Short Attention Span? Try These Short Stories, Films

I’m sure most people have been in a situation where someone asks them what types of books they like to read, and they meet their eyes with a blank stare, forgetting every book ever published. I have been experiencing that a lot lately.

Nothing can grab my attention for very long, so I don’t have an answer when I’m asked that question. It’s sad when that happens, but it is not always the book at fault. Everything has a time and place, but unfortunately, we don’t always have enough time to get to it all.

With my short attention span, sometimes the only thing that can keep my focus are short stories and short films. So I am going to recommend a few short stories and short films to shamelessly plug an event taking place at the Joplin Public Library.

Ray Bradbury wrote about 600 short stories and was writing pretty much up until his death in 2012, leaving behind a legacy with which few could compete. He once said: “The best hygiene for beginning writers or intermediate writers is to write a hell of a lot of short stories. If you can write one short story a week — it doesn’t matter what the quality is to start, but at least you’re practicing. And at the end of the year you have 52 short stories, and I defy you to write 52 bad ones. Can’t be done.”

It’s that kind of mentality that made him such a prolific writer, implementing themes of sci-fi, horror, psychological thriller and even fantasy into his works. The library has several of his collections, including “The Illustrated Man,” “October Country” and “The Stories of Ray Bradbury.” Specifically, I am recommending the stories: “R is for Rocket,” “The Veldt,” “All Summer in a Day,” “The Pedestrian” and “The Small Assassin.” Now that fall is upon us, his stories are a great accompaniment to the weather change.

If you aren’t in the mood for reading, maybe try to watch a short film or two instead. Buster Keaton could be considered one of the best in the business, starring in 19 short films between 1920 and 1923. He was an actor, director, screenwriter, producer and stunt man.

If you have a chance, search the internet for some insight into how he performed some of his stunts.

Try out the “Buster Keaton Short Films collection, 1920-1923” DVD and watch some timeless cinema. The library also has a DVD collection of films from the Manhattan Short, a global film festival that the library is excited to be a part of this year.

The “Manhattan Short Film Festival” began in 1998 when Nicholas Mason screened 16 short films to a crowd of about 300 in New York City. Now, it takes place across six continents, in more than 350 cities. Each year, 10 short films are selected, and audience members are asked to vote for their favorite.

The library kicked off the festival on Sept. 26 with a reception and initial screening. If you missed that, you can still come in and watch the films for our repeat screenings happening on Tuesday Wednesday and Saturday. Come in, watch some films, vote on your favorite, and be a part of something global.

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