We don't always get to break from our reading at a chapter break. The phone, the doorbell, the kitchen fire -- all require us to put down the book more or less promptly. In cases like these we may not even get to the end of the current sentence. A ready bookmark slapped into the crease before closing ensures we'll be able to find where we left off without too much bother. Even if we're reading other things in the meantime and we don't pick up that temporarily-abandoned book for weeks, we'll be alright. Whew!
Sometimes life gets interrupted by life. Okay, not sometimes -- all the time. Too bad we don't have lifemarks. Imagine you're driving to the grocery store when you realize you have a book you ordered waiting at your local bookstore. You go to the bookstore and forget all about the groceries until later in the week when you finally figure out what's causing your entire family's synchronized stomach pains.
Lifemarks mean never forgetting what you meant to do next. If you'd thrown down a lifemark at the turning, then you would have remembered to go for food after you stopped for your book. Life is good.
Okay, that needs a little work.
Life is complex. It's got multiple stories. It doesn't always make sense and it won't wait for us. It's constantly being interrupted, and things inevitably fall by the wayside as we neglect to pick up the pieces we dropped along the way.
Books (novels) are simple, even when they're complex. They tell a single story even when they have multiple story lines. They're told by a single person (the author) even when related by multiple narrators. They are read in linear reader-time even when the story jumps back and forth in time. They make sense even when they surprise. They're in one piece, bound together so the reader never has to go looking for the next page. The reader is there from the beginning right through to the end with no gaps, and has full control over the rate at which they read, whether they read at all, and if they want to re-read. This is why bookmarks work as well as they do.
If reading is interrupted by life, use a bookmark. If reading is interrupted by something in the novel itself... well, a bookmark won't help. A novel that interrupts itself isn't lifelike; it's just broken.
About bookmarks. There never seems to be one around when I need one, so any scrap of paper will do. A bill. A report card. Napkin, tissue (clean), postcard. I find the craziest things in my books sometimes.
ReplyDeleteMy lifemark is the oversized calendar hanging on the side of my refrigerator. No matter how crazy life gets, my caldendar keeps me on track. Grocery shopping remains a problem.
I have quite a set of bookmarks, most of which manage to find their way back after each use to an otherwise unused drawer. Even my bookmarks are complicated, though, so I'll be blogging about them soon.
ReplyDeleteYour um... last two paragraphs make no sense to me unfortunatly. I even read it twice just in case. It feels to me like your train of thought derailed, or maybe you were getting tired of writing, which happens to me all the time. Actaully, upon further reflection you seem determinded to push books as the ultimate makes-sense-o-bot!
ReplyDeleteBooks (novels) are simple, even when they're complex. <- And how is that exactly?
They tell a single story even when they have multiple story lines. <- Um... no.
They're told by a single person (the author) even when related by multiple narrators. <- A little sketchy, but I'll give you this one.
They are read in linear reader-time even when the story jumps back and forth in time. <- Finally, a sentence that works perfectly for me.
They make sense even when they surprise. <- Clearly, you havn't been reading enough, or not the right books. We'll discuss this again after you read The Unbearable Lightness of Being
They're in one piece, bound together so the reader never has to go looking for the next page. <- Except for all those books you got where the pages were out of order.
The reader is there from the beginning right through to the end with no gaps, and has full control over the rate at which they read, whether they read at all, and if they want to re-read. <- This is ok, except for the gaps part. Wasn't the point of this post that your reading is interrupted/gapped?
If reading is interrupted by something in the novel itself... well, a bookmark won't help. <- And how praytell does a novel do that exactly?
A novel that interrupts itself isn't lifelike; it's just broken. <- Oh really? And just how do you draw that conclusion?
I think what I need is some examples or further discussion on most of them. Doesn't work for me to have you just say "this is so" and it's never worked for you in the past either.
It's why I try to provide examples and explanations in my blog posts, though I too often end up losing the topic along the way.
Okay, Tbiz, let me take your points one at a time.
ReplyDeleteBooks (novels) are simple, even when they're complex. <- And how is that exactly? A book is a self contained story -- that's pretty simple
They tell a single story even when they have multiple story lines. <- Um... no. In the sense that the book tells a story, it is a single story.
They're told by a single person (the author) even when related by multiple narrators. <- A little sketchy, but I'll give you this one. Why thank you.
They are read in linear reader-time even when the story jumps back and forth in time. <- Finally, a sentence that works perfectly for me. And that's the sentence I thought people might have trouble with....
They make sense even when they surprise. <- Clearly, you havn't been reading enough, or not the right books. We'll discuss this again after you read The Unbearable Lightness of Being You know I've been reading enough. When a book doesn't make sense, either the book has failed or the reader has. Think about that.
They're in one piece, bound together so the reader never has to go looking for the next page. <- Except for all those books you got where the pages were out of order. Yes, those are a pain.
The reader is there from the beginning right through to the end with no gaps, and has full control over the rate at which they read, whether they read at all, and if they want to re-read. <- This is ok, except for the gaps part. Wasn't the point of this post that your reading is interrupted/gapped? I was referring to no gaps in the story as presented -- not no gaps in the reading. My bad if I confused you.
If reading is interrupted by something in the novel itself... well, a bookmark won't help. <- And how praytell does a novel do that exactly? A novel interrupts itself when it calls attention to the fact that it's a novel. When something is out of place and it tosses you out of the "fictional dream" or whatever, that's when the novel interrupts itself.
A novel that interrupts itself isn't lifelike; it's just broken. <- Oh really? And just how do you draw that conclusion? A novel is supposed to immerse you in its world. If it throws you out of it through some bad technique or other mis-step, then it has failed in its purpose.
I think what I need is some examples or further discussion on most of them. Doesn't work for me to have you just say "this is so" and it's never worked for you in the past either.
It's why I try to provide examples and explanations in my blog posts, though I too often end up losing the topic along the way.
I envy those who can show good examples of writing dos and don'ts. I'm pretty poor at it, but I should practice more. I'll try my best.