Filtered Visions

I was reading tonight on the way home, and a passage struck me. Johnny Wheelwright was talking about teaching literature to his school children, and bemoaning how they never understand the wit in novels. He states 'It's always the description that they miss; I swear, they think it's unimportant. They want dialogue, they want action; but there's so much writing in the description!'. It struck me that I have become a lazy reader, I want dialogue and action.


Books like the Twilight series are amazingly gripping, and filled with dialogue and action, but there is little of the nuance that makes a novel truly great. I'm wondering if I'm turning more and more to this type of novel because it's easier? It is easier to read a fast paced novel that pulls you into the story so easily, that keeps you on your toes by having some new plot twist every chapter, and they are ultimately fun to read. A novel of more substance demands greater concentration, the storyline may not be so obvious, subtle connections may be made and there are finer character traits.

I wondering if I have become a lazy reader, or my habits are being dictated by the way in which I currently read. Recently my reading has purely been reserved for my daily commute... and my daily commute is crammed full of distractions. Before every station, and at every station, the driver of the train makes an announcement, often there is someone on the telephone, or someone knocking me with there bag / leg / suitcase; it is incredibly difficult to remain locked into a novel long enough to really enjoy the finer details. I think that this is shown by the significant amount of time it is taking me to get through Owen Meany - it is a book with a lot of layers, a lot of threads that link together in a very delicate way. The nearer to the end I am getting the more I am feeling that this is a book NOT to be read on a train.

This one passage that stood out to me in today’s reading has made me re-evaluate my reading habits. I intend to spend more quiet time with my books, and not keep them exclusively for travel. I will make more of an effort to chose the 'heavier' books on my to be read shelf, rather than reaching for the fluff... and while I'm making declarations, I will finish A Prayer for Owen Meany this weekend!

...in the meantime... Lost returns to our UK screens tomorrow evening for its sixth and final series, and I for one cannot wait to see how it is all explained away!! ...if you are harbouring spoilers, please do not deposit them on my doorstep, I'm excited to see it all unfold!