Other World

Aunt Marie had an interesting blog post recently. For the exact text, click here. The gist of it is that it’s a book list containing titles of 100 books. It generalizes a bit, for example, it lists Harry Potter and Shakespeare, no specific titles there. The point of the list was that apparently the average adult has only read 6 of the 100. Things like that bother me. The list reflects a fairly diverse taste, with an obvious preference for the classics. But it isn’t as though there are only 100 good works in the world. I’m not sure why “The Time Traveler’s Wife” made the list. It was a good story, but it was filthy-dirty! Not one I’d recommend to anyone looking for a wholesome reading experience. And it was missing a lot of titles that I would consider essentials, like Fahrenheit 451, Anne Frank, anything by George Orwell or Isaac Asimov. If we’re doing compendiums, then where is 1001 Arabian Nights, Grimm’s Fairy Tales, or Aesop’s Fables? Don’t forget the Illiad or the Odessy.

The list also does not take into account a person’s background. A lot of people read extensively, but they prefer Newspapers, Technical Manuals, or Children’s Books. Reading is supposed to be about having fun and improving yourself. Lists like that can be fun, they are a nice reminder of how much is still out there. It might be a good list for a book club. But a lot of those books, though epic or thought-provoking, are often very dry. Not that I’m trashing Moby Dick, but if you finish the whole book, you’ll not only have the story we all talk about, but a thorough background in whaling. Are you less of a person for reading the abridged version? Read because you enjoy it, not because some stuffy windbag thinks your less of a person for not having their idea of a well-rounded literary experience. I just don’t like the idea of something as wonderful as reading being used against people. Whatever happened to reading because you just want to enjoy a good book?

“Actually, my experience has been that people generally don’t recommend this kind of book at all. It is far too interesting. Perhaps you have had other kinds of books recommended to you. Perhaps, even, you have been given books by friends, parents, or teachers, then told that these books are the type you ‘have to read.’ Those books are invariably described as ‘important’ — which, in my experience, pretty much means that they’re boring. (Words like meaningful and thoughtful are other good clues.)” – Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson.