tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381775904991908887.post667601667949397812..comments2023-06-07T09:46:53.751+01:00Comments on words and silence: Other Worlds But The Same WorldThe Solitary Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381775904991908887.post-1657402323483269062012-03-22T22:45:56.677+00:002012-03-22T22:45:56.677+00:00Yes, George and Rubye, "we are not alone"...Yes, George and Rubye, "we are not alone"!<br /><br />Loren, I agree with you very much that reading novels helps to develop "a much greater sense of empathy with others."<br /><br />Yes, online shenanigans do eat into your time, Goat, don't they? I keep thinking I should do what our blog friend am is doing, and rigorously observe computer-free days like secular Sabbaths, but I'm not sure I have the necessary will power.<br /><br />Susan! To read "War and Peace" once is admirable, but to read it twice then listen to it again on CD is positively fantastic! Thanks so much for your comment.<br /><br />Amanda — a word in your ear — no one's listening are they? Although I've read "Portrait of the Artist", and some Joyce short stories, I must admit I've never finished "Ulysses" either!The Solitary Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381775904991908887.post-78860607499887736562012-03-19T17:05:56.701+00:002012-03-19T17:05:56.701+00:00completely agree robert. in admiration of your rea...completely agree robert. in admiration of your reading list. i'm still trying to finish ulysses.Amanda Summerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00942636545948440422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381775904991908887.post-89886638599072292282012-03-19T02:02:35.647+00:002012-03-19T02:02:35.647+00:00I go in and out of reading novels, but when I seiz...I go in and out of reading novels, but when I seize upon a great one, I wonder why on earth I ever stopped. Then I read a less than great one, and I remember why. <br /><br />Yet of great ones there are many, and I have many yet to go. War and Peace I've actually read (twice, a rare occurrence), then, on a long car trip, listened to the BBC Radio play version (fabulous, that was). I love that book. It has everything.<br /><br />Little by little, I keep hoping to work my way through more of the "greats," at least, but oh, how distracting life can be! One novel I recently re-read (in conjunction with preparing a post, no less) was Orhan Pamuk's My Name Is Red. It was every bit as magical as it had been the first time around. Sitting with a book quietly, becoming immersed in a world that is so fully realized, yet so other--there are few experiences in life as worthwhile.<br /><br />So, perhaps I should listen to myself and get back to that book I set aside this morning . . .Susan Scheidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09250142489341777926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381775904991908887.post-48291494179918544822012-03-18T22:17:59.271+00:002012-03-18T22:17:59.271+00:00One of the mixed blessings of modern life for me i...One of the mixed blessings of modern life for me is the way computer time has eaten into what used to be novel-reading time. I've only read one novel - almost! - in my three months or so in Korea (Defoe's 'Plague Years' - and when I started it, I assumed it was a memoir!) but have spent at least three-four hours on this damned laptop each day. I also believe my reading speed has dropped since I was in my late-teens/twenties. Blame the computer, or my hedonistic youth with all its sacrificed brain cells...<br /><br />But I persist, because novels are one of the delights of being human!Goathttp://thegoatthatwrote.net/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381775904991908887.post-41359776805225091432012-03-18T21:19:02.548+00:002012-03-18T21:19:02.548+00:00Although I've developed a preference for poetr...Although I've developed a preference for poetry as I've aged, I think novels have helped to develop a much greater sense of empathy with others. It's hard to spend that much time inside their heads and not empathize with them. No better way to "walk a mile in someone's shoes" than to read their mind.Lorenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03152302644577926337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381775904991908887.post-34666233687673432362012-03-18T16:42:12.168+00:002012-03-18T16:42:12.168+00:00There is little quite as special as finding like-m...There is little quite as special as finding like-minded thinkers in novels. I agree with all you've said here and still prefer novels over any other pastime.Rubye Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02511953177053448513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8381775904991908887.post-55468174169378202182012-03-18T14:38:49.530+00:002012-03-18T14:38:49.530+00:00My experience has been similar to your own. Readi...My experience has been similar to your own. Reading novels earlier in my life made me "feel more human and less alone," as you say, and led me to believe that there were many others who were on—or had been on—similar journeys. The novelists and their characters were often the intimate friends, mentors, and confidants that I could not find elsewhere in life.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03959953035812596907noreply@blogger.com