books

There is no frigate like a book

To take us lands away,

Nor any coursers like a page

Of prancing poetry.

This traverse may the poorest take

Without oppress of toll;

How frugal is the chariot

That bears a human soul!

-Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

⋯

Benefits of Books It’s not even a question that we live in a society

with a heavy focus on pleasure and entertainment.

People have always try to find out ways to relax and

escape. Sure, forms of entertainment like television,

video games and movies are fun and popular ways to

get this, but books offer a more easygoing and

gratifying form of pleasure. As you read, you are

getting the same story you might in a movie, but

getting it with a slow depth of description, which

descends upon all of your senses and captivates you.

Books are captivating, but also rewarding, because

you must put effort into the book in order to be

entertained. You get a sense of accomplishment after

reading a book.

Paul Lisicky

PAUL LISICKY is the author of Lawnboy, Famous Builder, and the forthcoming books The Burning House (2011) and Unbuilt Projects (2012). His work has appeared in Ploughshares, The Iowa Review, StoryQuarterly, The Seattle Review, Five Points, Subtropics, Gulf

Coast, and many other anthologies and magazines. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he’s the recipient of awards from the

National Endowment for the Arts, the James Michener/Copernicus Society, the Henfield Foundation, and the Fine Arts Work Center in

Provincetown, where he was twice a fellow. He lives in New York City and Springs, New York, and has taught in the graduate writing

programs at Cornell University, Rutgers-Newark, and Sarah Lawrence College. He currently teaches at NYU. –paullisicky.com

Robbie: Why is writing important?

Paul: Language, which is always slippery and difficult, shapes us at every minute of our lives. How to be as exact as possible with this imperfect and beautiful medium? How to read with clarity?--that challenge is a part of it. In order to write, we all need to learn to read well, which is a lot harder than it sounds, at whatever level.

Robbie: How did you get in to the industry? Paul: I started out as a musician--a songwriter and performer--which is another kind of language. At a certain point I became interested in the challenge of trying to bring the spontaneity and emotion of music to language. It seems to me that language is the realm where many arts can meet. It involves sound (music), it involves description (visual art). A poem--even a paragraph--can have a visual component on the page. It goes without saying that without language we couldn't think. We couldn't attempt to make meaning of what we don't understand.

Robbie: Do you feel like you belong to the most important media industry? Why? Paul: I actually don't think of what I do in business terms. This probably sounds a little lofty, but I think of my own writing as a vocation. It's the way I try to make connection to other people, the way I try to feel less alone. I hope my writing helps to make other people feel less isolated.

Robbie: What makes writing special? Paul: A significant piece of writing makes the world real to us again. It helps to tear away all the defenses we use not to see, feel, and think. Eudora Welty says, it helps us become aware of our common "human plight."

Robbie: If you had special powers for a day and you could use them to change one thing about the industry, what would it be?

Paul: I'd definitely find a way to acknowledge writers who are in it for the long haul. The publishing and literary worlds are primarily interested in recognizing people at the start of their careers and at the end of their careers. But what about the great middle period, where writers are leaning into themselves, still trying to invent themselves all over again with each book?

Robbie: What media sources do you consume regularly? (i.e. movies, books, magazines, blogs...) Paul: I definitely buy and read books all the time, either on an eReader or the physical object. Full-length movies interest me less these days--it seems to me the most interesting dramatic work is being done in cable television. I'm a big Twitter person, so a lot of my reading is directed to me through the people I follow.

ACCC Student Survey

We conducted a survey of 25 Atlantic Cape Students, and asked them questions regarding their reading habits. The following statistics show not only a strong correlation between books and education, but also highlight a relationship between books and entertainment.

The following results prove the books are backbone of the media industry, and that they have earned their place among more aggressive forms of media.

Books VS. Kindles Pros:

• Reading a screen isn't as comfortable

• Books are more durable than computers.

• Digital media has too many copyright issues and is less trustworthy

• Books do not need constant maintenance and repair is cheaper

• Old versions of e-books may not be compatible with new software systems

Cons:

• E-books are great for travel. They are lightweight, compact, and easy to carry.

• You can keep a whole library in one device.

• Digital media is replacing the old media in other areas

• E-books use up far less storage space

• Cheaper and easier to share information

• Much easier to search for information

• Textbooks are getting more and more expensive.

• Go Green with Ebooks.

Robert Dulaney Dean Williams Alana Touaeva Kiara Gonzalez