Thursday, August 04, 2005
Is reading "inspirational fictions" equivalent to borrowing thoughts from them?
Could not wait till next week to post this, as I'm currently jobless.
Just a few days back, I was discussing books with someone. I asked him whether he likes Richard Bach books; he said he has read one and found it to be preachy. He put across a question something like, "Why should I expect someone else to enlighten me with thoughts? I don't want to borrow thoughts from anyone, so I don't like to read such books". Agreed that he is entirely free to choose the books for him; nevertheless it provoked some thoughts in me. I have a different view on the class of "inspirational fictions" and I'm going to share them here.
What is an inspirational fiction? It refers to the category of books which narrate a story, simultaneously analyzing some events in it, highlighting what should reader take away from that particular event. The author does not only convey the story, but makes the reader see what he sees in a particular character or event. Most of such "advice" part is positive and so supposed to inspire the reader to think. Hence the name - "inspirational fiction", colloquially referred to as "funda book".
Reading inspirational fictions should not be confused with surrendering our thoughts and following what the author says. It should be viewed as an act of focusing our thoughts on some situation/person appearing in the book, which otherwise would have got ignored by us. In my opinion, we do not lose our identity/individuality by thinking about the contents of the book; in fact, if we do not give much thought about a book (books in general, not only inspirational fictions), it is equivalent to an act of sacrilege to the book and an insult to its author. Ignorence is the most cruel way of treating the work of an artist/writer/musician/dancer etc. One should either like them or dislike them; even disliking is a kind of tribute.
I find it nice to read such books. They trigger thoughts, thus enlightening the mind. One is free to accept or reject the author's thoughts, only after analyzing them. The author is not forcing anyone to accept his thoughts, but definitely he is forcing the reader to cogitate over it. Many a times reader identifies him/herself with a situation in the book. At that time he would not have thought about another possibility of handling that situation. But since the author has described not only the situation, but also a way to handle it, the reader is doubly benefited. Book reading not only gives joy, but also serves to enrich the mind and soul. Whenever the reader's thoughts and author's "preachings" match, there is no doubt that any reader is happy. It is natural for humans to be happy when they come across like-minded people. At the same time, there are people who enjoy being with/talking to people who don't think alike. Similar is the case with books. Hence no matter whether a reader agrees or disagrees with the author, inspirational fictions are worth reading once.
Another major thing to be kept in mind is that "Learn from other's mistakes; you can't live to make all of them on your own". When someone is sharing what he/has has learnt from his/her mistakes, what is wrong in accepting it? if the author has to write something with such a conviction, he must have experienced it or seen someone undergoing it. For example, Richard Bach was a pilot, he enjoyed his work, travelled across many countries, and saw different kinds of people. Most of what he writes are related to his life. If we are not willing to listen to what he has to say, then we are losing something, he is not.
There are several famous inspirational fictions by different authors. "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" (http://www.szepi.hu/irodalom/jonathan/jonatan2.html) is the famous one by Richard Bach. It conveys that everything is in mind. When you have passion to do something and focus your mind, nothing else matters, you will reach your goal. Ofcourse, the book does not say it in such a boring way (like I have written) and that's what makes it very special. Similar is "Little Prince" (http://www.angelfire.com/hi/littleprince/) by Antoine De Saint Exupéry. Whatever I say about the book can convey very little. One should read it to realize what it is. Everytime I read it, I get something new from that book, though it has very few pages. It is mainly about how people ignore things which are really enjoyable and concentrate their energies on most useless/materialistic objects as they grow up. There are relatively few around us who appreciate art, music, dance books etc. Paulo Coelho is another famous writer who writes only inspirational fictions. I've read 3 of his books out of which "The Alchemist" is the best one. "Veronika Decides to die" is another good book, I didnot like "Eleven minutes". I've gone through the summary of other books and they are all alike, similar to either of the first 2 books. The Alchemist becomes little monotonous and boring towards the end, but 75% of it is really inspiring. I don't think I've borrowed any thoughts from it, but I felt happy to read it, as I could relate to some principles/situations. Veronika decides to die is about Veronika who being young & dynamic, having lot of friends, still finding life to be not worth living. So she attempts a suicide, but survives and gets admitted to a mental hospital. She is told that she has only 7 days to live, and then she discovers many things about enjoying life, after talking to other people in the hospital. I won't comment about the end. If anyone tells you that he/she wants to die, my suggestion is - gift this book (ok..I'm not talking this from experience). When people are very depressed, they are strongly pulled towards negative thinking; they lose all the positive energy. Reading some "funda books" with nice stories can help such people to see the light in their life.
Just a few days back, I was discussing books with someone. I asked him whether he likes Richard Bach books; he said he has read one and found it to be preachy. He put across a question something like, "Why should I expect someone else to enlighten me with thoughts? I don't want to borrow thoughts from anyone, so I don't like to read such books". Agreed that he is entirely free to choose the books for him; nevertheless it provoked some thoughts in me. I have a different view on the class of "inspirational fictions" and I'm going to share them here.
What is an inspirational fiction? It refers to the category of books which narrate a story, simultaneously analyzing some events in it, highlighting what should reader take away from that particular event. The author does not only convey the story, but makes the reader see what he sees in a particular character or event. Most of such "advice" part is positive and so supposed to inspire the reader to think. Hence the name - "inspirational fiction", colloquially referred to as "funda book".
Reading inspirational fictions should not be confused with surrendering our thoughts and following what the author says. It should be viewed as an act of focusing our thoughts on some situation/person appearing in the book, which otherwise would have got ignored by us. In my opinion, we do not lose our identity/individuality by thinking about the contents of the book; in fact, if we do not give much thought about a book (books in general, not only inspirational fictions), it is equivalent to an act of sacrilege to the book and an insult to its author. Ignorence is the most cruel way of treating the work of an artist/writer/musician/dancer etc. One should either like them or dislike them; even disliking is a kind of tribute.
I find it nice to read such books. They trigger thoughts, thus enlightening the mind. One is free to accept or reject the author's thoughts, only after analyzing them. The author is not forcing anyone to accept his thoughts, but definitely he is forcing the reader to cogitate over it. Many a times reader identifies him/herself with a situation in the book. At that time he would not have thought about another possibility of handling that situation. But since the author has described not only the situation, but also a way to handle it, the reader is doubly benefited. Book reading not only gives joy, but also serves to enrich the mind and soul. Whenever the reader's thoughts and author's "preachings" match, there is no doubt that any reader is happy. It is natural for humans to be happy when they come across like-minded people. At the same time, there are people who enjoy being with/talking to people who don't think alike. Similar is the case with books. Hence no matter whether a reader agrees or disagrees with the author, inspirational fictions are worth reading once.
Another major thing to be kept in mind is that "Learn from other's mistakes; you can't live to make all of them on your own". When someone is sharing what he/has has learnt from his/her mistakes, what is wrong in accepting it? if the author has to write something with such a conviction, he must have experienced it or seen someone undergoing it. For example, Richard Bach was a pilot, he enjoyed his work, travelled across many countries, and saw different kinds of people. Most of what he writes are related to his life. If we are not willing to listen to what he has to say, then we are losing something, he is not.
There are several famous inspirational fictions by different authors. "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" (http://www.szepi.hu/irodalom/jonathan/jonatan2.html) is the famous one by Richard Bach. It conveys that everything is in mind. When you have passion to do something and focus your mind, nothing else matters, you will reach your goal. Ofcourse, the book does not say it in such a boring way (like I have written) and that's what makes it very special. Similar is "Little Prince" (http://www.angelfire.com/hi/littleprince/) by Antoine De Saint Exupéry. Whatever I say about the book can convey very little. One should read it to realize what it is. Everytime I read it, I get something new from that book, though it has very few pages. It is mainly about how people ignore things which are really enjoyable and concentrate their energies on most useless/materialistic objects as they grow up. There are relatively few around us who appreciate art, music, dance books etc. Paulo Coelho is another famous writer who writes only inspirational fictions. I've read 3 of his books out of which "The Alchemist" is the best one. "Veronika Decides to die" is another good book, I didnot like "Eleven minutes". I've gone through the summary of other books and they are all alike, similar to either of the first 2 books. The Alchemist becomes little monotonous and boring towards the end, but 75% of it is really inspiring. I don't think I've borrowed any thoughts from it, but I felt happy to read it, as I could relate to some principles/situations. Veronika decides to die is about Veronika who being young & dynamic, having lot of friends, still finding life to be not worth living. So she attempts a suicide, but survives and gets admitted to a mental hospital. She is told that she has only 7 days to live, and then she discovers many things about enjoying life, after talking to other people in the hospital. I won't comment about the end. If anyone tells you that he/she wants to die, my suggestion is - gift this book (ok..I'm not talking this from experience). When people are very depressed, they are strongly pulled towards negative thinking; they lose all the positive energy. Reading some "funda books" with nice stories can help such people to see the light in their life.
Comments:
<< Home
" Ignorence is the most cruel way of treating the work of an artist/writer/musician/dancer etc."
Amazing blog i gave the link to my other friends !!
A very good blog to read !!!
Amazing blog i gave the link to my other friends !!
A very good blog to read !!!
# posted by 
: 1:56 PM, August 31, 2005
: 1:56 PM, August 31, 2005
Aparna, I fully agree with you.
What you wrote is very true.
Reading inspirational fictions should not be confused with surrendering our thoughts and following what the author says. It should be viewed as an act of focusing our thoughts on some situation/person appearing in the book, which otherwise would have got ignored by us.
As a writer myself, I feel as if I am in the 7th heaven, when I read inspirational fictions.
Post a Comment
What you wrote is very true.
Reading inspirational fictions should not be confused with surrendering our thoughts and following what the author says. It should be viewed as an act of focusing our thoughts on some situation/person appearing in the book, which otherwise would have got ignored by us.
As a writer myself, I feel as if I am in the 7th heaven, when I read inspirational fictions.
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
