When Books Aren't Television

            As I was reading Amusing Ourselves to Death, I, like many others, thought it was quite difficult to read. Perhaps unlike others, though, it was not the word choice or the sentence structure. These were more difficult than normal, but I do not think this was the tough element of this book. I think this book is difficult because I cannot envision what is happening while I read it.

            When I read a narrative book, I read it like I watch television. I see a moving picture of what is happening. If the book is written well, I can even place myself in the book and see what each character sees and hear what each character hears. Since I can see it, I can understand it even better. The reason I can see it as a moving picture is because events happen one after another, just like a movie or a television show.

            Huxley’s Amusing Ourselves to Death is not a narrative, though, so I cannot envision the ideas in my head. I have to process each word, instead of each picture, slowly and methodically. Though I can kind of hear him (in a dreary and monotone voice), this sound does not add to his ideas.

            This reminds me of the dependence our generation has developed on images he explained in the second part of his book. My dependence gets in the way of understanding his ideas. Tell me if you have felt the same problem has impeded your reading.