter world came to life. But. After that, I found I quickly grew bored with the rest. After all, I'd already read the stories. That was where the magic was for me.
I read every evening. Usually, I read a book I've already read in the past. Every evening the hunk will urge me to go to bed a little earlier and get some sleep. Yet I still find myself immersed in the current story, lured on by the author's words, until I suddenly surface only to discover it's after midnight.
That's the magical world of books. I just want to finish this chapter!
anny
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