Reading

1. Pleasure of reading vs. pleasure of viewing
There are several ways as to how people entertain themselves. Some do
entertain themselves through their hobbies while others entertain themselves by
other means. The most popular forms of entertainment nowadays are attained
through reading and watching films. Some get the pleasure through while others
get the pleasure through viewing.
Reading is defined as a cognitive process oftransforming information in order
to derive the meaning. People have different tastes of reading books. Somelike
to read only short stories or fairy tales, while others like to read drama, novels
or vice versa. Viewing films is also considered as one of the medium of
entertainment but it has many drawbacks.
One does not get pleasure of reading just by reading words but also through
imagination. The words which we read creates pictures in our minds making us
feel as if we were part of the story itself. There are many advantages of reading
and some of these are reasons as to how reading books gives us pleasure.
Firstly, when we read, we tend to expand our knowledge and culture. There are
a lot of good books in which we can find history, novels, tragedies, comedies
and a variety of other themes. Therefore, people who read more often frequently
have a bigger knowledge of life and also a bigger perspective of their
environment. Secondly, to read more often is that through books you can have
fun and even travel in your imagination. Sometimes imagination also helps a
personto achieve his goals. Thirdly, if we refer to the works of great saints or
authors of olden times, their work reveals that books not only gives pleasure in
reading but also symbolises a life of a person with literature. Finally, the third
and the most important feature that while reading, it does not matter the age that
one has, one can always expand their vocabulary and the ways to express their
ideas to the others in a simple and correct form.
Films also tend to give pleasure but in certain limit. Firstly, it provides
relaxation from stress. If we ever get tired of doing a particular work or if we
have some sort of worries in our mind, then viewing movies will make our mind
lighter and refresh our mind. Pleasure of watching science based movies
broadens our knowledge on science and also makes aware of certain facts.
“Film asdream, film asmusicand no art passes our conscience in the way
film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down intothe dark rooms of
our souls.” (IngmarBergman). Bergman states that in the world of literature

2. no art can arouse our emotions and soul the way films do it. Films give
opportunities to express our emotions. Films tend to give a good view of what
has happened to the society in the past, what is its present and what will be its
future. Therefore, audience also enjoy viewing those movies which gives a hint
of reality about the society. Students at schoolenjoy watching educational
movies in order to understand what is written in the text bookbecause not all
text books have normal English. Some text books also use old English which
does not go well with students. If there is a screen adaptation based on that
particular text books then students enjoy viewing that movie as it will enhance
their knowledge and will make them understand better about the text.
In the argument of pleasure of reading vs. pleasure of viewing, critics always
chosepleasure of reading to be the best method to explore literature and there
are several reasons for it. Firstly, it has been noted that films based on text of
playwrights, authors do give the people a hint as to what is happening in the
story but it does not take into accountall the incidents that has happened in the
book. Therefore, some films kill the mood of reading. Secondly, it has been
argued that books do have the world of fantasies but films narrate it in such a
way that sometimes these types of film do not hold any value in the eyes of
audience. Lastly, books contain inner feelings of the writer but the film directors
do not contribute their inner feelings towards their film. Instead they try to show
it through visualization. The inner feelings maybe included in any part of the
bookbut films cannot carry inner feelings of the characters shown all the time.
This can be a major drawback against viewing films becausemost of the literary
work carries inner feelings and books are classic examples which carry inner
feelings not films.
Most people prefer to get pleasure through reading books becausebooks tend to
convey inner feelings of the author, puts us into the imaginary world of
characters and it also shows the reality of the society. Films do show the reality
of the society but it does not give us that pleasure which can be only achieved
through reading. It can give us pleasure through visualization for two or three
hours but books give us pleasure for weeks or months becausethe story which
we read remains fresh in our minds.
(Approximately: 770 words)

3. Reference
1. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/6-reasons-the-book-is-almost-
always-better-than-the-movie/- Retrieved on 18th March, 2014 at 5.05 pm
2. http://www.debate.org/opinions/are-movies-better-than-books - Retrieved
on 18th March, 2014 at 5.15 pm
3. http://www.andbethere.com/2013/10/7-reasons-why-books-are-better-
than-movies-1.html- Retrieved on 20th March, 2014 at 6.15 pm
4. http://www.amazon.com/The-Pleasures-Reading-Ideological-
Age/dp/0393314995- Retrieved on 22nd March, 2014 at 10.46 pm
5. http://www.hieropraxis.com/2010/01/reading-versus-television-which-is-
better/- Retrieved on 22nd March, 2014 at 10.50 pm
6. http://www.essayforum.com/writing-feedback-3/read-pleasure-help-
develop-better-imagination-language-53173/- Retrieved on 22nd March,
2014 at 11.25 pm