Tags
A Writer's Room, books, Julian Barnes, literature, Logan Pearsall Smith, New York Times Magazine, Oliver Goldsmith, reading, Through the Window, Through the Window: Seventeen Essays and a Short Story, William Butler Yeats, Writing
“I am more optimistic, both about reading and about books… I have no Luddite prejudice against new technology; it’s just that books look as if they contain knowledge, while e-readers look as if they contain information. My father’s school prizes are nowadays on my shelves, ninety years after he first won them. I’d rather read Goldsmith’s poems in this form than online.
The American writer and dilettante Logan Pearsall Smith once said: ‘Some people think that life is the thing; but I prefer reading.’ When I first came across this, I thought it witty; now I find it—as I do many aphorisms—a slick untruth. Life and reading are not separate activities. The distinction is false (as it is when Yeats imagines the writer’s choice between ‘perfection of the life, or of the work’). When you read a great book, you don’t escape from life, you plunge deeper into it. There may be a superficial escape—into different countries, mores, speech patterns—but what you are essentially doing is furthering your understanding of life’s subtleties, paradoxes, joys, pains and truths. Reading and life are not separate but symbiotic. And for this self-discovery, there is and remains one perfect symbol: the printed book.”
__________
From the prefacing essay “A Life with Books” from Julian Barnes’s collection Through the Window.
“Books say: She did this because. Life says: She did this. Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren’t. I’m not surprised some people prefer books.” – Julian Barnes, Flaubert’s Parrot
Several months ago, The New York Times Magazine did a series of portraits, called “A Writer’s Room”, which chronicled authors at their desks. Barnes’s North London study is below, which was included with this description:
I have worked in this room for 30 years. It is on the first floor, overlooking the tops of two prunus trees… The room itself has always been painted the same color, a bright, almost Chinese, yellow, giving the effect of sunlight even on the darkest day… I use the computer for e-mail and shopping; the I.B.M. 196c — 30 years old itself — for writing (or rather, second drafting: nowadays I generally first draft by hand). It is getting increasingly difficult to find ribbons and lift-off tape, but I shall use the machine until it drops. It hums quietly, as if urging me on — whereas the computer is inert, silent, indifferent. The room is usually very untidy: like many writers, I aspire to be a clean-desk person, but admit the daily reality is very dirty. So I have to walk carefully as I enter my study; but am always happy to be here.
Read on:
Lisa Lo Paro said:
Gorgeous post.
jrbenjamin said:
TY — glad you stopped by and enjoyed it.
L. Garza said:
“When you read a great book, you don’t escape from life, you plunge deeper into it. There may be a superficial escape—into different countries, mores, speech patterns—but what you are essentially doing is furthering your understanding of life’s subtleties, paradoxes, joys, pains and truths. Reading and life are not separate but symbiotic.”
Love this different perspective as I have always seen books as an escape. Great post.
Rosaliene Bacchus said:
I, too, loved this. However, unlike L. Garza, it’s a view I’ve shared but have never been able to express it so eloquently. Books transformed my life.
While my kindle gathers dust on my desk nearby, I reach only for the printed book.
jrbenjamin said:
TY, LG — glad you got something out of it. And I agree — it’s sort of just assumed that you leave life when you dive into a book (or movie, etc.), but in reality I think Barnes is right, and he expresses the idea so convincingly.
grotmanharry said:
Nice Story!
jrbenjamin said:
Story? What story?!
jrbenjamin said:
Couldn’t agree more. We already use screen interfaces too much; among their many other upsides, paper books preserve that small but critical element of pre-technological humanity.
Carmen Lezeth Suarez said:
I don’t use my kindle, gave away an iPad. There really is something beautiful about a physical tangible lovely book. And writing…writing on paper. This was a much needed read this evening. Thank you. I feel so normal now.
seanmunger said:
Reblogged this on http://www.seanmunger.com and commented:
Love of books and the knowledge they contain is one of the reasons this website exists, so in that vein I bring you a great article from the Bully Pulpit blog on why books are, and will remain, the human race’s primary means of information transmission. E-readers, laptops and the Internet just don’t compete in the same arena; there’s nothing like a real book, and real books will still be around long after e-readers and laptops are ground into dust. Great post!
arranbhansal said:
Reblogged this on Confessions of a published author and commented:
Great post
roberthorvat said:
Commented earlier today on twitter about your great blog. Ain’t nothing better than a book in your hands.