I like reading. I would like to say "I read a lot", however I must admit that "I read a lot." Back when I was a teenager, for several reasons. I had more time, had free access to the very sturdy paternal library, had no children, not working, etc ...
However, I am very surprised that today, in my spare time, often reading is not one of my priorities: many times I go to the internet or start studying or researching technology issues. But nevertheless, I enjoy reading. When I grab a book, it's hard to stop, unless it is very bad. And I'm what they call "good reader" ... What then? Why reading is not part of my priorities when choosing a fun?
hedonism and Epicureanism
very coldly, I admit that the mental effort I have to do to get me the computer is almost nil. Running from place to place on the internet has some hedonistic, I always feel that the surprise is just around the next page, my thirst for novelty finds its fullness in this way, and the effort required to achieve it is almost zero, or is summarized in a few tabs open Firefox ...
However, I realize that when I took the trouble to choose a good book, going into its plot and actively read and receptive, find another kind of pleasure: while still experiencing the feeling of surprise is always just around the next page (like clicking a link on the Internet), the pleasure is calmer, quieter, more durable ... more epicurean.
Generally, after a few hours surfing the net, left with a feeling of mental exhaustion, many received signals, many hopes of novelty, but also many disappointments. Little consistent content, almost no wire. Instead, after reading a good book, was completely serene with the feeling of having communicated with the author, of sharing emotions, ideas, concepts that he wanted to write.
A reading advocates
All this is a collection of concepts that should be obvious to everyone. However, it seems important to remind advocates of reading, these beings who complain that people no longer read, and who blame the TV, Hollywood, Internet, Playstation, drugs, and what not Moreover, in the background, reading, seeking pleasure. Whether emotional pleasure if I read a romance, an intellectual pleasure if I read a philosophy paper, but I always attracts the activity of reading, because I know find not only a pleasure but a pleasure to such superior durability. I would say that reading is an activity Epicurean, while most modern entertainments are hedonistic, like going for a walk with your family for a weekend is an epicurean activity while out dancing with friends is a pleasure rather hedonistic.