Reflections of Wool

Where to begin? I have a few thoughts running through my head today. They are about different things but follow a similar pattern. So I guess the best thing to do is simply start where I start and see where it leads.

I have been reading Hugh Howey’s Wool for a little while now. By reading I mean to say that I have picked it up and set it down after a chapter or two and then jumped over to something else. I have finished a few other things since I started reading the book. You would think that this says something about the book itself but that is far from the truth. The story is great.

See I have read it already, twice. But not in this form. I picked up the graphic novel a while back and have read through that a couple times. It left enough of an impression that I can still see a number of the pages in my mind fairly easy. The story is great. And it is a good reason why I am taking so long to work my way through the book.

But this got me to thinking…

It took me about 9 years to read the Hobbit. Crazy right? I mean that has been listed as a children’s book so it should be an easy read. I have had friends who read through it in less than a weekend. But I spent quite a bit of time watching the old cartoon. First when it came to television a few times I made sure to watch it. And then there was a time when NPR was doing radio plays on Saturday nights. They not only did the Hobbit but also The Lord of the Rings (didn’t read those till I was in my twenties).

I knew the stories and knew what I expected from them. The images in my mind were already in place and I couldn’t get them to jive with the words on the page. Go figure. I believe I mentioned a similar experience with the Ms. Peregrines stories.

So as I sit here reflecting on the story, I realize that this has been part of my experience reading Wool. As I dig through the pages I have that small part of my brain that is pulling up the images from the graphic novel and comparing them to what I am reading. The interesting thing is the graphic novel follows the story fairly well. It is easy to bring the two together in the mind.

The way we find stories now has changed from how many of us grew up. The multitude of forms that story takes gives us a chance to pick and choose what we are willing to spend our time with. Sometimes we find different aspects that stumble over each other. But then there are times when everything works out in such a way that we gain new insight into something we enjoy. The question becomes, are you willing to explore the same story in a new form?

###

If you enjoy these stories, consider leaving some coffee money in the jar or you could buy a book or two. Either way helps keep the stories flowing.