What Are You Reading 2018 - Page 8

On February 27 2018 05:27 Plansix wrote:
You would be correct, in so that I do not engage with literature directly or in any systematic fashion. My focus of study in college was history and education, which often brushes up against the historical impact of specific literary minds. In that aspect I have an appreciation of literature and the study of it, even if I rarely fell compelled to dive into a specific piece. Especially not at the expense of another history book or biography.

But I take issue with the idea that some sort of systematic engagement with literature is required to “like” it. Few people have the luxury to do so outside of their college years and such a study would come that the expense of other hobbies or activities. The word “like” is a poor descriptor if you are attempting to convey some drive to have a comprehensive understanding of literature. It is to slight. A word better suited to describe what dessert someone prefers than to describe a passion they devote themself to.

On February 27 2018 05:36 Jerubaal wrote:
Ok, I'd say those examples don't support the claim. Joyce is well known, if not well read. Maugham and Forster are never going to have the widest appeal, but they are known. Heart of Darkness is one of the most read books in American high schools.

On February 27 2018 05:36 Carnivorous Sheep wrote:


But this is precisely the definition of "not liking" something. If you liked literature (or sports, or history, or video games, or anything), you would make time for it. You sacrifice time spent on Facebook, watching TV, playing board games, whatever, for it. You don't actively dislike literature, but nor do you do anything to show that you do in fact like it. Note that liking something is different from being "okay" with it. I'm sure you're likely "okay" with reading literature, but it presumably ranks pretty low on your list of priorities, below things like learning about history and education, or reading stuff like genre fiction.

On February 27 2018 05:40 Carnivorous Sheep wrote:


Er, I don't know what the claim is, I thought it was just a question.

If you are referring to the claim that "Americans don't engage with world lit" (generalized), then I will point you to the statistic that somewhere around 3%, or fewer, of books published in America is in translation, far lower than most other countries. Amazon, with an initiative of publishing a paltry ~70 books in translation, is the largest single publisher of foreign fiction in America, having overtaken the previous leader of Dalkey, who did ~40 per year.

On February 27 2018 06:04 The_Red_Viper wrote:

Which means you like figure skating. I like asian food, i don't eat it more often than more readily available food. You could maybe say he doesn't like it enough to go out of his way to experience it as often as possible, but that's about it really.