It may sound odd, but even as a blind participant who has never had sight of any sort, illustrations are important to me because I read many fictions which use illustrations in an effort to produce a certain desired effect with pictures, and even just knowing what is on the page is enough to get me involved enough in the book to feel the effect they're trying to accomplish. Two examples are The Raw Shark Texts, by Steven Hall, and The Tunnel, by William H. Gass. In the former case, at one point, the main character falls out of a ship and into water, and a giant shark made entirely of words and information (it's complicated) begins to swim through the water twoards him. For maybe forty pages, the picture of the shark is printed on the page, and it keeps getting larger and larger. Because each page had a description of the shark swimming twoards the character, growing with each page, my experience of the book was more enhanced than if I didn't have those descriptions. My reaction to the rest of the book was mixed, but that was one trick which I thought worked very well. It was hilarious and terrifying at the same time.
The Tunnel is a more complicated case.(SPOILERS AHEAD! It doesn't matter since I can't think of anyone here [or anywhere, really] who would be interested in reading that book, but just in case...) It is about a college professor, called William Frederick Kohler, who is working on his hypothesis concerning the Germans, called Guilt and Innocence in Hitler's Germany. he has almost completed it, save for the introduction, but cannot manage to write those final pages: "It was my intention, when I began, to write an introduction to my work on the Germans. Though its thick folders lie beside me now, I know I cannot. Endings, instead, possess me. all ways out.
Embarrassed, I'm compelled to smile. I was going to extend my sympathy to my opponents. Here, in my introduction, raised above me like an arch of triumph, I meant to place a wreath upon myself. But each time I turned my pen to the task, it turned aside to strike me.
As I look at the pages of my manuscript, or stare at the books which wall my study, I realize I must again attempt to put this prison of my life in language."
He begins to write an extended meditation about his own life instead of the introduction to the book he thought he had to have. Around two hundred pages in, he also begins to dig a tunnel out of his basement, creating his own physical metaphor and giving the books title duel meanings. We, the readers, are tunnelling into his thoughts, he is tunnelling out of the life he hates, with the new book he is writing about himself he is tunnelling away from the hypothesis he can't finish. And all the tunnels lead to a dead end. (There's a point to this, I swear). Gass uses numerous graphical tricks to immerse you in the experience. Drawings, cartoons, at one point, a page that is made to look like a crinkled grocery sack, ETC. I haven't read the entire book yet, but one that stands out at me is the very last page. Kohler has created his own imaginary political group, called the party of the Disappointed People, yet he knows that this, like everything else, would be a failure because it's the type of party few would want to admit they've joined. At the end of the book, he is in ruins. His wife is leaving him, he has nearly been buried alive by his tunnel, he doesn't know what the point to both his books was: "Write no more propaganda for the PdP. Achieve dignity Sport a swatch of Shawwhite beard bleached to remove cig stains, and trimmed square to greet the face of its maker. In short, to abide. In the last hamlet of feeling. I'm inclined to say why not? Sure. Or dump every dirty drawer onto my desk--wasn't that really Martha's suggestion?--till the desk's hid, as well as Tabor's turning chair and the floor which firmed our feet, covering the pages of my History as my History sheeted me; there to let my words wait, like the disappointed people bide, before they try life again. Meanwhile carry on without complaining. No arm with armband raised on high. No more booming bands, no searchlit skies. Or shall I, like the rivers, rise? Ah. Well. Is rising wise? Revolver like the Führer near an ear. Or lay my mind down by sorrow's side."
The final page simply contains the symbol for the PDP. I've likely mangled everything in my description, because I haven't read the entire book, I've never had to put my admiration for it into words like this, and there's so, so much more to it than what I've just described here, so the effect is always diminished if you haven't read the entire thing first, but to have gone through everything we have with Kohler for 651 pages, to have tunnelled with him, so to speak, and then to read his final declaration, followed by that reminder of his final failure...It's quite devistating. And I don't think I would have experienced the book in that manner if the images were not described. I don't even need an especially detailed description, though it helps, just something to signify what is on the page. And Bookshare staff and volunteers do both wonderfully.
Tl;dr (too long; didn't read) version (since I think there might be one person who has read this entire message): I REALLY LIKE THE DESCRIPTIONS THEY'RE VERY HELPFUL AND MAKE THE BOOK-READING EXPERIENCE BETTER!
On 22-Jun-12 15:40, Judy s. wrote:
I just looked at the new version of Bookshare's entry page on the website (http://www.bookshare.org). I love the new feature on the right hand side of the page that's a counter of how many books are in the collection. As of today, there are 151,663 titles. That is totally awesome.As a sighted but disabled member, I'm also grateful for and thrilled by the number of publisher quality books that have entered the collection in the last 18 months with the original illustrations intact. I haven't read a book where I can look at the illustrations for over 20 years. Way to go, Bookshare! I'm psyched about the POET project to get illustrations described. It gives me hope that eventually everyone can have access to both illustrations and good descriptions of the illustrations in the future.Judy s. To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxput the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.
To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.
