Too Read or to Watch That is the Question..

"To be or not to be, that is the question..." Everyone remembers that famous line from William Shakespeare famous tragedy Hamlet. However, in this day of technical advantages we can now change the wording of that famous monologue to, "Too read or to watch, that is the question." Shall we read the book or shall we rent the movie? In this decade, we have infinite possibilities, reading print, whether in books, newspaper; magazine or encyclopedia is the oldest and the first form of mass communication. Cinemas, viewing movies, music videos, news, and yes-even encyclopedias are relatively new, not quite 100 years old. However, these two mediums flourish most when sharing and putting forth information whether fictional of non-fictional.

A book as stated before is the oldest form of communication. We use books for work, school, and leisure. Books can be shared. Books can keep records of events and books are relied upon as written rules for government.

The history of communication began with drawing and eventually writing. Early forms of civilization were revealed when caves of Neanderthals were discovered with pictures of animals on them. Communication has always been a vital part of our existence and when we evolved from drawing pictures on caves and grounds to writing on papyrus to paper we reflexively aspired to communicate better. The need to know and understand led to record keeping and storing. The development of writing information down on paper for others to see and ultimately read led to the escalation of books.