Monday, August 30, 2010

Jonathan Frazen's take on why novels will survive

Dan Winters for TIME

On the eve of his much lauded new release, "Freedom", Jonathan Frazen, author of the critically acclaimed novel, The Corrections (2001), waxes poetic about life, writing, and the pleasure - and need - of humans to sit down and become immersed in a good read in this cover article from TIME magazine. Here's an excerpt:
"There are any number of reasons to want novels to survive. The way Franzen thinks about it is that books can do things, socially useful things, that other media can't. He cites — as one does — the philosopher Soren Kierkegaard and his idea of busyness: that state of constant distraction that allows people to avoid difficult realities and maintain self-deceptions. With the help of cell phones, e-mail and handheld games, it's easier to stay busy, in the Kierkegaardian sense, than it's ever been.
Reading, in its quietness and sustained concentration, is the opposite of busyness. "We are so distracted by and engulfed by the technologies we've created, and by the constant barrage of so-called information that comes our way, that more than ever to immerse yourself in an involving book seems socially useful," Franzen says. "The place of stillness that you have to go to to write, but also to read seriously, is the point where you can actually make responsible decisions, where you can actually engage productively with an otherwise scary and unmanageable world."

Read more: 



No comments:

Post a Comment

We welcome your comments, however they are subject to approval by the moderator. Please do not include any items or services you are selling in your comment. Your comment must be less than 200 words or it will not be posted. Thanks!

Welcome

You've discovered

The Friends of the Corona Public Library Blog.


Thanks for visiting!

Here we post the latest in the Book & Library World, both local and international. Also, browse to look for news and tid-bits we think you'll find interesting on reading-related topics.

Please review the "Categories" and "Archives" boxes in the right sidebar for categories on past postings.

If you find something out there on the web that you'd like us to know about, pass it along by emailing us at: info@friendsofcpl.org

To return to the main Friends website pages please click here.