[ SECRET POST #2909 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2909 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.


__________________________________________________



02.


__________________________________________________



03.


__________________________________________________



04.


__________________________________________________



05.


__________________________________________________



06.


__________________________________________________



07.


__________________________________________________



08.



__________________________________________________



09.











Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 064 secrets from Secret Submission Post #416.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 1 (try #2) - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I come from a family that tends to voraciously devour fiction in multiple forms. We've about a half-thousand DVDs, and ... I honestly don't know how many books we have. Lots more than that. If not for the existence of public libraries, our house probably wouldn't be livable. I grew up reading, and it's always been completely natural to me.

I think that's why I remember so clearly when a friend of mine in school told me that she didn't read books because she couldn't see the pictures in her head. She could work with it if she was given an image, from illustrations or from a film adaptation or whatever, but she couldn't construct an image from scratch based on letters on a page. This completely baffled me at the time. I don't think I was very nice about it, not because I thought she was wrong or stupid because of it, but just because I flat couldn't comprehend that. It was too alien for me. (It's still more than a little alien, but I've spent a lot of life discovering that almost everything in other people's heads is rather alien, so I might as well just roll with it).

It did, however, make me realise that the ability to enjoy a book is based on a lot of different things for different people. Things like literacy, upbringing, languages, what senses their imagination is keyed to, what things get nostalgia priority for them, and a whole bundle of stuff. If your mental and circumstantial stars don't align for whatever reason, then it's just not as enjoyable for you as for others, or just not enjoyable at all. That's just the way things work.

I wouldn't worry about being more attached to film/TV than books. Like I said, in my family that's also pretty normal - my dad and one of my sisters favour visual media moreso, while my mother, my other sister and me tend to favour books. It works out about even in the end. There are things you can do in one medium that you can't in the other and vice versa, and it's interesting to compare those if you have both, but it's hardly going to matter if you just favour the one.

If you do want a rec for a (comic) book, by the way? I had to do a book report recently, student's choice of book, and I asked the teacher if the book in question had to have words in it. This got me a round of laughter, but I was entirely serious. If you've ever heard of a graphic novel by Shaun Tan, called The Arrival? It's an entirely wordless story of an immigrant trying to survive in a fantasy city, like a silent movie in comic format, and it's amazing. It gives a visceral feel of how disorientating things can be when you don't speak or read the language around you, because the symbols used in the book are as incomprehensible to the reader as they are to the protagonist. You can read this book no matter what language you speak. I highly recommend it.

[(Anonymous)]

Seconding this recommendation. A feast for the imagination.

[(Anonymous)]

not OP but this sounds so cool, I am definitely gonna look for it

[(Anonymous)]

I'll check it out! I'm ESL, but the reading thing isn't language-related. In honestly do think it's psychological. I do read the rare book, and I do like the premise.

[(Anonymous)]

AYRT

I actually wasn't directing that at ESL people specifically, it's just something that stands out particularly with this book, because of the subject matter, and made me think about silent movies as well. I've always loved them, but it made me wonder about purely visual media and how they have the potential to more easily jump language barriers (not necessarily cultural ones, but linguistic ones). Even with silent movies, you wouldn't have to mess with dubs/subs, all you'd have to change would be the title cards. It's an art form I think has potential again now, with globalisation and things like that, and I've been really enjoying the recent silent resurgence with films like The Artist as well.

Sorry. I'm rambling. But! The Arrival is well worth a read. The art is gorgeous, and it really is as much something you experience as it is something you read. I adore it.

[(Anonymous)]

I still need to get my own copy of The Arrival, and probably one for all of my friends. As it is, I reread it every time I visit my parents, and I always find something new. The storytelling and artwork are amazing.

[(Anonymous)]

Not OP, but thanks for the rec! I just ordered it for my boyfriend, who's an aspiring comic writer. He's done a few short comics with no dialogue or words, and has expressed his admiration for the form, so I think he'll love this.

[(Anonymous)]

The Arrival is one of my favorite books--second/third/fourth?ing the recommendation. I also really like his book Tales from Outer Suburbia. It's a collection of short stories, but still mostly pictures.

OP, have you tried out short story collections? They demand far less attention than novels. I particularly love Bruce Coville's "Oddly Enough."

I don't mean to say that you have to read stuff. Obviously. Since I'm an internet stranger. I'm one of those flaily book people who can't really understand not wanting to read. I cannot restrain myself from recommending books...oops...

Since you like comics, do you also like graphic novels? I really like Gene Luen Yang and Raina Telgemeier. Also art books are amazing!! I really really liked The Art of Brave. Art books are expensive, though, so I'm usually limited to what my library gets.

But there is NOTHING wrong with being in a book fandom having only seen the movies. You like what you like, and no one should be a jerk about that. Do your thang, OP. Haters gon hate.