Growing up, I was the kind of kid who found comfort and joy in reading books, and I experienced the life of the characters indirectly in ink. I devoured stories reading on my bed, in noisy classrooms, and even during bus rides back from school. Books were like my escape from the noisiness of the world; they were my entertainment. In fact, they were my everything. But somewhere along the line, I drifted off the pathway.
I can't actually pinpoint when or why, but slowly and slowly, clearly oblivious, my love for books gave way to a deep preference for movies. I think life just got busier, or maybe screens just became more interesting. But I find myself these days, choosing two hours of cinematic storytelling over chapters of a book more often than not.
I remember when I came across the book Redeeming Love. I was so genuinely excited to just read it, and I even told myself I would. But then the usual happened, procrastinating. The book just sat there unopened.
Then I heard it had been adapted into a movie. My joy knew no bounds and before I knew it, I was watching it, fully immersing myself and completely engaged. The same pattern followed with Shakespeare. I’ve literally owned several of his works, but let’s just say I “read” Macbeth and Hamlet through movies.
It’s not that I don’t appreciate books anymore, No, I definitely still do. I still buy them, though I often leave them after reading halfway through. But just give me a well-made film or a gripping series, and I can sit for hours without blinking or flinching. There’s just something about the visual experience, the music and even the action, it all just brings stories to life in a way that’s immediate.
Having said all that, I still have to buttress the fact that I haven’t abandoned reading altogether. I still spend hours online reading articles and blogs. I crave for information and people’s perspectives about issues too. I don’t read to escape anything again but for insight. Maybe the format has changed, but the love for storytelling and knowledge still runs deep.
I don’t think movies are better than books, or even vice versa. I just think they offer different experiences. Books actually make you imagine the world while movies show it to you. And right now, seeing it just feels okay for me.
