Reading
I did a lot of reading as a kid. We didn't go to the movies much. Growing up in the country, we didn't have cable TV. So we had at most 1-8 Tv stations to watch (2 of each of the 4 networks and an occasional independent station). It was big excitement when a major movie was premiered on free TV. Sitting through commercials was worth it.
The answer I read is simple. Movies cost money, as well as money for concessions. For a while, there was money for the occasional movie, always a matinee or a drive-in. When my second brother was about two, even those activities ended. This was the early 1980's. Deep in Reganonics. Poorer than ever. However, my parents could still buy the cartoon of cigarettes a week. Another blog topic sometime.
So, if I wanted to experience the movies I was interested in, I bought the book. Usually, I used money my grandmother gave me for making the honor roll. Or, we'd order books through Scholastic in school. For some reason, my parents were ok with buying books, even though they didn't read much. So, while most kids saw the movie, I read the book.
I turned seven when Star Wars came out. The beginning of my reading life. The only way I got the book was it was at a grocery store. Adds were on TV, and my brother and I were bugging my folks to go see it (which never came to be... see prior post). My mother, thinking she was coy, said that if I could pronounce a few words in the novel, then she would buy it. So, she leafed through the book and chose the words Alderaan and Tatoonie. Of course, she didn't know how to pronounce them. And when her seven year old didn't hesitate and spoke instantly on how he would pronounce them, she keep the arrangement and bought the book. To this day, I still pronounce Tatoonie the way I did as a kid.
It took me a while to read that novel. I was only seven. It was the first, grown up book I read. And I had an uncorrected astigmatism at the time, so I read slower. I failed my eye test in school the next year. And before X-mas of 1978, I was the first boy in my class with glasses. Naturally my reading speed increased now that I could see better.
My grandmother gave me a boxed set of the first 5 novelizations of the original Star Trek series for X-mas 1977. She confused Star Wars and Star Trek. I had seen the occasional Star Trek episode when I'd visit her (she lived in town and had cable, but no pay channels). And I thought Star Trek was cool so I read those books over and over again.
Usually, I'd read Sci-Fi books, usually Star Trek and Star Wars. It was for the further adventures of the characters. I still have all of the books. I've read most of them at least twice, some three to four times. On hot summer afternoons, when it was too hot to do anything, I'd climb a tree and read. In retrospect, most of the writing was ok. Not earth shattering. But it told a story of characters I was interested in. I started to read many other books, even classics that were already movies.
I've read many of the new series from the Star Wars and Star Trek universes. The writing isn't the best, though I'm sure some people would argue that point. But it gets people reading.
I know if I wasn't stimulated to read by wanting to read the novel of Star Wars, I probably wouldn't have read much as a kid. Which would have led me to just passing in school. College and med school wouldn't have happened. Who knows what I would have ended up doing, but I'm sure life would be extremely different.
So, if kids what to read pulp novels, let them. Who knows where reading will lead them.
The answer I read is simple. Movies cost money, as well as money for concessions. For a while, there was money for the occasional movie, always a matinee or a drive-in. When my second brother was about two, even those activities ended. This was the early 1980's. Deep in Reganonics. Poorer than ever. However, my parents could still buy the cartoon of cigarettes a week. Another blog topic sometime.
So, if I wanted to experience the movies I was interested in, I bought the book. Usually, I used money my grandmother gave me for making the honor roll. Or, we'd order books through Scholastic in school. For some reason, my parents were ok with buying books, even though they didn't read much. So, while most kids saw the movie, I read the book.
I turned seven when Star Wars came out. The beginning of my reading life. The only way I got the book was it was at a grocery store. Adds were on TV, and my brother and I were bugging my folks to go see it (which never came to be... see prior post). My mother, thinking she was coy, said that if I could pronounce a few words in the novel, then she would buy it. So, she leafed through the book and chose the words Alderaan and Tatoonie. Of course, she didn't know how to pronounce them. And when her seven year old didn't hesitate and spoke instantly on how he would pronounce them, she keep the arrangement and bought the book. To this day, I still pronounce Tatoonie the way I did as a kid.
It took me a while to read that novel. I was only seven. It was the first, grown up book I read. And I had an uncorrected astigmatism at the time, so I read slower. I failed my eye test in school the next year. And before X-mas of 1978, I was the first boy in my class with glasses. Naturally my reading speed increased now that I could see better.
My grandmother gave me a boxed set of the first 5 novelizations of the original Star Trek series for X-mas 1977. She confused Star Wars and Star Trek. I had seen the occasional Star Trek episode when I'd visit her (she lived in town and had cable, but no pay channels). And I thought Star Trek was cool so I read those books over and over again.
Usually, I'd read Sci-Fi books, usually Star Trek and Star Wars. It was for the further adventures of the characters. I still have all of the books. I've read most of them at least twice, some three to four times. On hot summer afternoons, when it was too hot to do anything, I'd climb a tree and read. In retrospect, most of the writing was ok. Not earth shattering. But it told a story of characters I was interested in. I started to read many other books, even classics that were already movies.
I've read many of the new series from the Star Wars and Star Trek universes. The writing isn't the best, though I'm sure some people would argue that point. But it gets people reading.
I know if I wasn't stimulated to read by wanting to read the novel of Star Wars, I probably wouldn't have read much as a kid. Which would have led me to just passing in school. College and med school wouldn't have happened. Who knows what I would have ended up doing, but I'm sure life would be extremely different.
So, if kids what to read pulp novels, let them. Who knows where reading will lead them.
posted by Hawk at 6:14 AM
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