My latest haul. Seems like I have a problem...
(In my defense, I've been anxiously waiting for my hold on Alison Bechdel's Are You My Mother? to come through.)
Also, I'm almost done with my last batch - I'm currently working through The Lonely Polygamist, but I kind of wanted to have a back-up in the mean time. Or *cough* a lot of backups. I'm worried that I'm not as interested in Polygamist as I should be, and that I'm not really invested in these books like I should. I've actually returned Tolstoy and the Purple Chair, two days after picking it up. I can't put my finger on why, but I just didn't care for it.
Why is that? The idea of reading a book a day is crazy insane, but also really appealing to me. I really wanted to read this book... but why? Because if I read it, I too could read a book every day? Or because I would be living vicariously through the author?
It bothers me that I didn't like Tolstoy like I feel I should have.
But something has been on my mind lately; about reading, and books, and what I'm choosing to read and why. Also, trying to account for my huge surge in reading.
Why am I reading these books, and why so quickly? Am I giving myself the opportunity to really read and understand, or analyze them? Or am I blowing through them like candy, not really taking them in in any meaningful way? My mom was the first one to ask me this, but there's a quote that I've read recently that, for a lack of being able to find it, says that it's better to read one book ten or twenty or an infinite amount of times and have a deep understanding of it and the author than reading a ton of books and have a shallow understanding or knowledge of it.
I worry a lot about whether or not I'm well read for my age. Part of this insecurity is because A) I'm in college, and comparing myself to my friends and not-friends is unavoidable, since I'm a competitive person and pride myself on being smart or well educated; and B)I'm more involved online, and am exposed to more people who are my age and have read more, created more, know more than me. And I don't like that feeling; it's deeply unsettling for me, and while I'm working on nipping it in the bud when I can feel my competitive side rise, it's still an issue.
I want to know things. And I want to understand them. More than that, I want to be able to understand other people when they mention things casually in discussion. It isn't that I hate ignorance; it's just that I don't tolerate it in myself. And lately I've been feeling like I haven't been really getting the full benefit of the books that I'm reading.
So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm going to make an effort to actually read and understand the books that I'm checking out. While I understand that there is literary fluff out there (and I'll gorge myself on it), I want to be able to understand the books I read and why they're important. I want to be able to have a discussion with someone about them, and have it go beyond, "Yeah, I read it. I liked it." (Because WHY did I like it? I've found that I like books a LOT better after I've given them critical thought.)
I'll sign off on that note; stay cool y'all!
-M
Also, I'm almost done with my last batch - I'm currently working through The Lonely Polygamist, but I kind of wanted to have a back-up in the mean time. Or *cough* a lot of backups. I'm worried that I'm not as interested in Polygamist as I should be, and that I'm not really invested in these books like I should. I've actually returned Tolstoy and the Purple Chair, two days after picking it up. I can't put my finger on why, but I just didn't care for it.
Why is that? The idea of reading a book a day is crazy insane, but also really appealing to me. I really wanted to read this book... but why? Because if I read it, I too could read a book every day? Or because I would be living vicariously through the author?
It bothers me that I didn't like Tolstoy like I feel I should have.
But something has been on my mind lately; about reading, and books, and what I'm choosing to read and why. Also, trying to account for my huge surge in reading.
Why am I reading these books, and why so quickly? Am I giving myself the opportunity to really read and understand, or analyze them? Or am I blowing through them like candy, not really taking them in in any meaningful way? My mom was the first one to ask me this, but there's a quote that I've read recently that, for a lack of being able to find it, says that it's better to read one book ten or twenty or an infinite amount of times and have a deep understanding of it and the author than reading a ton of books and have a shallow understanding or knowledge of it.
I worry a lot about whether or not I'm well read for my age. Part of this insecurity is because A) I'm in college, and comparing myself to my friends and not-friends is unavoidable, since I'm a competitive person and pride myself on being smart or well educated; and B)I'm more involved online, and am exposed to more people who are my age and have read more, created more, know more than me. And I don't like that feeling; it's deeply unsettling for me, and while I'm working on nipping it in the bud when I can feel my competitive side rise, it's still an issue.
I want to know things. And I want to understand them. More than that, I want to be able to understand other people when they mention things casually in discussion. It isn't that I hate ignorance; it's just that I don't tolerate it in myself. And lately I've been feeling like I haven't been really getting the full benefit of the books that I'm reading.
Literally my nightmare. Via
So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm going to make an effort to actually read and understand the books that I'm checking out. While I understand that there is literary fluff out there (and I'll gorge myself on it), I want to be able to understand the books I read and why they're important. I want to be able to have a discussion with someone about them, and have it go beyond, "Yeah, I read it. I liked it." (Because WHY did I like it? I've found that I like books a LOT better after I've given them critical thought.)
I'll sign off on that note; stay cool y'all!
-M
The old man and the sea was my favorite book when I was little. my dad used to read it to me :D
ReplyDeletegreat post!
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