As I write this, I have half an eye on an old James Bond film that is showing on my computer. But this is a story about how I stopped watching TV and began reading again for pleasure, after ten years in which I hardly turned a page.
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I suppose I was an avid reader of "literature" between the ages of nine and fourteen. I had enough time to be White Fang, Robinson Crusoe, and Bilbo Baggins and Jeeves. Of course there was room in the schoolboy's imagination for some real historical figures: Scott of the Antarctic, all of the Vikings, and Benjamin Franklin were good friends of mine.
Then, in adolescence, I began a long search for strange and radical ideas. I wanted to challenge my elders and betters, and stir up my peers with amazing points of view. Of course, the only place to look was in books. I hunted out the longest titles and the authors with the funniest names, I scoured the library for completely unread books. Then I found one which became my bible for the whole of 1982, it had a title composed of eleven long words and an author whose name I didn't know how to pronounce. It was really thick and looked dead serious. Even better, it put forward a whole world-view that would take days to explain. Perfect. I took it out of the library three times, proud to see the date-stamps lined up on the empty library insert.
Later, I went to university. Expecting to spend long evenings in learned discussion with clever people, I started reading philosophy. For some reason I never found the deep-thinking intellectuals I hoped to meet. Anyway, I was ready to impress with my profound knowledge of post-structuralism, existentialism and situationism. These things are usually explained in rather short books, but they take a long time to get through. They were the end of my youthful reading.
Working life was hard to get used to after so much theory. It was the end of books for me. There didn't seem to be much in books that would actually get things done. To do things you had to answer the telephone and work a computer. You had to travel about and speak to people who weren't at all interested in philosophy. I didn't stop reading, you can't avoid that. I read all day. But no books came my way, only manuals and pamphlets and contracts and documents. Maybe most people satisfy their need for stories and ideas with TV and, to tell the truth, it was all I needed for ten years. In those days I only had a book "on the go" for the duration of aeroplane flights. At first I would come home and watch TV over dinner. Then, I moved the TV so I could watch it from bed. I even rigged up a switch so I could turn it off without getting out of bed. Then, one fateful day, my TV broke and my landlady took it away.
My new TV is an extra circuit board inside my computer. It's on a desk in front of a working chair and I can't see it from the bed. I still use it for the weather forecasts and it's nice to have it on while I'm typing this… but what to do last thing at night? Well, have another go with books.
Now, I just like books. I have a pile of nice ones by my bed and I'm reading about six simultaneously. I don't want to BE any of the characters. I don't care if a thousand people have already read them. I don't have to search through libraries. There are books everywhere and all of them have something to read in them. I have the strange feeling that they've been there all along, waiting for me to pick them up.
period of a person's life between childhood and adulthood
extremely eager or interested
to invite someone to compete or take part, esp. in a game or argument
a small electronic circuit which consists of a lot of small parts made on a piece of semiconducting material
very important because of its, often negative, effect on the future
a person famous in history
a highly educated person whose interests are studying and other activities that involve careful thinking and mental effort
acquired by learning or experience
a thin book with only a few pages which gives information or an opinion about something
a person who is the same age or has the same social position or the same abilities as other people in a group
(something that gives) enjoyment, happiness or satisfaction
showing a clear and deep understanding of serious matters
believing or expressing the belief that there should be great or extreme social or political change
to fix (a piece of equipment) in place
to search (a place or thing) very carefully in order to try to find something
in a way that happens or is done at exactly the same time
a way of looking at or considering the world
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What do you think of this article? Do you agree with what it says? Send us your opinions.
Ojong Gerrald writes “I am not in total disagreement or totally in line with the content of the text. Its inclination and limitation of books or after reading books to working life is actually a bit of a variant to what I get from books; moreover, I do not think it would be possible to practically answer the telephone and work a computer, without the help of books. After all it might be mimicry, although I remain convinced that I am the one mimicking since I actually did the reading! Especially when it comes to having similar strange feelings and reading those books that have been read by more than a thousand people.”
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LeeLayer writes “In my view, the difference between watching TV and reading books is similar to that between taking fast food and having delicate cuisine. TV offers all-round information, from visual to auditory. That means that what we have to do is just accept and during this whole process we stay passive. Reading books, however, is an entirely different thing. It requires us to digest the words, to build the pictures with our imagination and to communicate with the writer in our hearts. We are no longer spectators. Rather, we are fully involved in the reproduction of arts. I strongly recommend that more and more people, particularly young people, should spend more time on reading, rather than watching TV.”
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Oksana Demchenko writes “I have just read "Ten Years Without Books" written by John Kuti and I must say that I feel rather sorry for him. I can hardly imagine a day without books, it is like meeting old and new friends for me, who always have something to say, to share, to impress me with or startle me. It is not often possible to meet new people every other day or week, but it is possible with books! They are written by very different, interesting and fantastic people, who share their inner world with you, make you think and see things you have never seen before. When you do not agree with some authors, you do not have to quarrel with them as we often do with people. While studying at university I always found time to read non-compulsory books; even during exam periods, when everybody else was studying his subject, I used to come from the library carrying a pile of novels! And I managed to read them all as well as pass my exams with flying colours. I feel an enormous gratitude for the books in my life. I have millions of friends waiting for me!”
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Matilde Fontanin writes “I agree only partially with what the article says, in that I have been and still am a reader. Books really never lost their appeal for me. When I was young, I dreamt of becoming a writer. Now I am 40, I am the mother of two wonderful children, I am a librarian... and have come to the conclusion that someone in this world HAS to be a reader, and this is what I proudly am, supporting all the writers by reading their books.
I must admit that in my teens and my twenties I used to read differently: I used to remember much more precisely the books that I read, but now I happen to read them again more often. I agree with Daniel Pennac when he stated this as one of the reader's rights: the right to re-read.
I said that I am a librarian, but do not work at a public library: anyway I visit my public library very often, alone or with my children, and I always feel on a treasure hunt as I browse the shelves... and most of the times we come home with real treasures.
We do have a TV set at home, but it remains silent most of the time, apart for the news, some cartoons and the Olympic games: there are always more interesting things to do, like reading, playing outside, cycling around and so on.”
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Éva Megyesi from Hungary writes “I have read your article "Ten years without books" by John Kuti. I think everybody has some period in his life when he has not enough time or does not want to read anything. For example when I was young I tried to read as often as was possible. 15 years ago I gave birth to my daughters and I could hardly turn a page for a very long time, for about 10 years. I always had something to do with them and in the evenings when I had time for reading I was tired and sleepy. But now they are 12 and 15 years old and I have begun to read again! I read the compulsory books given by their schools and I enjoy them very much. I understand them in another way than 30 years ago when I was a child. And of course I read everything what I am interested in. I don't like to read by the computer because of not touching and turning the pages.”
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Hakan Yildirimkaya writes “Thank you John Kuti for this article. I agree with the writer. When I read the article, I thought that the writer was describing me. This is a common modern adult behavioral problem. I know that but I can’t stop it. Sometimes, when I feel I cannot solve this problem, I think of what I am planning to do when I retire. I am sure I will have a lot of time to read.”
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