not an expert, taking a stab.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheDean1
movies are always better than books. if i want to hear a story i'll take the version that i can absorb in 2 hours or less that comes with pretty pictures. when i try to read novels i end up zoning out on the same paragraph for 10 mins. i do not understand the appeal.
It's hard to specifically explain what I get out of novels. Simple descriptions fall short; the best way that I can compare how I'm hit the best novels (e.g. Infinite Jest) to other artistic fare is that is that the best novels just have a full extra dimension. My best guess is that some of the experience you seem to be missing from art, in general, has to do with mindfulness.
If you're looking for music or art to be, essentially, simply functional - to raise your mood, teach you some specific lesson, or just entertain you for a few hours - sure, fair. That type of stuff is all well and good, but I also want something more. A transcendental state that I can't get through most media, one that's difficult to reach in most areas of life. To be fully engrossed by what's in front of me, to be in awe of the universe that's unfolding. When wrapped up in great art, the boundaries of the art become the boundaries of your universe, and that's a tremendously liberating and thrilling feeling, one worth actively seeking out.
I'm engulfed by a great novel, and, when I come out, it's with fresh attentiveness, a new lens on the world, and a renewed sense of mental vigor. The whole experience once engrossed is the return on the time "investment" it takes to become engrossed, but it's never failed to be an amazingly worthwhile investment for me, and it's one I should be making more often. It seems like an inability to reach this type of mindful state may be what's hindering your conception of the value of the novel as art form (or of the value of art, in general.)
this all sounds fairly pretentious on the page and is in addition to/in complement with the type of stuff victor said, which I also agree with, but it's my best shot at presenting the case to you, at least in reasonably condensed format. you read novels because a ton of them are great art; you invest yourself in discovering what, for you, is great art in search of this type of experience.
Last edited by Das Boot; 04-03-2013 at 11:16 AM.
Reason: yolo