Sunltcloud wrote:All across book groups I see and hear the phrase "I read to escape." This morning I took the phrase under my magnifying glass and wondered if it is heartfelt or if it has turned into a cliché. I often repeat phrases simply because they seem true or they have been drilled into me and they stuck. Do I really read to escape? The answer is NO.
Take the last book, "Of Bees and Mist." I never once wanted to escape into the book; the characters had more problems than I do. Yes, I did accept them into my life for a while. I discussed them on the board, thought about them, liked or disliked them, gave them a podium to make themselves heard. Even after I was finished with the book a few still come by to visit occasionally.
In preparation for the new book "Under This Unbroken Sky" I am reading a book by Alice Munro, a Canadian short story writer. Why? Not to escape, but to allow the "Canadian atmosphere" seep into me, to prime me for the adventure of an immigrant family who survives hardships. I'll probably read something about Stalin's purge before we begin our discussions. Again, not to escape, but to learn.
I read a lot of travel essays, travel guides, travel novels, and when I invite a foreign culture to keep me company I don't want to escape to foreign shores; I want to sit in the safety of my own vicinity and "taste" the offerings out there, before I get ready to actually travel.
As child I read stories that brought children with different backgrounds to my home, allowed me to fantasize about events I had never participated in. Their temporary friendship broadened my horizon. I still think about them now, so many years later.
Books never take me away from my self completely, the way a film does. When I watch a movie there is no time to reflect, no room for sitting back and "looking in" on the characters' lives. Except when a scene drags out and I feel the urge to scream "cut." And because all my senses are so intensely involved, I am inclined to say that I "escape" into a movie. Even the darkness of the cinema contributes to that feeling. Yesterday I saw "Ice Age." Yes, I escaped the heat of the afternoon to be charmed by a sloth and my favorite wooly mamoth.
Maybe the difference, for me at least, is the fact that a movie lays out all the details, without asking me to interact. A book gives me the pleasure of inventing my own images of scenery, characters, events. I am in charge of creative interpretation. I might even relive parts of a novel in my imagination because they touch me, but does that mean that I am escaping my own world or does it mean that I am giving my world a little extra flair? I decide what to keep, what to toss, what to embellish. That's it, I think; I can't escape and be in charge at the same time.
januttall wrote:
artist4nature wrote:I have just finished a great non-fiction book that I would like to recommend:
A Pearl in the Storm
by Tori Murden McClure "the first woman to row across the Atlantic Ocean.
Her story is unbelievable! She lived through hurricaine Danielle in her 23 foot specially built rowing boat. She is a woman who sees a challenge and grabs it with her whole being. An incredible story about an amazing woman.
Has anyone else read it! Let me know what you think.
This looks fantastic - thanks for the recommendation (I've added it to my wish list).
My sister just highly recommended another non-fiction selection to me. Has anyone read
I read Devil in the White City several years ago and liked it very much. A book I would definitely recommend. Reads almost like fiction. The story alternates between the building of the World's Fair buildings and a murder taking advantage of young women coming to Chicago looking for work.
Kathy
You are welcome, meme1. And, by the way, I love your tag about the caterpillar becoming a butterfly. I think we all have had those moments.
meme1 wrote:
I truly agree with your analysis of "escape". Often I read books by authors who are from an area with which I am familiar (WI, MN, ND) or an area in which I've traveled . I like being familiar with the settings or the attitudes of the people who live in the area. ~ I also concur on the childhood reading "that brought children with different backgrounds to my home, allowed me to fantasize about events I had never participated in. Their temporary friendship broadened my horizon." ~ Movies let me "just be". Since I don't have to visualize what a character or scenery looks like, I can just sit back and "escape"! ~ Thanks for formulating these thoughts.
Sunltcloud wrote:All across book groups I see and hear the phrase "I read to escape." This morning I took the phrase under my magnifying glass and wondered if it is heartfelt or if it has turned into a cliché. I often repeat phrases simply because they seem true or they have been drilled into me and they stuck. Do I really read to escape? The answer is NO.
Take the last book, "Of Bees and Mist." I never once wanted to escape into the book; the characters had more problems than I do. Yes, I did accept them into my life for a while. I discussed them on the board, thought about them, liked or disliked them, gave them a podium to make themselves heard. Even after I was finished with the book a few still come by to visit occasionally.
In preparation for the new book "Under This Unbroken Sky" I am reading a book by Alice Munro, a Canadian short story writer. Why? Not to escape, but to allow the "Canadian atmosphere" seep into me, to prime me for the adventure of an immigrant family who survives hardships. I'll probably read something about Stalin's purge before we begin our discussions. Again, not to escape, but to learn.
I read a lot of travel essays, travel guides, travel novels, and when I invite a foreign culture to keep me company I don't want to escape to foreign shores; I want to sit in the safety of my own vicinity and "taste" the offerings out there, before I get ready to actually travel.
As child I read stories that brought children with different backgrounds to my home, allowed me to fantasize about events I had never participated in. Their temporary friendship broadened my horizon. I still think about them now, so many years later.
Books never take me away from my self completely, the way a film does. When I watch a movie there is no time to reflect, no room for sitting back and "looking in" on the characters' lives. Except when a scene drags out and I feel the urge to scream "cut." And because all my senses are so intensely involved, I am inclined to say that I "escape" into a movie. Even the darkness of the cinema contributes to that feeling. Yesterday I saw "Ice Age." Yes, I escaped the heat of the afternoon to be charmed by a sloth and my favorite wooly mamoth.
Maybe the difference, for me at least, is the fact that a movie lays out all the details, without asking me to interact. A book gives me the pleasure of inventing my own images of scenery, characters, events. I am in charge of creative interpretation. I might even relive parts of a novel in my imagination because they touch me, but does that mean that I am escaping my own world or does it mean that I am giving my world a little extra flair? I decide what to keep, what to toss, what to embellish. That's it, I think; I can't escape and be in charge at the same time.
I totally agree with you, Debbie. I love the mini-vacations that allow me to relax and visit another place and time I wouldn't be able to visit. When I use the word escape, it isn't to run away from my life (which is very good), but just to visit and imagine. 
dhaupt wrote:
I often read books to "escape", but not because I'm dissatisfied with my life or my job or my husband etc. but just because I want a mini vacation to the hills of Scotland with Outlander or the upper part of New York State to be with the Black Dagger Brotherhood or perhaps to another world and visit with the Tairen in the Fading Lands. And I can do this much better in a book than I can in a movie, because a movie tells me what to think and who to put in what role where as a character or place in a book is only how I tell it to be with the small direction of course of the author. My only problem is trying to choose whether I want to escape into fantasy or reality, paranormal or sci-fi, now that's a hard choice.
