Alt. Text Post #1- Who I am as a Reader

  Before examining the two readings that will be discussed in the next blog post, I would first like to outline myself as a reader.  In short, I love reading. I always have.  I have to avoid places like Chapters and Bolen Books (unless I’ve got disposable funds in my bank account), because of the sheer magnitude of books surrounding me. I have often referred to the books I read for pleasure as “cake and ice cream”, and for me, walking into those places is like being surrounded by 1001 delicious flavours.  I hate to use the cliché, but I love the smell and feel of books- it is one of the reasons that I will never yield in my love of the printed word.  My earliest memories of reading are in the form of reading Golden Reader books with my parents.  We had a massive collection of books, and I was a fan of everyone from the Bernstein Bears to Little Critter.  As I got older, my appetite for reading increased- Roald Dahl, Beverly Cleary,  and Judy Blume were just a few of the names lined on my shelf, and they stood alongside more classic children’s literature series such as Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie.  In my adolescent years, my time for books went on a slight decline (less free time and increased socializing), but I always managed to keep a novel on the go.  This trend has continued into my post-secondary career, but the majority of my reading has certainly taken a shift to the electronic format.  Most of my quick reading comes from online, simply because of accessibility; I get news and updates from blogs, websites, and social media sites.  I think that quick snippets of info are great online, but I absolutely detest reading long articles online. It may just be because I’ve got bad eyesight, but I just find it much easier to read the printed word if I have more than one page to get through.  I still make time for books, though, and there are stacks of novels in my room just waiting for me to finish reading academic coursepacks so I can give them my full attention.

   One interesting aspect about my relationship with fiction books is that it is only on a rare occasion that I will see a film adaptation of the novel.  For example: As much as I admire Johnny Depp (and Gene Wilder), I have no desire to see either of them as Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory- they just aren’t who I pictured Willy Wonka to look like.  I love how with fiction, you can create the characters, setting, and events in your mind- something that I have never wanted to give license to Hollywood to take over.  I worry that with the decline of print, the new generation of digital natives will not be allowed this opportunity to let their imagination do the creating.

I think this supports the reason that you rarely hear people say, “The movie was WAY better than the book!”- but I do know that there have been some fairly good adaptations done (such as Anthony Minghella’s film adaptation of The English Patient). Please let me know if you have any personal favorites to recommend!