At the risk of being labelled pompous and pretentious once again, I'd like to write about why I read and why I think it's so amazing to read. I read "The Fault in Our Stars" two weeks ago. I then moved on to reading Slaughterhouse 5, and have since finished reading it as of 3 days ago. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it made me realize how much I really liked Vonnegut as an author and as a person - a lot. However, I must admit that I haven't been dutiful in my reading of the Great Gatsby. 50 pages a day, none the next, 10 with most of the story forgotten the day after. But here's the thing: I've managed to realize something unbelievably awe-inspiring and profound on a personal level.
The character Daisy who I recall to be the wife of the burly guy Tom is an exceptionally easy character to hate, and this is because she is pompous, fake, and superficial. She is a reflection of the character of an average human being. And once I realized this, I discovered one of the inherent phenomena of novels (and reading them) - they allow us to look at ourselves and the people around us as an observer. And with this gift, we can become more empathetic and lovely and kind because we will not only gain a better understanding of the travails and the flaws of others, but our own.
That was the first time I was able to appreciate text in a way other than relishing the music that occasionally rises above the words carefully deployed on paper. It made me happy, it made me smile. I was smiling like a fool on the bus and people were staring. It made me feel this crazy and fuzzy feeling inside, it made me want to just talk about this thing. I wanted to just talk to someone and get so excited that I just rattle on and on and on like a Chinese bullet-train.
So there. That's how it is. Reading is amazing. It's sick and cool and awesome and all the other over-used adjectives that people use. The act of reading itself is just glorious when you realize that all that you've read and all the emotions it evoked and all the ideas you've explored came from a dizzying combination of 26 symbols. Just think about how crazy it is that we can read something that contains the thoughts and dreams of a whole other person that does not have to exist now, but a hundred or maybe two hundred years ago.
I'm just so inspired to start reading properly again with this little nugget of an epiphany (or something) so that I can be more empathetic and lovely and kind. I also want to write properly or something. I feel like a baboon with a typewriter.
I've really gotten a lot of enjoyment out of reading too. I remember Fitzgerald's "Tender is the Night" turned me on to reading the classics. I felt understood and less alone. Gatsby was actually my least favorite novel of his, strangely enough. "Brave New World" and "The Jungle" also hit me hard emotionally. If you're tired of all the brooding, try Alexander Dumas... his stories are action packed and fast paced. "Don Quixote" is a good one too, lots of humor.
Haha, that stack of birthday money turned books resonates with me, as well as the general idea of your post. I seem to have developed a habit of acquiring books and gift cards quickly converted to books at a considerably higher rate than I can actually find time to read them. It's wonderful living in my own personal library. Nice blog!
It's far more important to own books you haven't read, than to own books that you have read An enormous pile of unread books is a daily reminder to remain humble before your own ignorance.
On February 10 2013 06:54 sam!zdat wrote: It's far more important to own books you haven't read, than to own books that you have read An enormous pile of unread books is a daily reminder to remain humble before your own ignorance.
You vastly underestimate the power of the human mind. For some people, an enormous pile of unread books is a daily reminder that you need to fix that chair leg.
Also, eBooks don't pile that well.
Further, Azera... Read more. Read widely. Read everything. Don't just read the "classics". Read it all. A book in three days? Not good. How about a book a day? (Assuming familiarity with the language used, clear prose, and a median length.) The best thing I've generally found to do is just... always have a book that you are reading. Not all of them will be "Great Literature" (whatever that may be; it's subjective even if everyone thinks it is great) but modern authors are still telling tales worth reading, investigating concepts worth pondering, and looking at things in new old ways. Always, always, there's a book to be reading... and when that book is done, there's going to be another one to read. Give authors you don't know a chance. Poke your nose out of whatever genres you're most comfortable in from time to time and try new things.
Reading is great. (Wait... Reading is Power? What was that old commercial?)
On February 10 2013 01:56 Azera wrote: At the risk of being labelled pompous and pretentious once again
It's great that you've taken note of this, but I feel you're not quite sure what pretentiousness really is, in essence.
Pretentiousness doesn't stem from having an affinity for classical music, or old jazz, or abstract paintings or any particular genre of literature that happens to be highly rated in general. I can think of two kinds, not mutually exclusive and possibly not completely comprehensive either, but here goes: there's the pretentious person that tries to establish their particular taste in art as vastly superior for the purpose of making themselves appear intellectually superior to their peers, whether they actually enjoy their claimed preferences or it's just pretense. And then, there's a similar yet quite different kind that will try to convince *themselves* that they like classical music or prog rock or any of the aforementioned art forms that people generally associated with refined taste and intellectuality, that try to validate themselves in their very own eyes through this, using these preconceived notion that X or Y art form is inherently superior. The 2nd kind also tries to be perceived as more intellectual and mature, but by their very self, not so much by their peers, basically they're not as overt about the whole "worthier/brainier/classier than thou" attitude.
Be aware. Look at yourself, think about it, draw conclusions. If it feels natural to you, if the enjoyment is real, if your taste just so happen to coincide with what pop culture considers to be a standard of classy, refined taste, then anything else doesn't matter. All that matters is being true to yourself. Fuck what others think. This is the best advice one can receive, yet the most ignored one too. Fuck what others think.
Pro-tip: this might help you with girls and just social status in general; the less you care about other people and the more you focus on yourself, the better for your confidence and self-esteem. Seriously. Fuck other people.
Long rant, tangential, maybe irrelevant, I don't care. Had to be said, you deserve the advice etc.
And yeah reading is quite awesome and people should indulge more in it, myself included.
On February 10 2013 06:54 sam!zdat wrote: It's far more important to own books you haven't read, than to own books that you have read An enormous pile of unread books is a daily reminder to remain humble before your own ignorance.
You vastly underestimate the power of the human mind. For some people, an enormous pile of unread books is a daily reminder that you need to fix that chair leg.
Also, eBooks don't pile that well.
I don't understand what you're saying, and screw ebooks.
Reading is great. The best books are the ones that leave a lasting impression. That's really all that matters. As long as you get something from the book, it's gold. If not, it's trash. You can usually tell after a few chapters whether to drop it or keep going. And it'll always be on a personal level of whether you'll enjoy the book. Fuck the critics and people who say novels should be read as a literary exercise. Go do a math problem if you want to be analytical. In the end, art is about "feeling." If you don't feel the point, then there is none.
And thrillers are like one night stands. You go through 'em just to hit the climax then forget about it the next day. Only read 'em for a plane flight.
Yeah, it takes time to actually enjoy reading. But once you do, it's fucking great.
Portrait of the artist as a young man is actually shitty
ninja edit: also gatsby is pretty bad overall but I really do like daisy's interactions and her big quote (it seems OP isn't quite done with gatsby yet so spoiler) + Show Spoiler +
.....And I hope she'll be a fool--that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.
pretty poignant at showing how stupid people are (and iirc daisy was really sad saying that, so she knows she is shallow and that life sucks.
On February 10 2013 06:54 sam!zdat wrote: It's far more important to own books you haven't read, than to own books that you have read An enormous pile of unread books is a daily reminder to remain humble before your own ignorance.
You vastly underestimate the power of the human mind. For some people, an enormous pile of unread books is a daily reminder that you need to fix that chair leg.
Also, eBooks don't pile that well.
I don't understand what you're saying, and screw ebooks.
eBooks are easier to carry around and I can get them anywhere with WiFi. So if I hit the end of my current "stack", I can buy more quickly. (Or, alternately, acquire one from Project Gutenberg, FifthColumn, or another such website that purveys free distribution models legally.)
As to what I was saying, you assume that people seeing an enormous pile of unread books will remind them to realize they are idiots and need to read more. I'm saying that the vast majority of people are unaware of their own ignorance to any significant degree, and is more likely to remind them of something else entirely. (Alluding to the use of books to fix uneven chair or table legs.)
(Yes, I'm a pessimist regarding the median human.)
On February 10 2013 16:06 Aerisky wrote: I think that, if you're actively seeking to read and enjoy reading, ebooks can be a good medium through which to read.
Physical books are the best. You clearly don't understand the joy of flipping through pages and running your fingers down the spines of books
I also think digitized files are a good and convenient medium through which to listen to music, and clearly don't understand the joy of thumbing through vinyl records and running my fingers around their little grooves
On February 10 2013 17:11 Aerisky wrote: I also think digitized files are a good and convenient medium through which to listen to music, and clearly don't understand the joy of thumbing through vinyl records and running my fingers around their little grooves
Unlike books, you don't hold and touch records while you experience them. The sound quality is what makes digital and analog different.
That was just a gotcha statement; I don't think vinyl is inherently better than digital music, nor did I at any point suggest that ebooks are superior. Your pretentiousness isn't in liking the things you do. It's in immediately assuming others don't appreciate or understand things the way you do, and in assuming that one's opinions are invalid if their origin lacks really available qualifications and/or does not appear as an authority figure to you.
Back to me not trusting marttorn to teach me about literary theory because he doesn't have a major and is 15 huh? Get over it. In the end, he didn't even remember 3 quarters of the book and didn't even want to talk about it. The only comment he made was how good the ending was, and it was so dry. And marttorn didn't even have proof that he knew anything. So I guess I'm stupid and pompous for not blindly believing he was as knowledgeable as someone with a degree.
Edit: It wasn't even close to being a Gotcha statement. It's like something you thought was smart or quirky enough to shit out without even thinking it through.
lol marttorn is the least of my worries (e: just in terms of what I was talking about there. <3 ya mart of course, also you go girl, DAT VOICE MAN). You were the only person discussing literary theory in that conversation anyway. You and he were speaking from entirely different premises in the first place, classic straw man.
I'm just calling it as I saw it, because your response to my ebook sentiment seemed to be arrogant and entirely incongruous to what I thought was a mild and reasonable post with regard to the utility of digital media. Arrogance, real or imagined, is also a personal pet peeve so there could be my overzealous condemnation coming into play there.
Again with the extrapolation. Nowhere did I call you stupid or imply anything to the affirmative.
A gotcha statement is merely something designed to entrap the responder. It actually has negative connotation-- that was self-deprecatory in nature and merely intended to make you think about the utility of highly portable reading material, familiar characteristics and skeumorphism aside. Also this is just a potshot, but quirky isn't even a descriptor relevant to a statement. It's typically a modifier applied to an individual and is just awkward to use to describe my statement normatively.
Typed on phone; shocking and appalling miscues may manifest themselves.
On February 10 2013 15:56 sam!zdat wrote: Yes, that's why I go around telling people what the big pile of unread books means
Very good, then. I commend you on your quest to tilt that windmill until it's finally slain.
As to other responses above - it's not about the size of your book stack, it's about how much of it you can take in at once and hold on to after you've done it. (Wait, that's just... wrong.)
On February 10 2013 18:47 blade55555 wrote: I love reading to. I read so many books a year (although most are star wars :D).
You can learn things from all kinds of fiction - it's just written in a different way.
They're all just recycled plots, in any case. The window dressing and subtext, along with the construction, is important. (Also, I can't throw stones. I just finished reading (again) the entirety of the Dresden Files.)
Ebooks are obviously amazing since they allow you to read anything and as much as you want for free, because you're a dirty pirate.
Personally I found Gatsby quite easy to read and I got through it quite quickly... I never saw the charm in it though, it was a fairly boring book and left almost no impression on me, I barely even remember it. I have no idea how it became a book of such immense status in the US.
On February 11 2013 17:55 Tobberoth wrote: Ebooks are obviously amazing since they allow you to read anything and as much as you want for free, because you're a dirty pirate.
Personally I found Gatsby quite easy to read and I got through it quite quickly... I never saw the charm in it though, it was a fairly boring book and left almost no impression on me, I barely even remember it. I have no idea how it became a book of such immense status in the US.
Because, for many of us, it is required reading in school (usually in high school, sometimes college). I think I might have read it, but I'm not sure - it was long ago and like you say, it doesn't leave a great deal of impact. Then again, I also have some issues with the writing style of the period.
EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/423wO9D.jpg)
An enormous pile of unread books is a daily reminder to remain humble before your own ignorance.
