First thought, I know next to nothing about anything I say on this blog. I am a perpetual student, and one of my recurring lessons is that there is way more to learn about everything. I still waffle on the issue of whether anyone under the age of 50 has any right to speak in public.
Anyhow, on Reading. Specifically, reading great books, or classics.
First, reading classics does not start fun--even for the whiz kid that has been reading at the college level since age 6. Philosophy is dense and boring, epic poetry takes 16 lines to say "Patrocles died," and history comes in 18 volumes to every particular bias of the writer. Reading great books in the beginning is straight, unvarnished, hard work. The joy of the thing though, is that is does not remain hard work. It is hard to see the progress, but be faithful in tackling the hard books and change will occur. I read The Republic in my Junior year of college, and it was one of the most dreadful dull books I had ever read. I learned nothing but facts and I decided I hated Plato. A year and a half later, I read Plato's Phaedrus, and I laughed at the jokes and got quite a bit out of his arguments. It was in fact, a pleasure to read. Trick to reading: persistence.
Second thing about reading. Books are not written in a vacuum. Every great or influential book in history was, well, influential. In other words, it actively interacted with the cultural and historical atmosphere. It was born of history and in turn, was the midwife of history. It is not necessary to have a profound understanding of the English Revolution to read Milton, but even a cursory knowledge of the times will make him much more clear. If you are confused, read a bit of the history of the time and it will help you appreciate the great book, and may even help your confusion. In a similar vein, Cliff Notes are your friend. Cliff Notes are not the equal of the great literature, but there are an excellent way to give the reader a general outline of what is going to happen and why it matters, thus freeing him to concentrate on the truly great and irreplacable parts of the work.
Third thing, if you are trying to read a great book for fun, read a great book you honestly want to read. Granted, it makes you look brilliant to be seen reading Les Miserables in public, but if it is putting you to sleep, there really isn't much point in reading it at this phase. Unless of course you are one of those people that can admit they don't find something interesting yet still give it its due. But, when browsing the shelves, looking for something impressive to read, pick something that actually sounds interesting. Having read numerous books just because I ought to read them, and getting absolutely nothing out of them, it really is a waste of time.
Fourth, some books just need and certain kinds of experience to understand. If you hate all things pertaining to the sea, you will hate Moby Dick, it has, roughly, 100 pages of marine biology, and 75 more on how to maintain a ship. Great Expectation needs an understanding of pain, lost hope, and ambition. Dostoevsky needs an understanding of suffering and the ability to grasp the brilliant agony of insanity. If you read a classic, and everything but the characters make sense, give it ten years and try again. It just may not make sense because you haven't lived enough yet to be able to hear it.
Fifth, some great books are not worth it. If the book is driving you insane, to gut-wrenching tears, or any other excessively damaging reaction, it is alright to put it away and never read it again. There are some great classics that exact an unbearable amount of confusion and pain for the sake of the story, and that story, objectively, may not be worth it for you. I will never read Tess of the D'Urberville's again, and Finnegan's Wake is never going to happen.
Reading is an art. It is an art for everyone, but it is not an art for everyone to approach in entirely the same way. When attempting the canon, give yourself space, acknowledge the masters, and bear in mind that there is a delicate balance between letting the work expand your horizons and forcefeeding yourself bricks the hard way. Give it time, and reading the greats will become a great pleasure.
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Six: balance. Even if you like to pursue one train of thought, keep it to one book at a time. Make sure that you vary genres and styles from book to book. It will broaden your experience and help prevent intellectual fatigue.
ReplyDelete"I still waffle on the issue of whether anyone under the age of 50 has any right to speak in public."
ReplyDeleteIf this stance were widely adopted, the world would be a much quieter place.
No comment on whether that would be a good or bad thing, just a statement of fact: it would be much, much quieter.