I have to admit I've been so busy with NaNoWriMo that the blog chain snuck up on me this round. (I also have to admit my week off hasn't been as productive as I thought it would be--too much other real life stuff to keep up with.) I'm over 30,000 words, which is where I need to be as of Thursday night (which is when I wrote this post). I hope to have a good session Friday afternoon after taking care of yet another chore.
Anyway, this round's topic is literally open-ended, as Kate wants us to fill in the blank in the phrase:
Books are __________
That's it!
I'm second this round, so I've had very little time to consider this question. After some thought, here's my answer:
Books are other worlds.
Of course, as a science fiction/fantasy writer, I do write about other worlds--alien, alternate, or completely imaginary--but that's not the only thing I mean when I say that books are other worlds. Books can give us insight into another culture or a person whose life experiences or attitudes are much different from ours. Even non-fiction books can present us with history (one can argue that the past is another world much different from ours) or alter our own worlds with information.
It's time for me to dive back into NaNoWriMo, so I'm going to direct you over to Eric's blog for his take on the question. Enjoy your weekend -- the last one before the holiday season starts!
11 comments:
Definitely other worlds! That's one of the best parts about them. :)
Nice choice. You are so right in that books can take us places, all from the comfort of our own homes.
Yes, books can take you to places you can only dream about.
Oooh--I like that definition. It works not only for speculative fiction, but for any book, non-fiction, classics, whatever, because books take us inside an author's world, and every person on the planet really does have their own world view--their own world. Cool.
It's so true. Books were my way to escape when I was growing up.
Absolutely!
Good luck with Nano!! :D
Great points, Sandra. Those other worlds -- real or imaginary -- are a big reason I read!
Books were my escape as a child. Wonderful!
ooo I love that! You are so right. I love getting sucked into the worlds contained in my books :)
Great answer! Totally agree. I love to read books where I'm exposed to new cultures and experiences.
There was a great part of the memoir, "Reading Lolita In Tehran" where the author basically talks about how books take us to different places and lets us live different lives and how this in turn can teach us empathy. It was a really powerful thought, and your post reminded me of this.
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