My husband and I gave up cable several years ago. If you work for the cable company please don’t hate me. If you work for a satellite dish company, no, I am not interested, thanks.
Money factored into the decision, admittedly. But so did the realization that if you put an alcoholic in charge of the bar, a thief in charge of security, the outcome is predictable. If television-obsessed people are going to overcome obsession they must first eliminate unbearable temptation.
I am an editor. That is not a secret. It might be considered safe to assume, then, that I enjoy reading books and would be expected to read for pleasure as well as for profit. To a point this is true.
Most people (generalizations are the presumptuous assertions of the author and may or may not be substantiated by relevant scientific data) want to do with their leisure time something as unrelated to their tasks while gainfully employed as is possible to find. I read, on-screen, on paper, to earn a living. On my own time I don’t read newspapers or magazines.
I was dependent on radio and television for my worldly enlightenment. I popped movies into the VCR or DVD player; I can still do that, of course. We are both reading more and more these days and I have classics on CD as well. Wuthering Heights, Great Expectations, Pride and Prejudice and many others.
We have watched every movie we have multiple times. We have been shooting video of family life since 1989 and we have watched every Christmas, anniversary, birthday, fall fair, family gathering, move to a new home, birth or neighborhood event so many times we can now give you a verbatim blow by blow without having to stick a tape into a machine.
Reading occupies more and more of my leisure time now, however.
Eureka! I enjoy it. Oh, yes, I spot the errors; I am tempted to send out emails suggesting some educated editing would not go amiss ( I gained two of my favorite clients that way) but I am enjoying the plots and truly appreciating the gifted phrasing. There is more to reading than making a living. Who knew?
Wendy Reis Editing (Blog) 