I got an e-mail from a friend telling me that Kanye West, that humble musician, was releasing a book. Not surprising when you think of it ... except that West seems proud of the fact that he doesn't read.
I run into people who are proud not to watch TV. I always found them to be kind of pretentious, as television isn't total garbage. It's like anything else. The majority of stuff found on it will be garbage, but there will be gems there. I can understand people not wanting to watch television, though, and being proud of that, as many people think television rots thy brain.
What I've never been able to understand, however, are the people who take pride in not reading. Is there any other proclamation that can make you seem more ignorant? No. Declaring that you don't read is the same a declaring, "I don't really think a lot." I find these people suspect. Why are they proud of their ignorance? Is that some kind of badge of honor? Who respects that? Would you really want those people respecting you?
To proclaim you don't read while at the same time talking about a book you've written ... well, that just about seems right. (Apparently West's book features blank pages and some pages with just one sentence. At least that's what the e-mail said.) Who would buy this book? A bunch of non-readers. Why would they buy this book? Because they don't read and West doesn't read, but West said he wrote it, so buy it. Sheep.
I don't play a lot of attention to hip hop, but I'm thinking of cutting an album. I wonder if West thinks that's a good idea? I mean, if he can write a book ...
On an unrelated note, I'm still thinking of going the print-on-demand route. I'm looking into things. I want to get more of my work out there, and since publishers aren't busting down my door, this seems the best way possible. If anyone has any experience with this, please let me know.
Posts
I think it's just very sad when people say they don't read. They are missing so much. Every fictional novel and story is a whole different world to explore, some familiar and some grotesque, but all in some way new. Some turn out to be uninteresting to the reader, some feature bizarre explosions that can't possibly ever be conceivable in any world, but if you never read, you never get to find these new worlds. Non-fiction books allow us to learn a new subject in our own time, at our own pace, for our own enjoyment or enhancement.
ReplyDeleteI can understand that some people aren't avid readers, wanting to spend every waking moment absorbing new material or following new characters. That's fine, some people learn better through auditory techniques, and some I guess just aren't interested in learning beyond the high school curriculum they've left behind decades ago. But I really think everyone should have at least one book that they love. This is one of those subjects that I could go on about for hours, but I actually have to get ready to leave my home and get my car inspected. While I'm waiting for it to get done, I'll be in the library right next door.
There's a character in the great movie "Hacks" who says, "I'm not book smart. I'm magazine smart." So right on that it's hard to believe it's fiction.
ReplyDelete