Books vs. Movies

In the competition between books and movies, books unquestionably take the leading first place unanimously.

Books open your imagination on a completely new level. The vocabulary in a book is 10, 100, sometimes even 1000 times broader than in a movie. Books teach valuable ideas and skills on how to understand the world around you. Books are much more practical.

A book is an immersion into the author's world and wisdom. It's, to some extent, a conversation with the author.

And people are different in this world.

Movies are cool in their own way.

Visuals—yes, they can be impressive. In rare cases, there's an instructive story that emotionally engages and teaches something within 1.5 hours, like in the movie "12 Angry Men."

Many films are based on books, but there are very few cases of the reverse happening. Why is that?

Film and books are like masturbation (film) and real sex (books). This analogy also reflects the notion of time as an essence.

If a book is a high-quality theatrical production with premium front-row tickets priced at $150, then a film is a decent joke.

It's not even funny.

A separate case indeed is TV series.

It's a way to milk society. It's business. There's even less creativity than in movies. Cheap!

Unfortunately, people often misunderstand the value of reading and consume too many sweets. Reading is a dying form of entertainment. People are shifting towards loading their brains with TV series. Giants like Netflix are building a cool business out of it, much like pharmaceutical companies selling drugs. I see a direct analogy.

Who knows how many TV series come out in the United States each year?

There are also many books being published. Too many. How do you choose?

The criterion is that you shouldn't want to tear yourself away from reading or listening.
Audiobooks should be on the same level as physical books and e-books.

The key is in the density of information per unit of time and the quality of that information.

An Audible subscription costs the same as Netflix.

Let's take two people. One will spend an hour each day watching TV series for 10 years, and the other will spend an hour each day reading books.

After a month, the difference between our imaginary experiment participants will be hardly noticeable.

But after 10 years, you can imagine who would be more interesting to talk to and who might theoretically live longer.

Time is too short to spend an hour on movies and an hour on books every day. Movies are like cotton candy at an amusement park – they bring joy, but it's enough to consume them very rarely.

You need to make room for books every day. Gradually change your habits bit by bit and get into the habit.

Well, the same goes for sex.

After much contemplation about books, movies, and their place in our lives, I must admit that movies hold an honorable second place. After books, that is.

"The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy is a 10/10 for me, and I've watched it about 10 times. It's a creative masterpiece that complements Tolkien's books very well.

But such films come out once every 3-5 years.

Second place is still great. I don't want to completely downplay movies. They're like a roller coaster – they have their place, and it's fun.

The question is about priorities.

After all, alcohol can be enjoyable. So can drugs. And movies.

On a daily basis, it's better to prioritize the first place: books, physical activity, and avoiding excessive sweets.

I forgot about cartoons. Where do they fit in? Light erotica for mood enhancement? Help me understand cartoons and content consumption classification.