Turn off the Movie, Pick up the Book

By Richard MacTough
Staff Writer

Put down the phone and read an incredible book.

Start with something simple. As the holidays begin, maybe flip through the pages of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens.

Fiction guides the audience to understand life in the way a story is told.

I always have a novel gripped with my hands. You can pick up some great reads at your local library or Kemp Library here on campus.

People today have become so hooked on technology such as video games and the internet, causing reading to seem boring and not pleasurable.

Many books have been turned into films, which render the expansion of memory and imagination useless.

Personally, when I read, I draw the world and characters inside my head; I don’t need actors to do that for me.

Plus, most people have admitted that the book version of the new movie that just came out is better.

There’s usually much more detail and sometimes even more scenes.

Is Chris Hemsworth really better than more detail?

Loneliness is a part of the human condition.

Books can turn our life into an adventure. We become stuck on an island with a conch, avenging the death of a king and then joining in on the excitement of catching the world’s largest fish.

When we read, we expose ourselves to new philosophies and information.

“Man’s search for Meaning” by Viktor E. Frankl is a memoir about a survivor of the Holocaust.

I have learned that life is always about exploring meaning and never finding the definite answer.

In a 2014 survey conducted by Schoolastic, over 1,000 students from the ages 6 –17 wereasked about their enjoyment of reading.

Only 31 percent of children said they read for fun almost daily. In the previous year, 37 percent were involved.

There is a decrease in the interest of reading, and it affects our children’s performances in school.

One way parents can help their childen is to become active readers themselves.

What children should and should not read is a touchy subject.

Yes, at certain ages we should restrict books that are not appropriate for their age, but we should not take a choice away from them because parents think what they are reading is immature, non-religious, etc.

Giving someone the power to choose what he or she wants to read is essential and leads to a better interest.

The most censored books become the most interesting.

Read a book, listen to an audiobook and read to your children or a family member’s child.

Reading is something that needs to be brought back.

Email Richard at:
rmactough@live.esu.edu