The magic is back
It is difficult to admit, as an English major, that I forgot how captivating a well-written story can be in a book form. Over the years, I've gotten so used to consuming content in a visual form, I had no patience left for a good book. I started thinking that it was impossible for a book to compete with a movie or a series. Just because of how long it took to convey the message or finish the over-arching story.
Well, I was wrong. Part of the reason that got me feeling this way is probably all the technical books that I read in the past couple of years. Obviously those don't have the same appeal as a well written fiction. I don't think I read a fiction novel since I left college.
A month ago I read The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells and that was a good intro. Although I can't say it was the most captivating. Last week I started reading A Wizard of the Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin. Days started feeling too long between my reading sessions. This is the same magic I felt when I first started reading fiction as a teenager. And now it's back. The story of Sparrowhawk made me feel like a teenager again and the world I created in my head for his story is better than anything I can watch.
This isn't to say that I will stop watching movies altogether. I think there are stories best told in a movie and then there are stories best told in written form. I will hold both dearly and enjoy the wonders of both of these worlds going forward. Hopefully my judgement can stay free of the clouds that shadowed over it in the future.