I never see a movie without reading the book first.

When I see a preview for a movie whose book I'd meant to have read for a long time, I use the movie as an excuse to speed up my procrastination. The book moves up in my list and I avoid seeing the movie until I've had the chance to read the author's words.

There are several reasons why I do this. One obvious one is that the movies often suck when compared to the original story. This often happens because it's difficult to fit in every aspect, side stories, the thoughts of the characters, the full range of emotions expressed. The depth of a book is rarely represented in a several-hour movie.

More significantly, I cannot possibly read the book after I've seen the movie. Not because I already know the ending but because I cannot use my imagination. One of the most delightful aspects of reading a novel is getting to visualize the characters and the settings. Knowingly or not, I attach a lot of information to the characters in the novels I read. Some of the traits may be mentioned by the author but others aren't. If a book is written well, by the end of the story, I have a world of information on the characters and they are three-dimensional in my mind's eye. A movie limits this infinite world and disappoints me often.

I've taken my imagination for granted. Until recently, I wouldn't have considered myself an imaginative person. I'm not particularly creative. I don't paint, compose or write poetry, and my fiction isn't that good. I always thought that imagination and creativity were correlated. And that if I lacked one, I must lack the other.

But now I realize that as an avid book reader, I do have extensive imagination.

As with everything, practice tends to strengthen my imagination. And since I read a lot, imagining the characters feels like second nature to me. I never even notice that I use it. I have a friend whose imagination isn't very active. And talking to him makes me realize how much I use mine. It also makes me wonder how we, as adults, can learn to stretch our imaginative muscles.

Some things come much easier to children and I wish we could capture the overflowing energy and imagination. And hold on to it.

Previously? Priceless.