Daily Archives: November 30, 2010

I found this video today and before the video even reached the halfway point I was already preparing my dissertation on the numerous reasons I do not fit in with the current trend of my generation and how I feel there is a large group of individuals who WERE taught valuable lessons in history and heritage.  I was immediately taken aback by the sharp dichotomy between myself and the persons represented in this video.  I am always amazed in how rapid the cultural values shift during the raising and educating of offspring, but this just seemed too far.

Like most of you, I was very relieved once the video reached it’s midway point, and although I am certain there are a great number of youth who would more easily connect with the first point of view I am most definitely not one of them.  In my mind there are only a few situations where owning an electronic reader would prove superior to the experience of reading a proper book.  The sight of black ink on the soft page, the smell of aged paper or new print and the feel of a quality bound hard cover all add to the visceral experience a reader gets from thumbing through a book.

I love to read, and although I have not written much about it on this page I can assure you it is not because I haven’t been reading.  I am currently in the midst of the 11 out of 12 books in the Ryanverse saga from Tom Clancy.  I have been reading through this authors works for the past 4 years at least.  Between each Clancy novel I read at least one of two books from a differing genre in order to maintain my interest level in the combat fiction that is Tom Clancy.  For those not familiar with the Ryanverse series, here is the roll call in storyline order:

Each novel averages several hundred pages and with only a limited time for reading each evening it is clear to see why it has taken me this long to read through them all.  Each is memorable though.  My current read is Executive Orders and even though my first of the series that got me hooked was Rainbow Six, I still remember vital details from several years ago that provide a sort of insider knowledge into the characters.

Tom Clancy

There have been movies made of 4 of the novels from this series and I am fairly certain that the directors managed to produce these films without having read any of Clancy’s work.  Each time I visit a film based on this series I am continually disappointed either by character selection and development or basic plot elements which deviate greatly from the novels.  I understand the difficulties in abbreviating a 800 page novel into an amusing 90 minute film but Clancy’s novels always contain extensive plot development and meaningful action sequences born from necessity, not cheap action thrills.  And I like cheap action movies!

Upon completion of Executive Orders I do have a number of lighter books taking up space on my night stand that I intend to read and I hope to have many more conversations about the content of the books and merits of publishing in general.