This week's topic:
If you’re anything like me, one of your favorite reasons to read is for the story. Not for the character development and interaction. Not because of the descriptive, emotive powers of the writer. Not because of deep, literary meaning hidden beneath layers of metaphor. (Even though those are all good things.) No … it’s because you want to know what happens next?
Or, um, is it just me?
I majored in English in college. I have an entire bookshelf filled with paperback copies of novels in which I highlighted and underlined all the phrases with "deep, literary meaning" and "descriptive, emotive powers of the writer." Here's an example.
This is from my old beat up copy of James Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. See the underlining and the notes in the margin? For years I could not read a book without looking for the deep and hidden meanings in the author's words. I forgot how to just enjoy a story.
Thankfully, I have rediscovered that great gift of just letting myself be drawn in to another world. And while I can appreciate the many layers to books like the Harry Potter series or Life of Pi or Middlesex, etc., I now just dive in and let myself be carried away by the fun of the story. My brain is too full of other stuff right now anyway to delve any deeper. ;)
I have books that look like the one you pictured, but they are books I read to learn; now I read books to love.
ReplyDeleteUnderstandable :-) I still love to read to learn but sometimes it's nice just to get swept away :-)
ReplyDeleteyeah, i was a spanish lit major and english lit minor I have tons of books like that one you show....but when I was done with university I did not even pick up a book to read for over 3 years. that all killed it for me, the analyzing and going by what critics thing, begin critical myself...I now use a new approach...read, enjoy!
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