Early last year, I cancelled my satellite television service. I did not replace it with cable or another satellite carrier, either. I had been dissatisfied for awhile, mostly with quality of programming available, but also the cost. I was not paying for the upper tier, either. Finally, I decided I could no longer justify the monthly expense. It was not that I could not afford it; rather, I no longer wanted to spend money on it. Now, I choose to use my TV for watching movies and I typically buy one or two movies a month. The money I do spend, which is still much less than the monthly satellite bill was, goes toward building a collection of movies specifically selected for my taste and enjoyment.
I rediscovered my love of reading as one of the side benefits of cancelling the satellite. I have always loved reading. As a child, I spent the greatest portion of my free time reading and continued to do so throughout high school and into college. Cable was not available in the rural area where I was raised and my parents were too frugal to pay for satellite. The only television available was a couple of network stations and was highly dependent on the weather conditions and how finely we could tune the antenna by turning the pole. Therefore, TV did not serve as a major distraction from doing more educational endeavors. With TV available, however, I did not read as much. More than once, I found myself mindlessly flipping through channels when I could have been reading an excellent, engaging novel!
Reading is so enjoyable; it allows my imagination to take flight... to paint a picture in my mind of the setting and characters and to allow myself to experience the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells. Whenever I watch a movie after having read the book, I am almost always disappointed. The director's interpretation is never the same as mine.
After I cancelled the satellite, my beloved and I began to read out loud to one another in the evenings after supper. It started on a whim. We both enjoy literature, so we started out reading a couple of Sherlock Holmes stories. What we discovered is how much we enjoyed the experience. We took turns reading and then discussing the work. Our next piece was more ambitious. He had read Dracula by Bram Stoker many years ago. I had bought a leatherbound edition but had not read it yet. One night, he began reading it while I was cooking supper. The discussions became deeper as we read through that book and he was able to share why he liked the book so well. We discussed the symbolism, the style of writing, and a whole host of other literary ideas. The shared reading has become a special time for us. We are both intellectual people who enjoy flexing our brains and learning new things. To be able to do those things together has brought a greater sense of awareness and understanding between us.
I rediscovered my love of reading as one of the side benefits of cancelling the satellite. I have always loved reading. As a child, I spent the greatest portion of my free time reading and continued to do so throughout high school and into college. Cable was not available in the rural area where I was raised and my parents were too frugal to pay for satellite. The only television available was a couple of network stations and was highly dependent on the weather conditions and how finely we could tune the antenna by turning the pole. Therefore, TV did not serve as a major distraction from doing more educational endeavors. With TV available, however, I did not read as much. More than once, I found myself mindlessly flipping through channels when I could have been reading an excellent, engaging novel!
Reading is so enjoyable; it allows my imagination to take flight... to paint a picture in my mind of the setting and characters and to allow myself to experience the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells. Whenever I watch a movie after having read the book, I am almost always disappointed. The director's interpretation is never the same as mine.
After I cancelled the satellite, my beloved and I began to read out loud to one another in the evenings after supper. It started on a whim. We both enjoy literature, so we started out reading a couple of Sherlock Holmes stories. What we discovered is how much we enjoyed the experience. We took turns reading and then discussing the work. Our next piece was more ambitious. He had read Dracula by Bram Stoker many years ago. I had bought a leatherbound edition but had not read it yet. One night, he began reading it while I was cooking supper. The discussions became deeper as we read through that book and he was able to share why he liked the book so well. We discussed the symbolism, the style of writing, and a whole host of other literary ideas. The shared reading has become a special time for us. We are both intellectual people who enjoy flexing our brains and learning new things. To be able to do those things together has brought a greater sense of awareness and understanding between us.
