Great Books and Guilt
I’m out of town visiting family and therefore I have more time to spend on the Internet. I found myself checking out “Great Books” sites, starting with Time magazine’s Top 100 Novels, the Great Books site at anova.org, and my favorite title for a list: “1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.” Don’t you just love the parental tone: “You must read these books, or no intellectual enrichment for you, young lady!”
Looking over the lists of canonized Great Works of Literature, I felt an emotion I’ve rarely experienced but that I think most of us who aspire to be readers and/or writers encounter at some point. I’m talking about Book Guilt.
Book Guilt is the feeling that you aren’t reading the right books. That you’re ignorant. That there are gaps in your knowledge.
Well, of course there are gaps in your knowledge! No one, especially in an Information Age, can be a generalist, much less know everything. But if a book is important in your field, shouldn’t you [translation: I] have read it? What were my professors thinking, leaving That Book off the syllabus? Sure, I’d read a lot of the biggies, both under duress and of my own free will, but how did I miss The Scarlet Letter, for crying out loud? Or any of Dostoyevsky, or Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness? I need to get right on those, along with a big chunk of Dickens (I think the only book of his I’ve read with any thoroughness is A Christmas Carol).
So what have I been doing since I left graduate school, I asked myself? (Guilt.) Yes, I’ve read good books written in the 20th and 21st century—which I prefer, because let’s face it’s just easier to read something when it’s written in modern English, and when you don’t have to consult footnotes just to understand what’s going on. A lot of the classics require quite a commitment, both of time (they’re often long books!) and mental energy. Which is exactly why they’re worth reading. But sometimes it’s just easier to open up the latest mystery or chick lit novel.
Not that I’m knocking mysteries or other “fun” books. We all need our escapes, and if your worst vice is reading bestsellers, then I think you’re doing pretty well. In fact, I think genre books can contain some excellent writing when the authors have taken their craft seriously. And remember: today’s “fun” book could be tomorrow’s classic. At one time, Jane Austen’s novels were merely frivolous entertainment for ladies, while Dickens was a popular author enjoyed by the masses. Still, if we want to know what makes a book last, what it means to write well, we need to look to the books that have endured for centuries. As an added bonus, the books from past eras often have a moral, even spiritual, message that is lacking from more recent works.
I think I’ll start with The Scarlet Letter. I may not have read it, but I do know it has a theme of sin and redemption. Sounds like it might be worth checking out.
Looking over the lists of canonized Great Works of Literature, I felt an emotion I’ve rarely experienced but that I think most of us who aspire to be readers and/or writers encounter at some point. I’m talking about Book Guilt.
Book Guilt is the feeling that you aren’t reading the right books. That you’re ignorant. That there are gaps in your knowledge.
Well, of course there are gaps in your knowledge! No one, especially in an Information Age, can be a generalist, much less know everything. But if a book is important in your field, shouldn’t you [translation: I] have read it? What were my professors thinking, leaving That Book off the syllabus? Sure, I’d read a lot of the biggies, both under duress and of my own free will, but how did I miss The Scarlet Letter, for crying out loud? Or any of Dostoyevsky, or Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness? I need to get right on those, along with a big chunk of Dickens (I think the only book of his I’ve read with any thoroughness is A Christmas Carol).
So what have I been doing since I left graduate school, I asked myself? (Guilt.) Yes, I’ve read good books written in the 20th and 21st century—which I prefer, because let’s face it’s just easier to read something when it’s written in modern English, and when you don’t have to consult footnotes just to understand what’s going on. A lot of the classics require quite a commitment, both of time (they’re often long books!) and mental energy. Which is exactly why they’re worth reading. But sometimes it’s just easier to open up the latest mystery or chick lit novel.
Not that I’m knocking mysteries or other “fun” books. We all need our escapes, and if your worst vice is reading bestsellers, then I think you’re doing pretty well. In fact, I think genre books can contain some excellent writing when the authors have taken their craft seriously. And remember: today’s “fun” book could be tomorrow’s classic. At one time, Jane Austen’s novels were merely frivolous entertainment for ladies, while Dickens was a popular author enjoyed by the masses. Still, if we want to know what makes a book last, what it means to write well, we need to look to the books that have endured for centuries. As an added bonus, the books from past eras often have a moral, even spiritual, message that is lacking from more recent works.
I think I’ll start with The Scarlet Letter. I may not have read it, but I do know it has a theme of sin and redemption. Sounds like it might be worth checking out.
posted by Alison at
8/03/2007 01:23:00 PM
2 Comments:
of the 1001 Books...
I've read, and I'm embarrassed to admit, a mere 55 books or so...many portions of some of the other 946 books.
I need to get busy.
You know, I know EXACTLY what you mean!! When I talk of books and such around my friends at church and even at school, I feel like something of a scholar or a real intellect, but when I get around others that have the same interests as me, who are serious readers/writers I feel almost embarrassed. I love classics, but the number of classics I've read in comparision is sadly pathetic.
In terms of guilt, I just finished the latest Harry Potter book, so how's that for "Book Guilt"? (I have a guilty pleasure in the Harry Potter series, they're just too enthralling!!)
I have Dante's Divine Comedy in my library right now, and it's next on my list after The Agony and the Ecstacy, that (hopefully) will alleviate my guilt, somewhat.
Another "book guilt" I have is anything by Jane Austen other than Pride and Prejudice. I've read it, and thoroughly enjoyed it, however, have yet to read Sense and Sensibility (though I've heard it's every bit as good) and have done as good as seen the movie of Emma. All of Austen's other books are also on my list to read as well.
Oh, and no worries about Dickens, you're doing better than I am...I haven't even read The Christmas Carol!! I DID watch The Scarlett Letter (movie) however, and enjoyed it. I'll have to read it at some point in the distant future. I also, as you said, want to read Dostoyevsky...I've heard he's literary genius. He and Tolstoy.
*sigh* So much reading, so little time!!!
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