Booking Through Thursday: Headlines

From Booking Through Thursday this week, not really a question, but a discussion:

The news has been horrifying and addictive this week, with catastrophe piled on catastrophe, to a degree that–if I had read this in a book or seen it in a movie–I’d be protesting that it was just too unlikely, too farfetched.


But, topics for novels get ripped from the headlines all the time. Or real-life events remind you of fiction (whether “believable” or not) that you’ve read but never expected to see. Or real life comes up with an event so unbelievable that it stretches you sense of reality.
 Hmm … I can’t quite come up with an outright question to ask, but thinking about the theory of fiction and how it can affect and be affected by real world events can act as a buffer between the horrific events on the news and having to actually face that horror. So … what happens when the line between fiction and reality becomes all-too slim? Discuss!

I have had Japan on my mind all week.  I know many, many others have, as well.  It's just unbelievable what is happening over there - not one catastrophic event, but three! And yet the Japanese people are handling the events of the past week with a sense of grace and decorum that honestly brings (even more) tears to my eyes.

I admit to seeing much of the news coverage and thinking that it just seems too much to be real.  Not that I'm saying it isn't real - sadly, it is - but it does seem like an end-of-world movie.  Which makes me question why such movies and books make so much money.  What is the draw people have to tragedy? Personally, I'm not drawn to books or movies like this (not that I haven't seen such movies, they're just not my first choice).  However, it is difficult for me to walk away from CNN, MSNBC, etc. when tragedy strikes.  It's partly a need to know what is going on.  Plus, I've come to realize that I am drawn to the strength many people show in adverse times.  I am in awe of the dignity the Japanese people have exhibited this week.  As much as I pray something like this doesn't hit my home (or anywhere else, for that matter) I hope, that if it does, I would handle myself with such dignity.