There are a lot of designated days it seems when it comes to giving them a name and a purpose. National Read-a-Book Day is Sept. 6th and you can imagine what it’s all about since the meaning is in the title. Believe it or not though there are movies that make you want to read a little more even if that’s somewhat hard to imagine since movies and books aren’t always on the same page so to speak. Of course if you think about it movies do promote books and many movies happen to come from books so maybe you could read a book about a movie and then go see the film if it’s out or about to come out. That make sense? If it does then good, if not oh well. But if you can watch a movie and be inspired to read then it’s done at least part of its job to enlighten and broaden your horizons.
Here are a few movies that might inspire you to read a little more.
5. You’ve Got Mail
Don’t let anyone fool you, books are important and so are the stores that still sell them. They’re not just book emporiums where you can pick up the latest thing that’s on the shelves or put in an order for something great coming out that you’ve wanted to read for a while, they’re a connection between people that exists to keep individuals together and to keep them connecting with each other. The only real problem with big-chain bookstores is that they do tend to focus more on volume and quantity than they do on quality and the individuals that make them relevant. Online stores are slowly making them all irrelevant it would seem, but to be honest one can only hope that never happens.
4. The Breakfast Club
Yes, destroying books is a very bad thing, but for a guy like John Bender it’s also a way to pass the time and to do absolutely nothing with some rebellious style. But if you feel the need to preserve a book after this then the film might have done a small job in getting your attention. Otherwise the movie is really more about what it takes for people to really connect and find what brings them together without focusing on what pulls them apart. High school one of the times in your life when you can really start deciding which direction you’d like your life to go, and if one doesn’t take the chance then they tend to miss out.
3. Good Will Hunting
You don’t really need books when you have Will Hunting around since quite honestly the guy is like a walking, talking, fighting encyclopedia. He can spout passages from books that few people know about and fewer can remember word for word. He’s also so well-read that despite not being a student he makes up and coming scholars look like amateurs in a matter of seconds by shredding apart arguments that should by all rights put him on his metaphorical butt. This is the kind of guy you want to have around for an argument or a bar brawl, or both if it comes down to that.
2. Phenomenon
George Malley wasn’t much of a reader until the strange flash of light that changed him for good. The only problem with this was that it wasn’t any blessing that was bestowed upon him that allowed him to learn most of the Portuguese language during a car ride, or read a dozen books or more a week. It was a brain tumor that was inoperable and would kill him eventually that did this, but it did manage to open up his mind in a way that no one could fully understand since he was insanely active and tore through books like there was no tomorrow from the time it happened until his death.
1. The Shawshank Redemption
This is all about persistence. Andy kept writing and writing and writing until those in charge finally gave in and gave him the funding he needed for a library that any institution, not just the prison system, could be proud of. You wouldn’t initially think that a prison like Shawshank would need all the titles that they had but once the library was built and filled a lot of the prisoners actually took an active interest in learning and bettering themselves under Andy’s guidance. This would be the kind of rehabilitation a lot of people might believe in if it could work. After all if prisoners have nothing to do and can be trusted then a library can be a very productive place.
Don’t hesitate to crack open a book or your reader and try to devour a book in a day or so, just make sure the story is one that you can sink your teeth into.
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