# If You Had To Pick Only One: Books, Movies, Music, Art, or Theater. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 16, 2004, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-only-one-books-movies-music-art-or-theater/245397 "2004-05-16T06:46:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-only-one-books-movies-music-art-or-theater/245397/1 "2004-05-16T06:46:04Z")
Which of the above gives you the most pleasure? Granted, they usually co-mingle, but assuming you were in the worst dictatorship on earth and had the choice to have only one of the above, which woud it be? ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Macphisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@Ms\_Macphisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Macphisto)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-only-one-books-movies-music-art-or-theater/245397/2 "2004-05-16T07:57:11Z")
Books, though it would be a very difficult choice between that and music. The rest I enjoy, but could live without. I often have two or three books on the go (two at the moment, one fiction and one non-fiction) and am almost always listening to music, so as I said, it would be an extremely difficult choice. Ultimately, what it comes down to is that reading can be both an intellectual and an emotional experience to me, while listening to music tends to be exclusively emotional, so if forced to choose I’d go for books as the more complete package. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-only-one-books-movies-music-art-or-theater/245397/3 "2004-05-16T08:01:24Z")
Definitely Music. I love books and movies, and am a fan of theater, but I don’t know if I could live without music. I have been involved with music since I can remember, I play percussion (17 years), piano (12 years), guitar (9 years), and trumpet (3 years), and write my own music as well. My wife was a music major in college and teaches music now, so I’m pretty much surrounded by it, and I love that. Jman ---
**Author:** ![cichlidiot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f9b8f/32.png) [@cichlidiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cichlidiot)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-only-one-books-movies-music-art-or-theater/245397/4 "2004-05-16T12:19:39Z")
I’d choose books for much the same reasons **Ms Macphisto** mentions. Or, I’ll cheat and say music, if I can add in audiobooks. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-only-one-books-movies-music-art-or-theater/245397/5 "2004-05-16T12:23:27Z")
It would be a tossed up between books for their daily value, and musical theatre, my biggest love. ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-only-one-books-movies-music-art-or-theater/245397/6 "2004-05-16T13:33:58Z")
Definitely books. Where would I be without _The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_, containing all worthwhile human knowledge? Or am I mixing that up with The Straight Dope again? ---
**Author:** ![Sami41](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c57346/32.png) [@Sami41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sami41)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-only-one-books-movies-music-art-or-theater/245397/7 "2004-05-16T14:44:27Z")
Books, without a doubt. 5 years ago I would have said music, but since then I’ve read better books and heard, well, more of the same music. I’m certainly getting more out of the books, but that’s not to say I don’t enjoy music anymore. Just that it’s not “doing” as much for me as it used to. ~S ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-only-one-books-movies-music-art-or-theater/245397/8 "2004-05-16T15:20:03Z")
Books. I certainly enjoy the other things listed, but books are my greatest source of entertainment. I’m also something of a bibliophile and I can’t imagine never again wasting five hours wandering around a bookstore. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-only-one-books-movies-music-art-or-theater/245397/9 "2004-05-16T16:04:31Z")
Books. For all of the reasons listed above, plus the fact that books can take you away from that dictatorship into whole new worlds. Well, that and the fact that books can teach you how to lead a revolution against the bastard! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-only-one-books-movies-music-art-or-theater/245397/10 "2004-05-16T16:50:04Z")
Moving this to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-only-one-books-movies-music-art-or-theater/245397/11 "2004-05-16T16:52:34Z")
I want to say books, I really do. But I get seriously twitchy if I don’t have music when I want it. Music deprivation might very well drive me insane. ---
**Author:** ![if6was9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@if6was9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/if6was9)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-only-one-books-movies-music-art-or-theater/245397/12 "2004-05-16T17:09:47Z")
**Music** , no doubt. Without my tunes, I am convinced I’d have been in a rubber room in a straight jacket long ago… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-only-one-books-movies-music-art-or-theater/245397/13 "2004-05-16T17:32:16Z")
As much as I love reading and art, I really can’t imagine a life without music. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-only-one-books-movies-music-art-or-theater/245397/14 "2004-05-16T18:39:12Z")
I want to say books. But without movies, everything I’ve learned in college would be a complete waste. ---
**Author:** ![Thirty-Nine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@Thirty-Nine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thirty-Nine)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-only-one-books-movies-music-art-or-theater/245397/15 "2004-05-16T19:50:34Z")
I get the feeling that informative books should be left out of the equation here. If I do get to include them, then I’d definitely pick books due to their sheer usefulness. If we’re talking solely about entertainment books, I’d go for music. There are other ways to tell stories. ---
**Author:** ![cheddarsnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cheddarsnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheddarsnax)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-only-one-books-movies-music-art-or-theater/245397/16 "2004-05-16T20:30:33Z")
Music, definitely. Nobody has said art… ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-only-one-books-movies-music-art-or-theater/245397/17 "2004-05-16T22:08:18Z")
Books, no doubt about it. Then movies, then music, then art, then theater. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-only-one-books-movies-music-art-or-theater/245397/18 "2004-05-16T23:17:46Z")
ART! I can not go a day without drawing. Mind you, I read all the time and I love music, but art is my passion. There are no happier times in my life then painting or thinking of the beauty of arrangements of a group of objects. Or seeing the contrasting colors of nature. I even see art in my other passion, math. Art it is though. I just love him. ---
**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-only-one-books-movies-music-art-or-theater/245397/19 "2004-05-16T23:25:55Z")
Music, definitely. Books engage semantics. Music engages the spirit.