• Welcome to BookAndReader!

    We LOVE books and hope you'll join us in sharing your favorites and experiences along with your love of reading with our community. Registering for our site is free and easy, just CLICK HERE!

    Already a member and forgot your password? Click here.

can you loose your relation to reality, because of reading?

honeydevil

honeydevil

Active Member
hi @ all!!
I've got a question, which don't want to go away, doesn't matter how hard I try! here it comes, maybe you can help me!

When you read a lot, can you loose your relation to reality?

:confused:

thanks bye
 
I wish! :D

No, I don't think so....though I tend to day dream alot, and I think I have a reasonably active imagination. :)
 
It happened in Don Quixote... But that's just a story.

You'd stand a better chance of losing reality by watching TV 24/7 or playing video games. If you are worrying about it (or worrying for someone else), an easy remedy would be to read some non-fiction books and learn about the world.
 
Yes!!!!

If I really get into a book I can lose track. When I read Northern Lights by Philip Pullman it was a hot summer, but I was surprised when i looked up that there was no snow. I've found myself waiting for Heathcliffe to ring or Anne of Green Gables to call around, been surprised when a phone rings because I've been living in a previous century......

Please tell me I'm not the only one who forgets where they live because it doesn't look like the landscape in their book.
 
No, I don't believe you can lose touch with reality from reading a lot. Even if you get immersed in book, as soon as you put the book down, the reality of life comes back.
 
sarah33 said:
Yes!!!!

Please tell me I'm not the only one who forgets where they live because it doesn't look like the landscape in their book.
Click to expand...

:D
your not the only one, that's why i'm asking. I read and i looked up and I almost hit one of my friends, because he looked like the villian in the book!!
:eek:
 
Ice said:
No, I don't believe you can lose touch with reality from reading a lot. Even if you get immersed in book, as soon as you put the book down, the reality of life comes back.
Click to expand...
That's true, when I finished a book, the magic of a different world is immediatly over. Mostly I'm sorry, that i finished it, it was such a nice dream!! :D
 
I'm a little unsure of what the question is asking, so I'll answer two different ways.

When I read, occasionally I will get so immersed in my reading that if something were to happen, say the phone ringing, I will be startled and not quite remember myself as quickly. But this doesn't often happen, usually more with TV or Movies.. I'll find myself thinking in a cool accent, for instance. :cool:

Or, if you are asking if books can make me lose my grip on reality? Only Borges.. never before have I questioned my self, my thoughts, and reality in general. He really makes you stop and think.
 
Love4OneAnother said:
When I read, occasionally I will get so immersed in my reading that if something were to happen, say the phone ringing, I will be startled and not quite remember myself as quickly.
Click to expand...


Yep yep. Same here.
 
Depends on what you read I guess. I think if you read, say, only romance novels or westerns your entire life, you'd probably have a distorted view of how people think and act.
 
I can wake up from a dream and have a tough time shaking the feelings and memories I had during the dream. I think it's reasonable to think that people could read themselves into a dream-like trance.

Luckily for me :rolleyes: I have ADHD, so I struggle to keep the world out while I read. I need white noise (fans are great), NO TV or music, and preferably some medication. I envy you guys that are hitting your friends. :)
 
Ashlea said:
Depends on what you read I guess. I think if you read, say, only romance novels or westerns your entire life, you'd probably have a distorted view of how people think and act.
Click to expand...

I agree. I think it all depends on what you read, how you interpret it, and how much of a certain genre you read. If you only read Anne Rice, you might actually start to believe Lestat is writing the books and move to New Orleans in search of his house. I've dreamt that I was out of reality, in the current book I was reading, but, unfortunately, I always return to reality sooner or later.
 
I can get quite immersed in a good book, so that I don't really notice what's going on around me, but I think that's different than losing my relation to reality. I think Ashlea's on it when she says, if you only read westerns or romances, it could affect your thinking. I used to read mainly romances and BOY!!! they messed with my head! Real life is certainly not like any of that stuff. And I have lately discovered, since I have been reading more since joining this forum, that reading is very theraputic for me. I am clinically depressed and have been off my medication for just over one year (HOORAY for me!!) and I find that reading helps keep me level. I don't know why, I just know that it happens.

So, lose my relation to reality through reading? No, reading keeps me in reality.
 
You can lose your attachment to reality by spending too much time on the Internet. Books, on the other hand, connect you to reality. What is more real that exploring the human condition, expanding one's understanding of the greater world?
 
I worry that I have become more introverted by reading so much. Spending lots of time with your head in a book and not talking to others makes me feel more insular and less communicative.
 
Don't worry about it. Whatever you do there is only one thing you need to worry about. Is it making me happy? If it's yes you have nothing to worry about. If the rest of the world doesn't like it or they frown upon it then screw em. Just do what you feel. Be happy :)
 
Ice said:
Even if you get immersed in book, as soon as you put the book down, the reality of life comes back.
Click to expand...

it rarely ocurred to me in that way. even if i put down the books, characters still were dwelling on my mind. Then it seemed like I lost temporarily the sense of reality.

i don't know. I don't know what this reality you (general term) are talking about. :(
 
Now that I think of it, after reading so many Salvatore novels, I find I'm actually really superstitious and cautious. The thought of an enemy sneaking up behind you or somebody sabotaging yoyr food sorta un-nerved me I guess.
 
Well

Strangely enough, I met people who think reading is a waste of time that gives you a distorted view on reality, that life is harsh reality and people who read might seek refuge from stress and worries in an imaginary world.
What do you think about such ideas? :mad: reading is pure pleasure and it can help you understand things better.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top