Over the last few years, many people have told me that this or that book was boring because nothing was happening for the first twenty pages. And that, therefore, they had stopped reading it. What saddens me at times like this is that, for lack of patience, these people have missed incredible stories. Thinking about it, I realized that today we are spoiled. The problems of reading in a audiovisual world is that we have too many external stimuli, that produce immediate emotions, and we want to feel now, now, instantly. We look for stories that get to the point, bluntly.
I will not be so hypocritical to say that the written word is always superior, since I also enjoy a multitude of series and movies. However, these art forms have made many people forget how to enjoy the stories that take their time, that grow with care and affection. In the case of those who are even younger than me, it may even be the case that they do not know anything else.
When there was less noise
I ate civilization, it made me sick and sick.
Aldous Huxley, "Brave New World."
I was born in the early nineties, in a world that was mostly analog, at least at the domestic level. I had no internet, no mobile phone, so when I lay in bed with a book nothing and no one could distract me. Today, in the middle of 2018, one cannot open a novel without receiving four messages from WhatsApp and six notifications of Twitter. Even as I write this article, I have had no choice but to check my mobile phone several times.
I do not want to demonize technology, far from it. The Internet allows us to contact people thousands of miles away, and discover art forms that we would not otherwise know. But it is also a source of distractions that prevents us from plunging into the introspection and silence that a long novel requires. And that is something that those of my generation understand, who were born in a predigital era, and even more so those of previous generations.
the power of words
I don't know if you, who are reading me, are twelve or seventy. But in both cases I propose the following: next time you put down a book because on the first page there hasn't been an explosion, or an epic duel to the death, continue reading. Remember that many of the great stories take time to get you acquainted with the characters and the rules of their world. And that is a worthwhile adventure in itself.
Great article. I think we have more in common than meets the eye. I totally agree that today everything is more immediate, there is an overstimulation of the senses that makes it increasingly difficult for us to enjoy what takes its time. Honestly, I think it's a shame, because all the great stories that I've read (or seen, let's not forget that there are also slow-moving movies or series) go easy. I see it as a true virtue. Sometimes, faster and faster does not mean better, because you end up not empathizing with the story, with the characters or with the action itself, at least at the narrative level.
A greeting.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting here, Nishi, I agree with everything you've said.
A greeting.
I remember as a child when I went to bed at seven in the afternoon, to read a book by the light of a small lamp on the bedside table. I miss those days, it seems to me that they were very rich at the level of intellectual training. Now everything seems to me manufactured. Even writing this comment was difficult for me, I no longer have the same fluency that I had when I read more.
I understand you perfectly, Jorge.