Reading Still Matters

In the past, when I still enjoyed watching movies, I always attempted to avoid movies that were based on my favourite books. I knew that as soon as I watched the movie, the pictures of the places and people that I had constructed in my imagination would immediately dissolve and be replaced by the movie settings and the Hollywood faces playing the major roles. For the most part, I ended up watching the movies and Liam Neeson became Rob Roy and Peter O'Toole became Lawrence of Arabia. I thought I had a victory when I managed to avoid watching Nicholas Cage and Penelope Cruz in Captain Corelli's Mandolin, but the previews, movie posters and advertising were enough to take over the treasured, but shadowy realms of my imagination. I have since wondered why pictures in movies so easily and ruthlessly replaced those in my imagination, why Daniel Radcliffe actually became Harry Potter for all time.   So, I thought I would look into the phenomena and find out if it was just me or if the...

I finally read a Cormac McCarthy novel. I was at the library looking for books with my 14 year old daughter, primarily books for her.  The library is one of the main theatres of battle in my ongoing military campaign to keep her from spending all of her time on screens.  Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Patton?  They have no idea.  Buy it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4vuHDVW Anyway, I have always seen book readers discuss and recommend Cormac McCarthy novels and The Road was on the shelf, which surprised me somewhat. Our small branch library usually has few good books, since most people generally rely on holds to get what they want. So, I grabbed the copy for myself.  Since this was my first (and so far only) McCarthy read, I was surprised how short the book was and how sparse was the writing style. I really had no expectations going into this, and I generally start with the assumption that I am getting into the next War and Peace.  But The Road is nothing like...