To Read or Not To Read
Yesterday, I perused, and purchased, the books my son needs for classes this coming school year. What I enjoy about this is getting to see the books he's reading for English...and then telling him about them, because I can't resist talking about books anywhere anytime with anyone. Here's how the conversation began. "I know what books you're reading for English."
"Okay, hit me."
I began spouting titles in the order they came to me, which was no particular order. (Don't get confounded trying come up with what single class covers these books— like I'd be doing — he's got three different trimester classes.) "Hamlet."
"Shoot me."
He may not have read Hamlet, but he's studied Macbeth, obviously to no great delight. While I love to see Shakespeare performed, it is not the easiest read; what got me attentively through my Shakespeare class in college was the professor, a Scottish chap who often read sections out loud—something that will likely not be happening for my son.
"Billy Budd."
"Shoot me now." Don't think he knows this book, but he has read Moby Dick, and may have recognized another foray into the land of Melville. Informed or not, his opinion of this book as far as I was concerned was pretty close to on target.
"The Picture of Dorian Gray." I hurried to say something positive since this time I could. "That's a book I really liked."
"Yea, great."
You get the picture. I don't think my son is an anomaly, a member of a generation growing up about as unattuned to books as maybe any educated group since the inception of the printing press. If I were teaching an English lit course, I'd be putting a lot of pressure on myself to try and come up with a list that could grab this group. And that got me thinking about my favorite, and least favorite books in college. Thomas Hardy was my favorite author; Jude The Obscure possibly my favorite new book (meaning one I hadn't read before college). Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness comes to mind as quite possibly the most difficult book I ever finished for an English course. I would choose to read it over being in front of the firing squad my son resurrected, but the choice between it and torture would be an even one.
How about it? What were your favorite and least favorite books in school? This inquiring mind wants to know...
I do not remember any of the books I read in high school, except vaguely I have a feeling that I enjoyed The Canterbury Tales. When Bedford read the Great Gatsby, I recall thinking that was a stupid choice - a gut reaction to my high school experience, I think. I've been stopping by the Concord library, ostensibly to use the restroom as I work outside on a construction site. The books on the shelf right outside the ladies' (women's?) room door is all about relationships. Working my way through them I have learned about women's relationships, one woman's out-of-wedlock pregnancy, all about the mind processes of millionaires, and about how people feel alone even in a crowd. Like one of the other posters, I read all. Someone recently sent me a subscription to Car and Driver, and I accidentally got a copy of Truck magazine. Although I drive a minivan and have no interest in cars, I read them cover to cover. My dentist offered me some of the magazines he gets, and I took 40 of them. Most I sent to my brother in Iraq, but I read them first.
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Woo, The Canterbury Tales. Good for you. I like it, too, but I think that was largely because I had a good teacher assisting the journey...in college. I am a readaholic, and will read just about any kind of magazine or newspaper at least once. You just never know what you'll learn...
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