You must say the word with a self-assured, flutey accent: Lit-rah-tour. Right away you know we're talking about Tolstoy, Austen, Bronte(x3) and Dickens, and not Grisham, Steel, King and Sparks. But maybe not in the way you think.
I have often hashed over the old debate of quality and content in reading materials versus 'just be happy he's reading'; and as I'm known to be something of a snob with decided opinions, I invariably come down on the side of quality. I believe with great conviction that what you read in childhood as well as in later years has an impact on you, how you think (and even if you think, come to that) and your future capacity for reading. For example, a steady diet of Batman comics limits your capacity to appreciate Dostoyevsky in later life, no matter how clever and ironical those comics may be.
However, while Lit-rah-tour develops elegant vocabulary and syntax, it isn't necessarily the 'great works' that capture our imagination and broaden our horizons. When I'm asked what my favourite books are, the ones that top my list aren't necessarily great classics. Crime and punishment really was both a crime and a punishment to me, and I wished the old man had fallen into the sea! So, while I disappeared into the moors with Jane when Mr. Rochester was forced to reveal his insane wife (Jane Eyre), felt every agonizing step through Mordor with Frodo (Lord of the Rings), and shuddered over Mr. Collins' unctuousness (Pride and Prejudice) -- all literary giants -- I was also torn between past and present with Claire Randall (Outlander), in stitches over singletons in London (Bridget Jones's Diary) and completely enamoured of a quaint rose-covered cottage (Thornyhold) -- none of which will be remembered as classics, yet they will remain with me because their characters became real to me and the stories were totally engrossing.
In order for a book to be 'good' it has to leave you with more than you were or had before you read it. A book without impact is a waste of time...and unfortunately I've read my share of those, though fortunately I can't remember very many of them. There are, as well, books I wish now I hadn't bothered with, though they left an impression alright. Larry's party and The Shipping news are examples of the latter - my life was not improved in any appreciable measure because of having endured them.
I have just finished a book that I'm sure will be on my list of deep impact experiences: The Reader. It isn't profound,it doesn't attempt to teach lessons or solve deep issuess. It simply presents the story of two disparate people in a time and place of historical significance,leaving room for the reader to think about the bigger questions for himself.
I'm trying to compose the usual top ten list, but it's very hard to narrow even the criteria of the list, let alone the books themselves. Maybe the one requirement will be that even today I can remember what it felt like to both begin and finish the book (or series) In that case, here are a few:
Lord of the rings/ The Hobbit
Pride and prejudice
Jane Eyre
Brideshead revisted
Tale of two cities
Kristin Lavransdatter
Father Elijah
Little drummer girl
Outlander
Children's books are in a category of their own, but are just as important, and have perhaps more impact:
Where the red fern grows
Anne of Green Gables
Wind in the willows
Little princess
Five children and It
All the places to love
How 'bout you? What books are on your list? What are your requirements for a book to be good or even great?
In order for a book to be 'good' it has to leave you with more than you were or had before you read it. A book without impact is a waste of time...and unfortunately I've read my share of those, though fortunately I can't remember very many of them. There are, as well, books I wish now I hadn't bothered with, though they left an impression alright. Larry's party and The Shipping news are examples of the latter - my life was not improved in any appreciable measure because of having endured them.
I have just finished a book that I'm sure will be on my list of deep impact experiences: The Reader. It isn't profound,it doesn't attempt to teach lessons or solve deep issuess. It simply presents the story of two disparate people in a time and place of historical significance,leaving room for the reader to think about the bigger questions for himself.
I'm trying to compose the usual top ten list, but it's very hard to narrow even the criteria of the list, let alone the books themselves. Maybe the one requirement will be that even today I can remember what it felt like to both begin and finish the book (or series) In that case, here are a few:
Lord of the rings/ The Hobbit
Pride and prejudice
Jane Eyre
Brideshead revisted
Tale of two cities
Kristin Lavransdatter
Father Elijah
Little drummer girl
Outlander
Children's books are in a category of their own, but are just as important, and have perhaps more impact:
Where the red fern grows
Anne of Green Gables
Wind in the willows
Little princess
Five children and It
All the places to love
How 'bout you? What books are on your list? What are your requirements for a book to be good or even great?
Mmmm, a topic I can sink my teeth into...
ReplyDeleteCHILDREN'S BOOKS:
Anne of Green Gables
Anne of Ingleside
Rainbow Valley
Rilla of Ingleside
Ballet Shoes
Nancy Drew & Trixie Belden
Eight Cousins
The Little House Books
And a book who's name I can never remember, but was about a girl in Finland who came to love ice skating.
I tried to write a list of grown-up books, but quickly realized that the ones on my list were either actually children's books or in my memories they feel like children's books because I read them all (for the first time) before I was fifteen.
It included things like Jane Eyre, Tale of Two Cities and Gone with the Wind, just to name a few.
Can you actually remember reading the books? I remember Anne seemed to walk right off the page, she was so vibrant and real. I loved her imagination and attitude...she was such fun! Sarah from The Little princess was a little like that,too. Wind in the willows and the Five children and it followed a Dutch series about a little guy who lived in a tree - they all fed my taste for magic and fantasy. Where the red fern grows has in inconsolate...I sobbed for a good hour after reading it...it was cathartic.
ReplyDeleteI read Nancy Drew, too! I felt very grown-up by solving those mysteries, and I very much wanted a convertable of my own.
I don't think the reader's age is the point. Children's literature is usually richer in texture, though more innocent somehow...though not necessarily more simple. I read LOTR by the time I was 13, but it's not kid lit, whereas the Hobbit definitely is.
Have you read anything of note lately?
I can remember reading Jane Eyre when I was perhaps twelve. Much of the language was a mystery to me, but oh I suffered for poor Jane, crying myself to sleep over the injustices done to her as a child.
ReplyDeleteWhat else? I can remember sobbing when Mary lost her eyesight - she was so brave. And I how yearned for Laura to "grow up" and recognize Almanzo's love for her.
I haven't really read anything special lately. In the midst of the busy-ness of life, I haven't felt like delving into anything deep or note worthy. Though somehow I do have a yen to read The Little House books and Eight Cousins again.