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June 10, 2003
Confessions of a Book Addict
As a child, I...
- Read books containing scenes of violence and torture, and doubtful sexual morals (James Bond novels).
- Stayed in my room for hours reading books rather than interacting with other children.
- Would rather read books than get healthy exercise.
- Read books when I should have been doing my homework.
- Found books to be highly addictive. I went to the public library every week for still more books.
- Found that my interest in books diminished my interest in other media such as television (the graphics were better in the books).
- Read some books without my parents' knowledge or approval.
- Read so many non-interactive books that my hand-eye coordination never fully developed as it would if only I had had video games to play.
- Came to fantasize about being a character in a book, and wanted to live out their experiences in reality.
AND WORST OF ALL
- Re-enacted aggressive scenes from the books with my friends who had read the same book.
While these confessions are not actually mine, they come pretty close to my relationship with books. In actuality, this was from a post that game designer and industry provocateur Ernest Adams recently made on the IGDA's <a href="http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/women_dev">women in game development mailing list</a>.
Made me go hmm, and thought I'd paste it here. (And, I am sure Ernest won't mind, because I've just plugged <a href="http://www.designersnotebook.com/Books/books.htm">his two new books</a>.)
Anyway, interesting how the medium (media?) is so important in terms of perceived value. I'd go so far as to say that reading the same book in electronic format is not seen in the same light as holding the pulp version. Must be something about staring at a screen. Same goes for playing "cops and robbers" vs GTA ;)
Also, makes me think of a paraphrased German quote:
"The dose makes the poison."
Maybe someone should start MediaWatchers(tm) to help people maintain a healthy and balanced diet of media consumption... Heck, we really don't need another book addict roaming the countryside!
Posted by della at June 10, 2003 12:46 AM
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Comments
Hah! Nice post. I too was addicted to books. Fortunately, I've ditched books and taken up video games, which has been better for my social life!
Posted by: justin at June 11, 2003 02:43 PM