I’ve heard more than one person express worry that they will be considered a snob because they have been only reading classics lately. Why is that?
I made a comment on Claire at Paperback_Reader’s page a few months ago (yes, that’s how long I’ve been thinking about this) and her responses got me thinking about being a discerning reader. In part, Claire wrote:
If there are any gaps in my reading then I like to fill them. I know what I like but I would never consider myself so well-read that I could simply write-off an area of literature that doesn’t appeal to me; I would be scared that it would also be to my detriment as a reader.
I hope I’m not misunderstanding, but unlike Claire, I feel okay putting off areas of literature for now. It doesn’t mean that I’m considering myself so “well-read”: it just means that I have to make choices. I’m realizing I can’t read every book that I want to read. But not only can’t I read everything that has been published, I can’t even read one thing from each genre and still feel good about my reading. There are certain fields that I’m most interesting in gaining expertise in, certain fields that I enjoy above others, and certain genres and authors that I’m incredibly interested in reading next. Those are the works I feel good about selecting to read.
As a result of those selections, there are going to be gaps in my reading, and I fully accept that.Continue Reading