Since I graduated from college, it's been more of a feast or famine situation. Sometimes I don't read much at all. At other times, I read like it's a drug I can't live without.
A couple of weeks ago, on a whim, I picked up To Kill a Mockingbird again. I had forgotten how much I like that book.
I've read some "classics" that I had to trudge through and didn't really enjoy them all that much. Anna Karenina comes to mind. Parts are good, but there are parts that drag out endlessly. End-less-ly! A note to Tolstoy: Philosophy does not a narrative make.
To Kill a Mockingbird on the other hand is just a good read.
Now, I've moved on to All Quiet on the Western Front. I've read it before, but I don't remember finding it sort of darkly amusing before. The author (Erich Maria Remarque) was actually in WWI, so some of what he's describing comes from experience. But, some of it is written in such flowery language it seems out of place in what is otherwise a sort of dark, gritty book. Maybe something got lost in translation?
3 comments:
I haven't read All's Quiet... for years. I am looking to Slaughterhouse 5.
Ive never understood what makes a good book. I've never settled on a favorite, and I havent read enough books for pleasure. I did enjoy some Vonagut(sp?) stories. I was awed by the wisdom put down by Plato, and the lack of progress we have made in 2000 years. I'm absolutely sickened by John C Maxwell, and others like him, that Im forced to read. The best book is the one you are reading. The reason I read is to find a book that changes the way i make choices. Few books do that. The tragedy is never being able to choose a favorite since I'll never read enough to make an informed choice. I like to get books from the library, and it is oh so rare to find a book that is interesting past 2/3. Authors get published on an idea that gets them to that point. Endings are afterthoughts or setups for a series. Authors that dont set up for a series are principled narcissists that are uninteresting ramblers. Not unlike myself in this very post.
I can't choose a favorite either, although for entirely different reasons.
I don't think I have to have read everything to have any basis for comparison or foundation for an opinion.
However, just because something is written, printed on paper, bound and sold doesn't mean it's comparable.
What kind of favorite would I choose?
A pretentious tome? A deep and meaningful classic?
Some brain candy that I don't advertise, but secretly love to read again and again?
They aren't really comparable in my mind, which is why I can't ever pick a list of favorite books.
My "favorite" book tends to be the one I'm reading at the moment.
I read because I love it. I love the way it makes thoughts and experiences that aren't mine come to life. I don't know that any books I've read have explicitly changed the way I make choices, but they do influence the way I think. It's more subtle, but I cannot imagine who I would be without them.
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