Engaging My Mind… All the Time… All Day Long…
Posted on August 25, 2009
My schedule has been quite full for the last several months, and I have not been able to read as many books as I would like [I am a very AVID reader]. What I discovered to be the next best thing to reading is books on audio books.
Growing up we did not have a TV in the house. Don’t shed any tears for me now—it was one of the best things that could have happened to us! It gave us ample time to develop our imagination through reading, and social skills through continuous interaction not only within our large family but with many friends that we had. Reading, however, was and still is one of the MOST favorite things for me. My imagination took me places no one could imagine and painted pictures no one could capture. I also loved listening to theatrical productions on the radio. There were times, when the power would go out during rain or some other malady. I would pull out my Dad’s radio and tune into the station that would run different productions. The voices of the narrators and actors would transport me into a different world—a reality of sorts, where I could solve crimes, chase criminals, or enjoy a chat with intellectual friends.
Having moved to the U.S. the need for radio-only broadcasts became nonexistent and I could rarely find a good station that would broadcast a novel worth listening to. But what I did fall in love with is audio books on CDs. If I do not have time to read, or when I lived in Ohio and my commute to and from work was at times over 40 minutes each way, I can easily pop in a CD into the CD player and be swept away into a different world. I also like to engage my mind while I am editing countless wonderful images of my clients or family.
The convenience of audio books does not stop there for me—I also download audio books on my MP3 and take it along to the gym. No time wasted! I have to exercise my body AND my mind.
I had recently browsed through a magazine where I came across a quote from a book by George Orwell: 1984. I thought that the book was worth checking into. To my delight our local library carried a copy of the book on CDs. So, while catching up on many of my daily tasks, with earphones in, I enjoyed a superb narration and a good novel.
The book was great, although some parts seemed repetitious to me, and some scenes could be skipped altogether. I was particularly interested in “reading” it because of the current political situation in the United States. With our government edging us toward Democratic Socialism, we are watching as the very values that we have been raised with are being changed right in front of our eyes. Our vocabulary is being redefined, new ideals are being forced into our lives and, at times, we don’t know whether we live in reality or visiting a twilight zone.
Book Summary
G. Orwell did a great job in his book “1984″ talking about situations that reflect some of those that we are facing today.
The novel, published in 1949, takes place in 1984. Winston Smith, the main character, lives in the imaginary future where a totalitarian state controls every aspect of people’s lives, even their thoughts. The state is ruled by the Party; with Big Brother as its leader and dictator.
Winston Smith secretly hates the Party and decides to rebel by starting to write a diary. By doing so he commits a thought-crime, expecting that one day he will get discovered by the Thought Police and most likely killed (vaporized) for it.
Winston also falls for a girl, Julia, at his job and risks death to be with her. Any relationship between the Party members for any other reason than procreation is strictly forbidden. The only marriages that are sanctioned are those with no affection and no chance for love.
A member of the Inner Party, O’Brien, gives Winston his home address, which is extremely unusual as most Party members don’t know where others live. Winston believes that O’Brien might also be a rebel and belong to a group called Brotherhood, which aims at overthrowing the Party. He and his forbidden lover make their way to O’Brien’s house, where he enlists them into the Brotherhood, or so they believe… O’Brien gives Winston “The Book,” a document that contains the truth about Big Brother and The Party.
Winston and Julia go to their hide-away to read the book. The Thought Police burst in to arrest them. They are taken to the Ministry of Love, where Winston learns that O’Brien is in fact a government agent. O’Brien takes charge of “re-integrating” Winston: brainwashing and torturing him until he fully believes in the Party and its doctrines.
When Winston is finally released to live out his final days he is a broken man. He has submitted to the Party completely, even in his thoughts, and now loves Big Brother. He drowns himself in cheap gin and expects that soon the Thought Police will execute him.
If you want to be challenged intellectually I would highly recommend that you pick up a copy of this book (printed or audio). Give it a go.
Here is one of the passages that sold me to listening to the entire book: “Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak [the new language that the Party was inventing for the whole country to use] is to narrow the range of thought? Has it ever occurred to you, Winston, that by the year 2050, at the very latest, not a single human being will be alive who could understand such a conversation as we are having now? The whole climate of thought will be different. In fact there will be no thought, as we understand it now. Orthodoxy means not thinking—not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness.”
While you are at it, if you have access to a local library, see if you can find a copy of the Animal Farm (animated movie, but also a book by George Orwell).
It is easy to view, and is thought provoking. I won’t give out any of the plot here… you will have to check it out yourself, or at least Google it : ) All I will tell you is: “All animals are created equal… But some animals are more equal than others.”
Have a happy Tuesday! Next time I will be less intellectual with my post, so my visitors can come back to gaze at some pretty images.
