Thursday, February 18, 2010

Does reading Magic Mountain count?

btt button

You may have noticed–the Winter Olympics are going on. Is that affecting your reading time? Have you read any Olympics-themed books? What do you think about the Olympics in general? Here’s your chance to discuss!

That's an easy one. No, it's not affecting my reading time in the least. No, I have not read any Olympics-themed books although I have begun re-reading Magic Mountain which is set on an Alp and for which, if I finish, I should probably get a medal. And, I don't actually think much about the Olympics, unless I'm made to, like right now. I don't have a television (although I do have a monitor on which I watch DVDs). If I'm going to do anything even vaguely related to sports or fitness, I'm going to do it, not watch it. I like to hike and to ice skate, but then I want to do it, not watch someone else do it. I know the athletes have trained for years and have developed grace or strength I could never imagine having in my wildest dreams, but they have plenty of other admirers and I don't really care for competition. I don't even like it in the arts. That is a cultural pastime I do participate in, but I don't watch the Oscars or the Tonys either. I don't get enough exercise as it is. I barely get to see my friends. I almost never go to the theatre any more, and although some people think I read a lot, it's not enough for me, so the last thing I'm going to do is crowd my life with corporate-sales-driven sports programming on television. Sorry. There are too many better things to do.

4 comments:

Lori said...

I don't watch them. Here's Mine

Jennifer said...

Excellent answers! My BTT: http://www.rundpinne.com/2010/02/booking-through-thursday-olympic.html

Criticlasm said...

I never had a TV set up in NY, but I do in LA, and now I DVR, which is great for the Olympics. The only drawback is there's just too much, and I fast-forward through most of it, so you're right about not really needing it, I guess. Especially now, you can watch almost anything you need online. There are only a few events I watch. Would love to speed skate, though.

I started MM in 1996, fell in love with it, and never finished it. That feels almost apropos to the subject of the book. That's next for me after W&P, but the chapters are much, much longer. Love the book, though.

And no, haven't read any Olympic themed books, but I did see Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief last week - does that count?

Marie Cloutier said...

Good for you. I skipped this week's BTT because I don't watch the Olympics, either, and I have nothing to add to the conversation. I love your post. :-)