Are we escapists?

[Renaldo]

All hobbies and most of how we spend our free times are some form of escapism. As long as it doesn't hurt our work, home, or personal relationships, it's not unhealthy. If you're not getting in trouble at work for reading when you shouldn't, turning down plans because you can't read during them, or letting your personal hygiene go in favor of reading, your friend is nothing but hot air!

[Alphapheemail]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

I spent a lot of my youth sick in bed, and this was long before Netflix and cable TV. So, all that I had to keep me entertained were books. I learned early on that if I always had a book with me, I never had to be upset with anyone for being late (even if it was late with my meds), or be bored (anywhere .... I take a good book with me to football and baseball games ... because I hate football and baseball ... I sit in the back of the box with a glass of wine and a few shrimp, and I read).

Are you better now?


and agreed he might be full of hot air! he might beat me in coordination in halo, but not in imagination!

=)

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by Alphapheemail

Are you better now?


and agreed he might be full of hot air! he might beat me in coordination in halo, but not in imagination!

=)

Not to much "better" as in remission. I had extremely severe asthma as a child. It sort of faded around the time I hit my 20s, but I still get some exercise induced bouts ... and generally a whopper of a lung shut down when I've been away from the animals for a week or more and then come home.

I am told that it may become severe again in my old age. Of course, the way my life has been going, it's still even odds as to whether I will reach "old age."

[pilotbob]

I guess my one other question/comment in this thread would be...

What's wrong with a little escapism once in a while?

BOb

[Wetdogeared]

I read to escape. I worry too much and reading relieves me of that worry, for a while. Being a chronic insomniac doesn't help. Delving into another universe just carries me away.

Great discussion. I believe JSWolf is trying to a find a way in MobileRead for a serious, or at the least, non-silly discussion and this is a perfect example of how to do it.

Set the scene, set the tone, pose the question.

WDE.

[Lady Blue]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I guess my one other question/comment in this thread would be...

What's wrong with a little escapism once in a while?

BOb

I would go so far as to say a little escapism is actually necessary for the health of the human mind and soul. I think visiting that world from time to time keeps us balanced, sane and interesting. Only intelligent beings play, and play of pretty much any kind is in itself escapism.

Read on.

[Seabound]

Originally Posted by Alphapheemail

I was talking to a friend of mine and I was telling him how ever since I had the pleasure of welcoming my e-reader into my life I am devouring books ( I just started the Ender saga by Orson Scott) and I could never be happier!
He stated how he never really could understand how people read so much and he could never do it unless it was DIY books. He ended the convo by saying that he felt that people who had their noses so much in other worlds and lives were just trying to escape from their own realities.

Now, it did sound weird and somewhat true to an extent, but I still felt a bit apprehensive because I do not feel that's my main reason for reading so much.

I wanted to get the general opinion on this subject from the lovely gals and gents in this forum.

Thnx

Michelle

Remind your friend that really good literature is an art (of course, there are good novels, and there are those which are a total waste of time.) You might quote Austen to your friend, who was largely self-taught but who probably had more knowledge and insight into the human condition, and more literate, than your friend:

From pride, ignorance, or fashion, our foes are almost as many as our readers. And while the abilities of the nine-hundredth abridger of the History of England, or of the man who collects and publishes in a volume some dozen lines of Milton, Pope, and Prior, with a paper from the Spectator, and a chapter from Sterne, are eulogized by a thousand pens,---there seems almost a general wish of decrying the capacity and undervaluing the labour of the novelist, and of slighting the performances which have only genius, wit, and taste to recommend them. "I am no novel-reader---I seldom look into novels---Do not imagine that I often read novels---It is really very well for a novel."---Such is the common cant.---"And what are you reading, Miss ---?" "Oh! It is only a novel!" replies the young lady; while she lays down her book with affected indifference, or momentary shame.---"It is only Cecilia, or Camilla, or Belinda;" or, in short, only some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of with and humour are conveyed to the world in the best-chosen language.

---Jane Austen in Northanger Abbey

You can also point out to your friend articles like:

Know literature, know the world

The Fiction of Development:
Literary Representation as a Source
of Authoritative Knowledge

The latter quotes George Eliot:

Appeals founded on generalisations and statistics require a sympathy ready-made, a moral sentiment already in activity; but a picture of human life such as a great artist can give, surprises even the trivial and the selfish into that attention to what is apart from themselves, which may be called the raw material of moral sentiment.

[BookishDreamer]

Yes, I read to escape, to travel, to experience places that I will never visit in my real life. I read to escape the day's worries, wiping the mundane routines and tomorrow's deadlines from my mind so I can sleep soundly. I read in restaurants to escape the boredom of dining alone.

Dreamer

[pshrynk]

I once saw a T-shirt at a convention that read, "Reality is for those who can't handle science fiction." There is much to be said for some escapism. It lowers stress, decreases blood pressure, and ensures that you will live a longer and happier life. So escape from reality today!

[Alphapheemail]

Ok so all points considered...
I see the joy that reading showers the reader with, and the art form, and the significance to one's intelligence, and the plethora of other forms of escapism.

But I still can't shake off this feeling that I can't handle life. That I'm too weak so I need to escape... maybe it's true. And so what! I think I'd rather escape in the tale of a brave 6 y.o. than drugs or the search for Paris' new BFF, both of which will eventually damage my capacity to absorb said tale. So one thing is for sure, if i plunged into drugs/Paris's enthralling life the same way i plunge into books I would certainly not be talking to you guys right now. ( Sorry I am thinking in typing form, and I may have answered my own question, but I'd still like to know what you guys think!)

Then I start thinking of the ancient Greeks and what would be their form of escapism, and I think that was how philosophy and mathematics came about. People trying to find something to do other than thinking about the mundane and boring.

Thoughts?

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Alphapheemail

But I still can't shake off this feeling that I can't handle life. That I'm too weak so I need to escape... maybe it's true.

Someone that reads books is no more unable to handle life than is someone that walks away from a fight a coward.

BOb

[Penforhire]

Yes, it is clearly escapist for me. But anything other than breathing, eating, and sleeping could be considered escapist. I like "flow" activities and a good book falls into that category for me. The give-away is I lose track of time.

But this is one of the few escapes I feel good about. Reading voraciously as a youth put me far ahead of the curve and made me who I am today. I attribute much of my professional success in technical jobs to my history of reading. I have no qualms about "wasting" an entire weekend reading. I can't say the same thing about video games, though I've been known to waste serious hours at that too! Or auto racing. Or motorcycle sport-touring. Those can invoke qualms while still being "worth it" to me.

[Wetdogeared]

I too feel weak and that I can't handle life, but realizing that I am not alone is some relief. There is a breaking point, however, when I know that I have to be proactive to keep my sanity. Escapism, via reading, can be a proactive means to avoid the mundane and boring and also the tragedies, worries and crisis of everyday living. I do know, and this is what spares me from total depression, that I will eventually have to deal with the everyday...right after I finish this chapter.

WDE.

[Alphapheemail]

Originally Posted by Wetdogeared

I do know, and this is what spares me from total depression, that I will eventually have to deal with the everyday...right after I finish this chapter.

WDE.

Love it! That's exactly how I feel.

[MelC]

Lots of great comments here justifying a little escapism now and then. I guess you could come at it from another angle, however, as well. I would question what your friend means by your "reality" that you are trying to escape. From my perspective reading is one of the many activities that make up my daily life, my reality. It sound to me like your friend is limiting his "reality" and his "life" to a certain set of actions (presumably actions preferred by him) and viewing anything outside those boundaries as escapism or not based in "reality". I would question who is actually avoiding reality in this situation as to my mind closing your life to a whole range of possible experiences and activities is a lot more limiting and a lot less like living.

Mel