So, I suppose it is not surprising that Lewis Buzbee’s memoir of bookstores, The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, did not do much for me. It is a combination of a history of bookselling and a memoir of his own addiction to bookstores, and I spent the bulk of the book wishing it was about a love of books or a love of the written word or a love of a specific author. I was the wrong audience, and I had been hoping for a different book. I also speed read it in order to have a post ready for the Spotlight Series today. If I hadn’t made that commitment, I’d probably not have finished it at all or I’d have read it slower. Maybe if I had not read it all at once, I would not have been as irritated by parts of it. I’m not a memoir person, and this volume reinforced that.

The history portion of The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop was at times quite interesting. However, the lack of footnotes or references of any kind made me suspicious. When I read nonfiction, I want to see sources. While I don’t doubt that Mr. Buzbee researched for this book and wrote true facts in the history portions, I wish I’d read the facts in a nonfiction history of bookstores, complete with references, rather than in a pseudo-memoir. There is no author’s note indicating where he did his research, and this detracted from the book for me.

And then the memoir portion honestly bored me, as memoirs often do.  I didn’t particularly like Mr. Buzbee, and details like his admission to stealing books from bookstores as a kid really did nothing to endear him to me. His personal stories of bookstores revealed an obsession that I could not relate to, and his comments about the insignificance of e-readers were hilarious in the lack of foresight (he wrote in 2005). I can’t blame him for that, I suppose, but as a whole such little details made him seem rather ridiculous to me. I found there to be little love of the ideas from books detailed in this memoir. There was some, but it more about acquiring the books rather than reading them. I cannot relate to that.

I like books. In fact, I love them. But most of the time, it is for the words, ideas, and stories in them, and not for the place from which I purchased it. As such, The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop was not a memoir I related to.

All that said, The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop is a very attractive slim hardcover volume with deckled pages. If I was compulsive book buyer that frequented bookshops, I suspect that upon noticing The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, it would have been one that could end up in my possession for the prettiness factor. Since I am not a compulsive book buyer, I’m glad this was just a free library read.

• Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
• Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle
• My Victorian Summer: We Two by Gillian Gill and Armadale by Wilkie Collins + Reading Journal
• Why Women Should Rule the World by Dee Dee Myers
• On Writing by Stephen King
• Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
• Library Summer Reading Programs Completed!
• How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster
• Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman by Richard Feynman

Because he’s so ready to learn, I’ve been pondering how to introduce him to the world of letters, the world of reading, and a pre-preschool world of him and me. I know he’s not ready to learn to read, but what can I do now to help him be ready in another year or two?

I decided to seek out some books that might help. While I checked out dozens of books, I only read two in the past few weeks. Growing a Reader from Birth by Diane McGuinness was fascinating, but I was disappointed that the majority of the book focused on baby language learning rather than learning to read (as the title would suggest). The ABCs of Literacy by Cynthia Dollins, on the other hand, was just what I was looking for, and I’ve even ordered my own copy I loved it so much. Both books were geared toward parents and childcare givers, and the second is one every parent of a toddler should read.

Growing a Reader from Birth

I admit that I started the first book because it had a pretty cover. Besides, I loved the premise of the title: Growing a Reader from Birth. It reminded me that learning to read and loving to read are a process. One does not suddenly, at age six, sit down in a classroom, learn the letters, and become a reader. Since I (obviously) love to read and my son, already, follows me around the house with his own books, I’m hoping that he eventually becomes a reader too. In fact, because he enjoys books so much, even “reading” them to himself, I would consider him a reader already (or at least a lover of books, which is a great start).

But I should have considered the subtitle: Your Child’s Path from Language to Literacy. To my surprise, Diane McGuinness does not focus on reading. In fact, the first 200 pages are about language: how babies and toddlers learn language, parental impact on language development, the do’s and don’t’s for talking to your children in order to help them learn language best. Did you know that newborns hear sound differently than older children? The “motherese” that is higher pitched than normal speech and that covers greater range is the type of language newborns physically need to hear. I find it fascinating that we instinctively speak in a high range when talking to babies. (Note that baby talk is not necessary and is detrimental; just the higher range of speaking is necessary).

I also learned why my son thinks his name is “Baby.” Since that was the name I repeated to him often in his first year (how could I resist? This adorable little baby was waking up and I loved him and found him cuddly), that was the first word he learned. I found that discussion fascinating, since it’s normally the their own name the child learns first. Let this be a lesson to you: if you call your newborn “Baby” all the time, he will call himself “Baby” at age two.

Further, I was fascinated to read the studies of interaction between children and their mothers. When mothers spoke with a lower vocabulary (600 words) to their one-year-old children, the same children at age 3 had a lower IQ. On the other hand, when mothers spoke with a normal adult vocabulary (or at least 1500 words) to their one-year-olds, their children knew a lot more by age 3. This should be a given, but for me, it really made me reconsider how I talk to my son: Why do I say “Choo choo” instead of train or locomotive? Why don’t I explain things when I say the word? How can I explain the world to him?

All of these language concepts do relate to literacy: a child has to understand certain things about the world and have a vocabulary before reading makes sense. This was the most valuable part of Growing a Reader.  Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed by the subsequent discussion (about 50 pages) about teaching a child to read. It was a rant about the failings of the modern educational teaching method. McGuinness explained how bad schools are, how they won’t teach your child to read properly, and how we should demand better teaching. But she failed to explain to parents what we should be doing, beyond insisting that teachers use a phonics system. It was disappointing, because so much of the book built up to the learning to read moment: she failed to deliver.

Throughout the book, McGuinness also had some odd ideas about reading. She does not like picture books, believing they teach a child to look for context clues rather than focus on the words. She does not expect kids to learn to read before going to school. Now, in subsequent reading (Dollins’ book), I learned that children are not normally physically ready to learn to read until age six (that is, they are not physically able to remember so many letter-phonic combinations or keep such information as plot in order) but McGuinness never address that: she focused on language learning almost to the exclusion of reading learning.

I enjoyed McGuinness’s book for the insights in to my own communication with my son, but I do wonder what her qualifications are: the cover says “PhD” but what does that really mean these days?

The ABCs of Literacy

On the other hand, Cynthia Dollins, EdD, elementary classroom teacher for twenty years and lecturer in child and adolescent literature and writing and reading methods (from back cover), perfectly captured what I was looking for in nurturing my young son’s reading habits. I do not often buy myself new books (to be accurate: this is first time since last February), but I have already ordered a copy of this book for myself. It is that good.

If you have a toddler and you want your “read-aloud” moments to help him learn, to increase his literacy, and to be fun, The ABCs of Literacy is the book you must have.

Part A focuses on the “whys” to reading aloud to toddlers: it’s a bonding time between parent and child, it helps them learn about the world, it helps them learn how printed reading works, and it teaches them vocabulary and phonemic awareness. Now, she’s preaching to the choir here, but I loved being justified in my reading! What this section did do for me was encourage me to turn off the TV more often, since it does not help with any of the above things at all (even for vocabulary and phonemic awareness, the effect is minimal). I know I mentioned above that my son learned “two” from Sesame Street, so it’s not a waste of time all the time, but still: I should interact with him more. I’ve begun a new unofficial project, called “keep lots of books in the family room.” Now, when my son says “watch! Watch” I say, which book would you like to read next? It’s been lots of fun because we’re reading books in the middle of the day. I think he remembers the books better, especially when we’re acting out The Cat in the Hat, for example (he likes to hop holding books, like the Cat in the Hat does).

The other sections are incredible comprehensive: she covers the issues of which books to choose (what makes a picture book “quality” literature), the best methods for reading books out loud, and other ways to promote literacy. Now, some people may balk about the “quality” literature comment: surely, we want reading to be fun. Dollins discusses this as follows:

“Most of us remember books from our childhood that we wanted to read again and again. These books resonated with us for some reason and stayed with us into adulthood, evoking positive memories. Surely we can point to many of the books considered classics and understand why they have been so disginated. They may contain a universal theme that is uniquely human to all of us, or they may tug at our heart or emotions. The author’s words may be so carefully chosen that we find ourselves quoting them in conversation to make a point. Picture books, too, distinguish themselves through the feelings they evoke and the themes they hold. They also contain exemplary use of language …. Books from our childhood remain with us because of our reaction to them, the reaction that made us laugh, cry, feel deeply, or just think.” (page 51).

It’s a long quote, but I want to share it because it resonated with me so strongly. You probably know that I’m a big fan of classic literature by now. And I think she perfectly captures why classics are classics. She’s talking about picture books, but I think it extends to all classics.  I just love them for the universality of it all!

Here’s an example from our own reading. While there is a place for the Little Golden Book Thomas and the Big Big Bridge (and my son and I read it at least once a day), it’s obvious that the writing, illustrations, and story are not as engaging, thoughtful, and able to teach concepts and vocabulary as even The Little Engine that Could. Can anyone forget “I think I can! I think I can!”

Dollins’ book ends with an 80-page (yes, 80) annotated listing some books that she considers classic, well-written, and thoughtful and that teach vocabulary or phonetics or concepts. They all are fun for her and for her own children. I look forward to seeking out of some of those books. While not every picture book will work for everyone else, I’m eager to give her list a try. I really trust her concepts and this list gets me excited for years or reading with my son!

Have I convinced you to read this book yet? I seriously think it is awesome.

Children’s Projects

I have been reading a textbook about the history of children’s literature and reading the historical literature mentioned in it. I intend to do that for myself, but after reading Robinson Crusoe aloud to my son (and taking three months to do so), I came to the belated conclusion that learning the history of children’s literature is for me, not for him. I’m still tracking it and working on it. But I also need a project that is for the two of us!

My newest project is this. I’d like to read 1,000 different books with him before his fifth birthday. I started keeping track December 12, 2009. In tracking this list, I won’t count a book twice. Any book counts: picture books, board books, wordless books, audiobooks (the ones for kids), chapter books, adult books I read aloud to him (if I dare try that again). But I’m only counting a book if I read it to him (not my husband) and only if I’ve read him the entire thing or most of it (no skipping pages). I’m a bit torn on this last point. For example, we read Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things that Go almost every day, but we have yet to read every single page in one sitting, because it is so long. I may count that one anyway, since we’ve read the book so many times in pieces. I’m hoping that in the next two and half years we’ll get through it.

The purpose of this is to introduce my son to great literature and fun literature. I also want to make reading with him priority, not just a dread before bed (because he wants to read for a long time and I’m always exhausted and ready to move on with my night). Of course, many of the books we read are repeats: no day goes by without five readings of The Red Caboose. But I think finding new favorites is important too, and I’m looking forward to find them. I’m going to adopt the reading lists from The ABCs of Literacy as my own, I’m going to continue seeking out age-appropriate Caldecott winners, and I’m going to browse the library more frequently.

As for this site, every 100 books, I’ll post about his and my favorites. I think that will be a fun way to round out this project and give myself a sense of accountability to you. Now I just need to make a project button…

A question for parents to toddlers: Do you do reading projects with your toddler? How do you choose your next book(s)?

• 1000 Books: A Little Clarification + The First 80 Books or So
• Kids Corner (1000 Books): Growing Pains
• Two Books by Seth Lerer (Inventing English and Children’s Literature)
• The Arrival by Shaun Tan
• The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
• A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L’Engle
• Abecedaria (aka Alphabet Books)
• Reading Journal (23 December): Holiday Reading
• Robinson Crusoe Adaptations for Children
• Speak, Child: The Illiad as the Infancy of Children’s Literature

I hadn’t realized when I began reading that these books were true, but then I found them in the nonfiction section! The first is collection of letters between Helene Hanff and Frank Doel, the proprietor of a used book shop in London, during their 20-year correspondence (1949-1969). The second book is Helene’s journal when she finally makes it to London, a lifelong dream that comes true only after the first book was published.

I loved the book talk, and while neither of these books were favorites of mine, I did love learning about Helene’s reading and studying style. Oh, the power of books!

84, Charing Cross Road was a delightfully light collection of letters. I enjoyed the banter between Helene and Frank. I was a little sad by how few letters captured the last years of the correspondence. The friendship was still obviously clear, but the letters were fewer. Keeping the book as it was (simply a collection of letters) made it more powerful, though. Because the letters were every few years instead of every few months, I, as the reader, could see how this long-distance friendship meant so much to the two book lovers. It was sweet.

I wanted to see how Helene finally got to London, so I quickly found the second book after I finished the first. I admit that I was disappointed in The Duchess of Bloombury Street. I disliked the casual writing style in the second book (although it hadn’t bothered me in the letters of the first), and I didn’t like Helene’s overbearing personality as it came across in the second book (most people seem to like her sense of humor, but it wasn’t for me). I couldn’t relate to most of the sites she was longing to see in London (I have not read enough to know the authors and places she mentions), and I’m the wrong generation to be interested in the celebrities she spent time with.

But all the complaints aside (and I think I’m the only person in blogdom to complain at all), I’m very glad I read both books. I loved the book talk, and I loved the look at the thoughts and desires of another compulsive reader. What struck me was how isolated Helene seemed, living alone and working freelance at home. She seemed to have no other person with whom she could share her reading loves and the thoughts she had about books.

In that sense, then, reading Hanff’s story made me all the more glad for book blogging. Helene Hanff was a blogger born 50 years too early. She missed the community, and she would have loved it.

The Movie

I normally have a hard time with books to movies, and I find I enjoy the movie much more if I wait to watch it until long after I’d read the book. This was one that probably could have used some distance.

The majority of the movie was excerpts from letters that Helene (Anne Bancroft) and Frank (Anthony Hopkins) wrote to each other, and so there was little action (my husband fell asleep in about 15 minutes). The action that there was seemed to suggest things that I hadn’t interpreted from the book: that Frank wasn’t completely happy with his wife, that there was an unspoken romantic tension between the two, even though they’d never met. While I’m sure there was a special bond between the two book lovers, the suggested romance did not seem to have come from the book. I also missed some of the great books quotes. The movie and the acting was okay overall, but I much preferred the book (but no surprise there).

Helene’s Reading Style

I really loved Helene’s reading style. First, she has no qualms with disliking books:

I houseclean my books every spring and throw out hose I’m never going to read again like I throw out clothes I’m never going to wear again. It shocks everybody. My friends are peculiar about books. They read all the best sellers, they get through them as fast as possible, I think they skip a lot. And they NEVER read anything a second time so they don’t remember a word of it a year later. But they are profoundly shocked to see me drop a book in the wastebasket or give it away. They way they look at it, you buy a book, you read it, you put it on the shelf, you never open it again for the rest of your life but YOU DON’T THROW IT OUT! NOT IF IT HAS A HARD COVER ON IT! Why not? I personally can’t think of anything less sacrosanct than a bad book or even a mediocre book. (84, Charing Cross Road, page 54)

I don’t throw my books out any more, but that’s only because Bookmooch allows me to pass them on to a happier reader. I could really relate to Helene, and I felt like saying “Finally! Someone who understands me!”

Do you throw away (or give away, etc.) books you hate? Do you throw away (or give away) books you’ll never read again? Why or why not?

And then I also really liked her description of how she gave herself her college education: by reading Arthur Quiller-Couch’s serious of lectures. Whenever she first got to a literary reference she wasn’t familiar with, she said, “Wait here” and went and read the book in question. And when that book had a reference she wasn’t familiar with, she went and got that book. This went on until she was familiar with the issues at hand; then she returned to Quiller-Couch (Q). She says,

So what with one thing and another and an average of three ‘Wait here’s’ a week, it took me eleven years to get through Q’s five books of lectures. (The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, pages 51 to 52)

Now, that is a dedicated learner! I envy her dedication to the project, and I realize that that kind of careful reading, reading to truly understand, is what I’d love to do. I often find I’m lacking patience. I think I’d fail to get through one volume of Q at that rate. And yet, how marvelous it would be to have read so carefully!

Do you do research if you don’t know a reference you come across in a book? I’m sad to say I certainly don’t do much, beyond consulting Wikipedia and moving on.

The last thing that stood out to me was her depth of reading. She may have been pretty narrowly limited to English Literature, but she sure knew it well.

I’m always ashamed when I discover how well-read other people are and how ignorant I am in comparison. If you saw the long list of famous books and authors I’ve never read you wouldn’t believe it. My problem is that while other people are reading fifty books I’m reading one book fifty times. (The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, page 106).

I can definitely relate to that. I want to be a widely-read person (as I’ve mentioned before), but I’d also love to really know some books. My problem is, I can’t decide which books to read fifty times!

Do you/have you read any book fifty times?

If you love reading, you may be intrigued by Helene’s letters and journal. Neither of these books are books I’ll ever revisit, but I enjoyed reading them once.

P.S. I do personally think this book about books beginning during the aftermath of WWII was the inspiration for Guernsey (thoughts here). But I thought Hanff’s story was better, mainly because it was real.

If you want to know which books are part of the exchange between Helene and Frank, Wikipedia shares a partial list of the books mentioned or ordered by Hanff in 84, Charing Cross Road.

Other reviews:

• Nymeth (review got me to read the book)
• At Home With Books
• The Literate Housewife Review
• Care’s Online Bookclub
• Books and Movies
• Citizen Reader
• Book Nut
• The Book Lady’s Blog
• The Bluestocking Society
• Library Queue
• A Comfy Chair and a Good Book
• Bart’s Bookshelf

If I missed your review of either book, let me know and I’ll add it here.

• August in Review
• Reading Journal (26 Aug): Focused Reading
• Reading Journal (22 July): Reading as a Priority
• Reading Journal (19 Aug): Miscellany
• Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
• Chicago, Chicago!
• To Kill a Mockingbird, The Movie
• Reading in Spanish (Neruda’s Poetry and La casa en Mango Street by Cisneros)
• Palestine by Joe Sacco
• The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Note that there may be some “spoilers.” I’ve tried to note where.

What were your first impressions?

Rebecca: I wasn’t crazy about the letters format at first. I think I would have preferred to jump right in to a story. But I had enjoyed Ella Minnow Pea (reviewed here) so I thought I’d persevere. I loved the emphasis on books from the start.

Jenny:  I was intrigued by the title, which made me pick it up.  My first impressions were that pen and ink correspondence is a lost art.  The formality of writing a letter, and using formal and respectful language in a letter made me wish for simpler, more respectful times.  I enjoyed the letter-writing format.

What did you like most?

Rebecca: I loved learning about Guernsey, and I loved the book talk. I didn’t know anything about the Channel Islands (did I even know they exist?) and I especially didn’t know much about World War II on the home front, so it was an educational experience. Also, there were so many great quotes about books and the influence in our lives. It was inspiring to me. Now I want to find a collection of Charles Lamb’s poetry and Seneca’s writings. Sample quote about book talk: “That’s what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you onto another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book.  It’s geometrically progressive – all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment.” (quote found on Bermudaonion’s review. I seriously couldn’t find it again in the book!)

Jenny: The book also showed me that face to face friendship, hard work, sacrifice, and social etiquette were also lost arts.  I enjoyed that the book was witty and light while dealing with a heavy subject.

What didn’t you like?

Rebecca: I felt the tone shifted in the second part of the book. It became more action driven, and I missed talk about books as a survival mechanism. I also didn’t feel like I got to know any of the characters really well as it went on; while the letter format made it interesting, it was hard to get to know the people. Finally, every letter sounded the same: I wasn’t convinced that different people were writing them.

Jenny: While I enjoyed the letter writing format, it became clear that each “writer” seemed to have the same writing style and voice, namely Juliet’s (because they were all written by the book authors)

What character did you like best?

Rebecca: My favorite character was, by far, Elizabeth McKenna, who everyone talked about. She never appeared in the book herself, but her presence was well known!

Jenny: Of course, Elizabeth McKenna.  Ultimately, the book shows how the lives of several dozen seemingly unconnected people were all affected by a phantom woman, whose mystery unfolds into a beautiful account of what it means to march by the beat of your own drum, but to make a friend at any turn—Elizabeth McKenna is loyal, inventive, trusting and trustworthy; memorable.  She showed us how to look past labels and social prescriptions.

What did you think of the ending? *SPOILERS*

Rebecca: I thought it was a nice, happy ending, but I totally didn’t see it coming for most of the book. The romance wasn’t very believable to me at all. In fact, for most of the book, I thought the eventual love interest was an old man!

Jenny: While I liked the twist of Jane Austen, I was disappointed that the relationship between Juliet and Dawsey was not more foreshadowed.  There were so many characters to remember that I didn’t think to remember Dawsey and found myself picturing him as a lonely, shy old man, as opposed to a handsome and loveable suitor.  There was not enough development of their relationship.

Would you recommend TGLPPPS?

Rebecca: Yes, I’d recommend it. It wasn’t my favorite book by a long shot, but it was a comfortable and fun read. I felt I learned something all while I was being entertained.

Jenny: I would recommend it as a frivolous light read and for its compelling suggestions of WWII, but not as deep, inventive classic fiction.

Links of Interest:

• You can find a recipe for Potato Peel Pie here.  It looks pretty nasty.
• Random House has also made a list of the books mentioned in GLPPPS.

Other Reviews: (Note: I’ve only added the first ten links found; there are hundreds! If you’ve reviewed TGLPPPS, please leave a link in the comments and I’ll add it here.)

• Booking Mama
• Care’s Online Book Club
• Caribousmom
• She Reads Books
• Bermudaonion’s Weblog
• S. Krishna’s Books
• The Compulsive Reader
• Joy’s Blog
• The Book Lady’s Blog
• “Thoughts of Joy”
• The Bluestocking Society
• Bibliofreak

• Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
• Library Loot and Friday Finds
• Christ and the New Covenant by Jeffrey R. Holland
• Foundation by Isaac Asimov
• The Life of Our Lord by Charles Dickens
• Victorian Second Helpings (The Moonstone by Collins and North and South by Gaskell)
• Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
• 84, Charing Cross Road + The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff
• A Few Books on Biological Science (DNA, The X in Sex, and a Graphic Adaptation of Darwin)
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

How can I really “read” a book, even fiction, to get something out of it?

I decided to treat Bloom’s book as a textbook as I read through the works on his list, in search of the answer to that question. The How to Read and Why Reading List can be found here; all posts on Rebecca Reads relating to HTR&W can be found on the HTR&W tag.

Since I have now finished the short story portion of the HTR&W challenge, I thought I’d take the chance to revisit the project itself.

Falling Out of Love

At this point of my project, I am rather irritated at Bloom’s book. I mentioned at the beginning of this project that I was to treat him as a professor that I may disagree with. Well, I think there is a reason professors are only “your professor” for a semester: Bloom becomes rather annoying when I refer to him every month. (Note I’ve still only read through page 69 at this point; yes, after nine months.)

Part of the problem is that as he discusses his favorite short stories, he really is pompous in his assumptions and generalizations. And yet, I am still glad I chose to read his favorite short stories. They were all good in their own way. I appreciate some of Bloom’s thoughts, but at other times he becomes irritating. For example, he tends to defines a short story with one meaning; did he not say himself in his introduction that no one meaning can be assigned to a work? Each reader brings his or her own history to a book. He seems to forget his own advice as he pontificates on the stories that he considers grand.

All the same, for various reasons, I intend to continue my project in the coming months as I experience poetry, novels, and drama following Bloom’s lists. I choose Bloom’s list as an amateur reader; now that I have been blogging for a year I realize that there are many books out there that provide “Lists of Books You Should Read.” Why I chose Bloom’s book over another is a matter of timing and chance, I guess. I was moved by his preface, and in that respect, I’m still glad I chose this list as a project. Besides, it has a balance of short stories, poetry, novels, and drama, both new and old. It seems somewhat balanced to me.

I am learning a lot: but I am learning from the works themselves and not from Bloom. Isn’t that the point of this self-imposed project?

A Difficult Pleasure

In his prologue, Bloom calls reading, “the search for a difficult pleasure” (page 29). That is, by far, my favorite phrase as applied to reading. I thought about that as I struggled through The Iliad this year (thoughts here). I am thinking of that phrase now as I reread Jane Eyre (and forcing myself to slow down and enjoy the long descriptions and beautiful language). And I certainly thought about that as I read the short stories on Bloom’s list.

Many of the short stories were not favorites, but some were. I loved reading Chekhov (thoughts here and here) and Maupassant (thoughts here and here). Nabakov’s powerful writing astounded me (thoughts here). I reread Flannery O’Connor’s complete short stories (thoughts here) and I got something different out of her stories than I did before (probably a lot more since I read the stories first in high school!).

There were a few short stories I didn’t enjoy. Ernest Hemingway was challenging for me (thoughts here), and  Borges (thoughts here), Landolfi (thoughts here), and Calvino (thoughts here) were far out of my comfort zone. I didn’t feel like I “got” the stories. But as I read them, I appreciated them despite not liking them.

Timing is Everything

As I recall all of the things I read, I am struck by the timing of my reading them. I mentioned this in my post about Calvino: I think one must approach certain books at the right time in life.

I read two Ivan Turgenev’s stories (thoughts here) first. I didn’t appreciate them. I thought they were slow and dull. But I soon after read Chekhov and loved the three stories so much I read an entire collection of 25 stories; some of those were probably equally dull, and yet I gave them a chance because there were by an author who had written some stories that I had enjoyed. And in the end, I enjoyed the Chekhov stories despite the “dullness.”

I wonder: if I revisited Turgenev now, after reading so many other stories, would I appreciate them more? How much more would I appreciate his stories if I read them in another two or three years?

I feel the same way in the timing of my reading Borges, Landolfi, and Calvino. They were odd to me. Bloom puts the short stories he recommends into two categories: “Kafka-esque”/”Borgesian” and “Chekhovian.” I most certainly preferred the realism of the Chekhovian tradition. And yet, looking at the “Borgesian” stories, I wonder: if I revisit them in ten years, would I appreciate them more? At some point, it may be nice to step outside of the ordinary and visit the fantastic, imaginative worlds created by these very good short story writers.

I just am not there yet.

Bloom says himself:

[T]he best of [short stories] demand and reward many rereadings. (page 65)

I think that is something I do agree with, and that is why I plan to revisit all of these someday (yes: all of them). I truly loved Chekhov and Maupassant and Nabokov; maybe in the future I will come to love Borges and Calvino too. And even “boring” Turgenev.

What book do you think you should revisit some day because you read it at the “wrong point” of your life?

Reading Against the Clock

I still really like Bloom’s prologue the best of all of How to Read & Why that I’ve read: he reminds me that we “read against the clock” no matter what we choose. I only have a limited number of years to read, and this year/week/month/day has limited time in it in which to read. Choosing to read a book means I’m choosing not to read a different book. In the past year since I began blogging, I’ve become much more selective as to which books I pick up. I like that.

Part of that is, I think, book blogging. Because so many people are praising so many different books, my TBR has expanded 100-fold. I must make choices and it’s ended up okay. I still enjoy blogging and reading is still feeling rewarding.

At the same time, I  do think I’ve become a bit too “fast” in my reading. Because “timing” of reading a book makes a difference, I want to make sure I don’t rush through it. It is always hard to go back and reread when there is so much left unread! I should every book the benefit of the doubt on the first read by slowing down.

I feel good about what I choose to read; therefore, I should slow down and enjoy it.

How do you choose what to read? Is book blogging helping or hindering your reading goals?

Short Stories To Be Continued

I really enjoyed my foray into short stories, thanks to the HTR&W project. And yet, I think that Bloom missed a lot of great short stories. While I was reading Bloom’s list, I also read James Joyce, Edgar Allan Poe, Hawthorne, and O.Henry. I have decided I want to read many more short stories.

I plan on keeping track of my search for perfect short stories on this page.  I liked how I focused on authors by reading a collection by the authors during the HTR&W project, and I may continue to do so; or, I may read short stories and review them as individual stories.

Who are your favorite short story authors? Which are your favorite short stories?

• HTR&W: What Is a Short Story?
• The Student by Anton Chekhov: A Perfect Short Story
• HTR&W Prologue: Why Read?
• Two Stories by Turgenev
• Stories by Ernest Hemingway
• Challenges, A Personal Challenge, and a Giveaway!
• The What? When? Where? Why? and How? of Challenges
• Stories by Anton Chekhov
• HTR&W Winner + BAFAB Week
• How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster

Florey’s tone is personal throughout the book – she reminisces of her own first experiences with diagramming, first when she visited a friend’s school while in fifth grade, then in sixth grade in her parochial school, where Sister Bernadette put the “barking dog” sentence on the board. Florey recalls why she liked diagramming so much, and throughout the book, she throws in geeky humor. It felt like she was trying to be as funny as, say, Mary Roach was in Stiff (thoughts here). But it kind of reminded me of me: I try to be funny but don’t always come across as funny. Florey’s “funny” was kind of distracting sometimes. She was also incredibly critical of George W. Bush’s grammar time and again, without mentioning many other politicians. I don’t personally like George W. Bush (grammar or politics) but it still got very exhausting to hear repeatedly about how dumb he is, especially for such a short book (150 pages).

But despite (or perhaps because of) the overall geekiness of sentence diagramming, I enjoyed reading Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dogs. It caused me to reminisce on my seventh grade class, when Miss Canning first put a diagramed sentence on the board. I liked diagramming because English suddenly became dividable and measurable, like math but still with words. There was a place for each word of the sentence, and it was a tricky assignment to get it right. I enjoyed it very much.

Florey does go beyond reminiscences. She details the birth of diagramming (Reed and Kellog), some very general rules of diagramming, and modern writer’s opinions of diagramming. She debates whether or not learning to diagram helps improve writing, and shares diagrams of the sentences written or said by various writers and politicians. Then she delves in to why sentence diagramming is no longer in fashion. She even visits a junior high class room today that is diagramming sentences: it sure sounds like fun to me! (Why, oh why, don’t kids do it anymore?!

My paperback copy of Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dog is used; one or two pages have some pencil writing in the margins. But the cover is fully intact and it looks (and feels!) like a new book.

Does this book sound like one that might interest you? Did (or do) you like diagramming? I’d like to send Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dog to someone interested in sentence diagramming.

To be entered into the giveaway, tell me at least one of these things:

• Who taught you diagramming that first time? (Who was your “Sister Bernadette” or “Miss Canning”?)
• When or where did you first learn diagramming?
• Why do you like diagramming (or the idea of diagramming)?

I’ll randomly select a winner next week.

If you have reviewed Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dog on your site, leave a link in the comments and I’ll add it here.

• Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov + Giveaway
• Childhood Reads
• Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss, the illustrated version
• A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
• Stories by O. Henry (and Another BBAW Giveaway)
• March in Review
• The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
• The Book That Changed My Life, edited by Roxanne J. Coady and Joy Johannesson + Giveaway
• Rose, Where Do You Get that Red? by Kenneth Koch + Reading with Kids Challenge
• Chicago, Chicago!

I loved reading Vladimir Nabokov’s short stories a few months ago because his control of language is so powerful, although I did feel that some of his stories were rather odd. Nabokov’s novel Pale Fire is similar in that it is both odd and powerfully written. It is a masterwork of creation: who but Nabokov would have thought to write a book like this? In fact, Pale Fire is so odd, I have a hard time calling it a novel.

Pale Fire has two main parts. One part is a 999-line poem (about 30 pages) by the recently deceased (fictional) John Shade. The other part is (fictional) Professor Charles Kinbote’s commentary on the poem (about 185 pages). Nabokov has expertly woven a completely unrelated commentary in with a fairly coherent poem. Trust me: it is funny, in a subtle way.

In his forward, Kinbote carefully explains that we should begin with reading his commentary, and only reference the poem on occasion. Kinbote believes his commentary shares the real meaning of Shade’s poem.

I did not trust Kinbote’s instructions for reading the book, just as I didn’t trust most of what he said. And yet, there is a humor behind his conceit and pride. From the beginning of that forward, the reader began to suspect that something was not quite right with Kinbote and his commentary. Kinbote has his own story to share, all about his native country of Zembla, and he sees everything through that filter. Kinbote’s conceit got on my nerves to some extent. Others in my LibraryThing Group Reads group seemed to think it was laugh-out-loud funny. I laughed out loud a little, but by the end I was a bit tired of Kinbote’s long-winded discourses on Zembla.

I think the true genius behind this story is how the poem and the commentary do coincide. They don’t coincide in the ways that Kinbote wants them to, but there are influences of Kinbote on Shade’s text. I think it was a clever idea for Nabokov to “misinterpret” his own poem (since, of course, he actually wrote all the writing and created all the characters). It seemed to me that Nabokov is, in a sense, mocking all who analyze poetry too much: he’s showing a completely distorted “interpretation” of a poem.

But I think the deeper purposes behind this book are beyond me. On Wikipedia, there are some speculations on Nabokov’s actual meaning behind Pale Fire, including a quote from Nabokov. (The article has spoilers so I’ll avoid quoting them here.) I thought Pale Fire was making fun of people who look for hidden meanings, so I have a hard time believing in Nabokov’s own declared hidden meanings. I think he’s making fun of us there, too. But then again, I was one of the people in the group read who didn’t look up every unknown word (there are lots of them in “Kinbote’s” erudite sentences). Maybe I’m just not looking hard enough; Pale Fire, I thought, didn’t need all that much looking.

In the end, I am torn between thinking Pale Fire is genius because of how Nabokov set it up and being completely annoyed by Kinbote’s self-conceit and cluelessness. I do ackowledge that it was a fascinating concept and somewhat amusing to read, albeit irritating at points.

I read Pale Fire for the 9 for 09 Challenge (“Used.”) I purchased it for $2.50 at a used book store in November. This soft-cover, 1968 copy has a fully intact cover (albeit ugly), all the words, and yellowing pages. If you are interested in reading Pale Fire, I’ll send it you. Let me know if you are interested; I’ll choose a winner Friday.

If you have read Pale Fire, did you think it was serious or a joke? I’m leaning toward the joke myself.

Other Reviews:

• 5-Squared (Amanda)
• Rose City Reader

If you have reviewed Pale Fire on your site, leave a link in the comments and I’ll add it here.

• Stories by Vladimir Nabokov
• A Meme, A Farewell, and A Giveaway Winner
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• Poetry Friday: If by Rudyard Kipling
• March in Review
• Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dogs by Kitty Burns Florey + Giveaway
• A Poem in Your Pocket: Introduction to Poetry by Billy Collins
• Milton in May: Comus and Lycidas by John Milton
• Reading The Iliad by Homer, trans. by Robert Fagles
• Milton in May (erm, and June): Paradise Lost, Books 10 to 12 + Two Reading Aids

My son loves his “touch-and-feel” books that we have. We have three “Little Scholastic” books: Numbers, Alphabet, and Shapes. These books all have pages with fussy, rough, smooth, or otherwise, texture-filled pages. They usually only keep his attention for about five minutes at a time, but that’s still something, especially in the middle of church when I’m hoping he’ll stay quiet.

We’ve also read Where’s Spot? by Eric Hill. It doesn’t provide textures, but the pop-up interaction made reading fun as we searched for the hiding dog.

When I read Golden Legacy a few weeks ago, I was struck by how books like Pat the Bunny redefined children’s literature in the last century. In 1940, the author had a hard time finding a publisher willing to invest in a book with sandpaper and cottony textures. Now, I can’t imagine my toddler son’s library being complete without books like that!

Apparently, even John Locke’s ideas of the early 1700s were urging such books for children.

John Locke was a philosopher and educator born in the 1600s. Apparently, we have him to thank for the plethora of children’s literature these days. According to chapter five of Seth Lerer’s Children’s Literature, John Locke was one of the influential philosophers urging a literature for children.

For the first time, “the Lockean narrative revealed the children responding to, absorbing, or reacting against things and actions” (Lerer, page 105). I found it helpful to compare Locke’s concepts to Pilgrim’s Progress, as Lerer does. In Pilgrim’s Progress (which I reviewed in January), the characters only speak rather didactic lectures. The “Lockean” books, on the other hand, were light-hearted stories. And sometimes, that was it.

In summarizing Locke’s Some Thoughts on Education and its influence on children’s literature, Lerer says:

Playthings could also be used to teach the child to read. Letters could be pasted onto dice and polygons; words could become toys; books themselves could become objects of delight. … So influential was Locke’s advocacy of such toys that John Newbery, in the 1740s, offered balls, pincushion, counting stones, and polygons for sale along with his books.  … The book becomes one more item in the furnished room of childhood. (page 106-107, emphasis added)

I think it’s good to know where things got a start – and it certainly is interesting to see where children’s literature has come since the didactic days of Pilgrim’s Progress. What would we do without touch-and-feel books for kids?

What are your favorite interactive books for young children? I’ve only mentioned a few here, but there are almost an infinite number of them today!

An Update to My Children’s Literature Project

I’ve been working my way through Seth Lerer’s book Children’s Literature: A Reader’s History from Aesop to Harry Potter, and I stagnated in January, mostly because I was packing, moving, and unpacking. I’ve read halfway through the book, and I’m going to get back into a habit of posting more regularly about the chapters. While I’m sure I could sit down and finish reading it now, I’m going slowly because I am also reading some of the “children’s” classics Lerer discusses, such as Pilgrim’s Progress, which I finished in January. I’m currently reading Robinson Crusoe, and then I plan to read Gulliver’s Travel’s and Swiss Family Robinson. Also, while it’s a few chapters away yet in terms of the project, I’m going to begin working my way through Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales; I really enjoyed reading Grimm (although it was rather grim and bloody), so I’d like more fairy tales (just in time for the Once Upon a Time Challenge).

For more detail about this project, see my page dedicated to this project.

• Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
• Two Books by Seth Lerer (Inventing English and Children’s Literature)
• Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
• Speak, Child: The Illiad as the Infancy of Children’s Literature
• Ingenuity and Authority: Who Really Wrote Aesop’s Fables?
• Kids Corner (1000 Books): Growing Pains
• Divine Songs by Isaac Watts (Poetry Friday)
• Treasure Island and Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Kids Corner: Winnie-the-Pooh Books Inspired by Milne and Shepard
• Kids Corner (1000 Books): Emergent Reading

But Francie’s poverty is only part of Francie’s story. As Francie grows from age 11 to age 15, she learns of the strength of family and love and what it means to truly desire education. Her story is one of survival, but also one of self-realization.

I really, really wanted to love A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: it has a great message of hope and growth. And Francie’s discovery of the harsh realities of life reminded me of Scout’s learned lessons in To Kill a Mockingbird, which is my favorite novel. But while I loved and appreciated the themes and the incredible control of setting in Smith’s novel, I failed to feel engaged in it. I felt the story was unevenly developed and overall lacked a framework that may have better captured the events of Francie’s life.

While in To Kill a Mockingbird Scout Finch tells her story in first person, framed as a recollection when she is an adult, Francie’s story is told by an omniscient narrator of the future. The narration of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, then, felt disjointed to me: the first 80 pages detail one summer 1912 day when Francie sells junk, buys candy, and reads in the fire escape. But then book two is a flashback to how Francie’s life began. The captivating story young Francie in book one is never resumed from that point: The story takes off, passes the 11-year-old Francie, and continues telling of Francie’s growth and development into a young woman.

The Beauty of Poverty

As a child Francie learned to ignore the cruel and ugly around her and embrace the beautiful. But it was painful for her to learn where she stood in other’s eyes. At school, she sat with the ignored dirty children in the back of the room. And she and her brother knew hunger. When they had no food in the house, their mother led them in a game of “explorer,” pretending they were trying to make it to the North Pole and awaiting provisions.

Once, after Francie grew up a little, she said to her mother:

“When explores get hungry and suffer like that, it’s for a reason. Something big comes out of it. They discover the North Pole. But what big thing comes out of us being hungry like that?”

Katie looked tired all of a sudden. She said something Francie didn’t understand at the time. She said, “You found the catch in it.” (page 218)

Francie loves her father, despite his failures, and when she writes stories for a class in school, she includes what she finds beautiful about her father; “She tried to show that, in spite of his shortcoming, he had been a good father and a kindly man” (page 321). But when her teacher read them, Francie was scolded because “Poverty, starvation and drunkenness are ugly subjects to choose.” (page 321).

Francie knew her stories were more real than anything her teacher could imagine, and yet the teacher could not understand.

(Hightlight for spoiler) In the end, when it becomes apparent that their youngest sibling may not to endure such painful poverty, Francie and her brother feel sorry for her. They were glad for their lives and found beauty in them. (However, they don’t want their sister to suffer.)

The Education of Francie

Because of the odd organization, I felt important themes weren’t fully developed. For example, one important theme in the novel was the power of education and reading:

Oh, magic hour when a child first knows it can read printed words! … From that time on, the world was hers for the reading. (page 166)

I loved the chapter in which Francie learned to read. It was powerfully written and got me excited for my own ability to read. Francie’s discovery of reading, however, almost became a footnote in the midst of the other things Francie experienced. While her goal became to read a book every day of her life, we only rarely heard mention of it because she went off to work. She rarely read on the fire escape in the novel.

I suppose such fleeting dreams are a part of every young girl’s life; maybe Betty Smith meant to show how fleeting such passion is in the cruel reality of an impoverished life. But it was still a disappointment to me, especially since the novel seemed to place such emphasis on education and reading. (In the first 80 pages, the reading on the fire escape was built up as the most important thing she did every day. After the flashback, there seemed only small mention of it.)

Growing a Tree

By far the greatest strength of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is the setting. Betty Smith is expert at creating a scene through minimal language. As I read of Francie sitting on the fire escape, reading and watching the world, I felt I would still find that world if I were to visit Brooklyn today. The 1912 streets Smith describes, writing in the 1940s, and the children running down it likewise were craftily conjured. I may read this novel again just for the believable historical setting it creates.

All comes full circle in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Francie, age 11, sits in the fire escape surround by tree branches reading and watching a girl prepare for her date. By the end, she is the girl preparing for a date as a different young girl sits in a fire escape reading. Francie is just one tree that grew in Brooklyn.

While Francie Nolan’s story of personal growth is a memorable one, I felt better organization and framework could have captured it better. Unfortunately, I can’t say I loved A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

• The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Treasury by Betty MacDonald
• The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• December 2008 Month in Review and January 2009 Reading Journal
• Listen to the Wind by Greg Mortenson and Susan L. Roth
• Poetry for Young People: Robert Louis Stevenson (edited by Frances Schoonmaker)
• Beloved by Toni Morrison
• Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling by Richard Lyman Bushman
• Speak, Child: The Illiad as the Infancy of Children’s Literature
• Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman by Richard Feynman

The subtitle is “A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines” and I think that is pretty accurate. Foster’s tone is light, amusing, and engaging as he reminds of the various recurring themes in literature. But his point is that such themes are not random guesses by your literature professors; he argues that the subtle messages and subtle references to other works of literature really just makes literature fun.

I studied English in college, but it’s now been five years since I sat in a class and listened to a professor “explain” a novel or play or story. At the time, I loved to have literature “opened up” for me. I spent four years in college figuring out how to do so. Now, it’s been five years since I thought that way. I’ve been reading just for each book’s story, but I know I’ve been missing things. Reading Foster’s book reminded me that no story written is truly original: the underlying themes have all been said before. Reading, though, should be a mini-quest to find the underlying themes and symbols. They’re there, and many aspects of the novel (or play or story) subtly hint to them. Our job, as readers, is to make the connections.

Foster’s book obviously lacks a lot; there is no way that in 300 pages he can cover all the themes that every piece of literature is based on. Some of the aspects of this book that for me were negative could be positives for you. For example, it carries a conversational tone that made it pleasant for a quick read, but such a tone may bother some readers interested in a more scholarly or serious approach to literature. He references both modern literature and classics; I would have preferred more focus on the classics. He focuses pretty exclusively on symbolism and themes; I’d have liked to learn more about other aspects in literature.

But his book covers many essentials. As I read, I wanted to go back and reread Hemingway’s and James Joyce’s stories: when I read them recently, I knew I was missing something, but I didn’t know where to find it! Considering how much I disliked Hemingway’s stories when I read them, it’s saying something that I now want to revisit him. Foster (re-)convinced me that reading literature and finding common themes can be very fun!

Memorable Quotes

Associate freely, brainstorm, take notes. Then you can organize your thoughts, grouping them together under headings, rejecting or accepting different ideas or meanings as they seem to apply. Ask questions of the text: what’s the writer doing with this image, this object, this act … Reading literature is a highly intellectual activity, but it also involves affect and instinct to a large degree. Much of what we think about literature, we feel first. (page 106)

…[H]ere is where I envy you. If you are a professor, you have to deal with some pretty unsavory characters and some questionable works. If you only want to read like [a professor], you can walk away whenever you want to. (page 234)

…[I]n fact literature is chiefly play. If you read novels and plays and stories and poems and you’re not having fun, somebody is doing something wrong. If a novel seems like an ordeal, quit. (page 284)

Compared to HTR&W

Reading How to Read Literature Like a Professor after (or rather, in the midst of) reading Harold Bloom’s How to Read and Why also made me wish I wasn’t so quick to adopt Harold Bloom’s book as my guide to reading well. Foster’s book convinces me that there are many “guide books” out there to help me learn to read well, which is my purpose to approaching the How to Read and Why reading list. I intend to pick up some other “how to read” books, for further ideas. (Can I tell you how much I like the LibraryThing recommendations and reviews?)

Harold Bloom’s book has a different purpose than Foster’s: Bloom is sharing what he thinks is great literature and why it is great to him. I really appreciated Bloom’s introduction, preface, and prologue to his book and his emphasis on what he thinks is the purpose of reading. But back in June, some people commented that they had the impression that Bloom is, well, somewhat of an ass. After reading some of his explanations of the literature he so worshipfully recommends, I’d kind of have to agree. That said, I’m still grateful for Bloom’s extensive reading list, and I still intend to finish the short stories, poems, novels, and plays he recommends. I’m just adding to that list.

Foster’s book, on the other hand, shares and dissects the themes and symbols that underscore many of the stories, plays, and novels we come across every day. And recognizing such themes is something I would love to be able to do: it’s just a matter of reading more. Click here for some of the books Foster recommends.

If you have reviewed How to Read Literature Like a Professor on your site, please leave a link in the comments, and I’ll add it here.

• A Striped Armchair
• Jackets and Covers

• The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
• The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
• How to Read and Why: Short Stories Retrospective
• Two Books by Seth Lerer (Inventing English and Children’s Literature)
• Robinson Crusoe Adaptations for Children
• HTR&W Prologue: Why Read?
• Stories by Vladimir Nabokov
• Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tales
• Stories by Tommaso Landolfi
• How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry by Edward Hirsch

But while The Uncommon Reader was a funny, easy read, it had unnecessary crudity, and therefore I can’t whole-heartedly recommend it.

The Queen, a non-reader, follows her dog outside of the Royal Kitchens and onto the local library’s traveling Bookmobile that is parked on the lawns. There, she feels obligated to check out a library book. But to her surprise, she actually enjoys reading it! Thus begins a love affair with the written word. As we watched her progress from reading popular fiction to reading classics new and old, we, the readers, are reminded of our own journeys of how we have made reading a part of our lives.

As the Queen begins to read more, people are shocked that she has time to read; she points out time and again that everyone has time to read if it is made a priority. Granted, in this novella, the Queen fails to learn how to balance her time properly, and that adds to the humor.

I don’t believe anyone doesn’t have time to read. For someone who tells me that, I say: “Take every minute you spend watching TV of any kind and replace that with an audiobook, a book, or a magazine. Add a book to your purse or car and read wherever you go. You have time to read; you choose not to!”

A few memorable quotes:

[Said the Queen], ‘[B]ut briefing is not reading. In fact it is the antithesis of reading. Briefing is terse, factual and to the point. Reading is untied, discursive and perpetually inviting. Briefing closes down a subject, reading opens it up.’ (page 21-22)

[Said the Queen], ‘Books are not about passing the time. They’re about other lives. Other worlds. Far from wanting time to pass, Sir Kevin, one just wishes one had more of it.’ (page 29)

The appeal of reading, she thought, lay in indifference: there was something undeferring about literature. Books did not care who was reading them or whether one read them or not. All readers were equal, herself included. Literature, she thought, is a commonwealth; letters a republic. (page 30)

To begin with, it’s true, she read with trepidation and some unease. The sheer endlessness of books outfaced her and she had no idea how to go on; there was no system to her reading, with one book leading to another, and often she had two or three on the go at the same time. The next stage had been when she started to make notes, after which she always read with a pencil in hand, not summarizing what she read but simply transcribing passages that struck her. It was only after a year or so of reading and making notes that she tentatively ventured on the occasional thought of her own. (page 47)

There are so many more memorable lines, but you have to read the novella to discover them.

I found myself making a reading journey about ten months ago. While I’ve always been a reader, I started being more critical of what I picked up; reading one book encouraged me to pick up a different, related novel or nonfiction work, and I found myself devouring that as well. I started a blog where I can write about what I’ve learned. I’ve learned to make reading a part of my life, even while caring for my little child. And I love the journey!

Great, Except for One Part

The writing in this novella is fine: it’s a quick, fun read. The plot is very universal, and I kept thinking I could recommend it to book groups everywhere. I could share my copy with my family. It would be a great book for discussion of reading as a process, as a pastime, as a lifestyle.

But then there was some sexually crude dialog between the queen’s assistants.

I know most people won’t care. I suppose some people will find it funny. Most people probably won’t even notice it. But I did notice it, and it ruins this novella for me. Why, oh why, do authors add crude sexual language to an otherwise clean, delightful book? I fail to see how it was integral to the development of the plot. I fail to see the humor.

It means I can’t recommend this book.

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett was delightful and easy to read. I could relate to the Queen’s own personal development as a reader. But in the end, “modern fiction” disappointed me again with irrelevant crudity.

I won The Uncommon Reader from Booking Mama. Thank you very much for an entertaining read!

Other Reviews:

• The Bluestocking Society
• books i done read
• things mean a lot
• The Hidden Side of a Leaf
• Just Add Books
• Page After Page
• The Written World
• Stuff As Dreams Are Made On
• Bermuda Onion
• Reading Adventures
• A Striped Armchair
• Blogging ‘Bout Books
• It’s All About Books
• The Book Zombie
• BooksPlease
• Care’s Online Book Club

If you have reviewed The Uncommon Reader on your site, leave a link in the comments and I’ll add it here.

For the rest of October, I’ll donate 10 cents to World Food Programme for every (non-spam) comment I receive on any post of Rebecca Reads. See most post on Blog Action Day 2008 here. I’m also donating any proceeds (4%) from my Amazon Store.

• The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
• Carmen by Prosper Merimee
• The Odyssey by Homer: The Story
• What is a Reader?
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• Two Books on Literacy (Growing a Reader from Birth and The ABCs of Literacy)
• Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
• Google Reader Overload! + Blog Thoughts + Memelet
• A Stop in South Africa (Two Novels by Alan Paton) + Giveaway
• The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Emanuel Schikaneder

“And indeed, what is better than to sit by one’s fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window and the lamp is burning?” …”One thinks of nothing,” he continued; “the hours slip by. Motionless we traverse countries we fancy we see, and your thought, blending with the fiction, playing with the details, follows the outline of the adventures. It mingles with the characters, and it seems as if it were yourself palpitating beneath their costumes.”

Monsieur Leon, in Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, Part II, Chapter 2

(I’m almost done with Madame Bovary … and I’m loving it! Review to come soon!)

Where do you enjoy reading?

• Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
• Jane Austen: A Biography by Carol Shields, a Quote Book, and a History of England
• Reading Habits: Who What When Where Why How?

A few months ago, I wrote a post about Stephen King’s On Writing.  I didn’t like the book. My main argument was that good books should be determined by a good story and good writing; many best-selling authors’ writing is mediocre, so being a best-seller doesn’t necessarily make the authors good. King’s book seemed to explain how to become a best-seller, not how to write well. I said in the post, “I’ve never read any Stephen King, ” but that should have been, “I’ve never read any Stephen King until now,” as I had just read On Writing.

Well, this week I got a furious comment from a reader. She accused me of being unfair since I had not read Stephen King’s books and suggested a book by him that I should read. I responded by clarifying that I had read a book by him: On Writing. I suppose that I should have also added that the writing in On Writing and the excerpts in On Writing from his other books haven’t convinced me of his superior writing ability, and, as I don’t normally like horror in any form, reading the book she recommended wasn’t on my list. But I only wrote the first part.

Her response to me was even angrier. At first, I deleted her second comment because it seemed to be angry hate mail that was somewhat irrelevant to the discussion. However, I usually wait a day before responding to anything that makes me annoyed or mad; I’ve since reinstated the comment because really, it strikes me now as rather amusing.  Besides, she’s calling me a book banner: how can I then censor her comment? Here’s part of it if you don’t want to bounce over there:

…[F]or an author and a book lover, you argue like a book banner.  Don’t bother replying to this, I am removing this site from my bookmarks.

Here’s my question: Where do I sound like a book banner? What is book banning, by those definitions?

In my post, I made it clear that I didn’t like the particular book or the particular author. I have no intention of reading anything else by him. I suggest we all take a more critical view of the books we read, other than “It’s a best-seller.”

Does encouraging better book choice make me a “book banner?” Does saying “Don’t waste your time with this book!” make me a book banner? If so, then any blogger who reviews a book they dislike is a “book banner!”

So what is book banning? Here are some scenarios. I don’t think they’re all book banning.

• A librarian decides not purchase a certain book. (I’d say this isn’t book banning. Libraries can only buy so many books a year!)
• A librarian removes a certain book from circulation after parents complain. (Yes, this seems like book banning. If parents don’t like a book, they shouldn’t read it or they could encourage their children not to read it. That would be parenting a young child, not banning a book; a librarian removing a book would be making it unavailable to others. But even then, parents and children can find the book elsewhere. It’s still not unreadable.)
• Parents ask their young child not to read a certain book. (I’d say this isn’t book banning. Parents have the right to encourage children to read books with situations and morals appropriate for their age, and, most importantly, their maturity level.)
• Parents forbid their older child from reading a certain book. (I think this is border-line book banning. Older kids are able to choose for themselves. Forbidden status just makes it enticing anyway. But, older children will read what they want to read, regardless of parental influence.)

What do you think? What does book banning actually mean? Does not wanting to read Stephen King ever again make me a book banner? Apparently, I need your help, because I didn’t realize I was a book banner!

I concede that I shouldn’t critique authors when I haven’t read everything they’ve written, although I’m sure I’ll keep doing it, as do other bloggers. I suppose it is wrong. But, regardless, I still stand by what I said about Stephen King, and I won’t be reading his horror.

To beth Powers who has made it clear she won’t ever read this (and to anyone else offended by me):  As I don’t normally read or like modern fiction, popular or not, I suspect we have different tastes in books. I occasionally read modern fiction, but it takes a really good one (and especially a good story) for me to really like it. There are literally hundreds of book bloggers out there that love modern genre fiction and review it regularly; I wish you luck in finding a blog better in line with your preferences. I’m sorry Rebecca Reads wasn’t a good match for you!

To other book bloggers: As a sub question, what do you do when you receive “hate mail” comments? Do you leave them untouched? Do you try to respond politely? Do you moderate them or edit them? Would that be “comment banning”? Is that wrong on your own personal webpage?

• Stuart Little Was a Banned Book
• On Writing by Stephen King
• Reading Journal (30 Sept): The Gift of Choice (Thoughts on Banned Books Week)
• Stories by Guy de Maupassant (Introductory Thoughts)
• A Ruined Author?
• Book Blogging Community
• Banned Books Week
• The End of Publishing?
• Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
• Why ARCs?

“The End: Have We Reached The End of Book Publishing As We Know It?” is a fascinating look at the publishing industry and struggles it is facing. While I don’t think publishing is going to ever end,  I thought the article had some great insights into book publishing. This article reminded me of some things I’ve been thinking about recently; that is, why do we read what we read?

Here are some of my thoughts after reading this article:

• Book publishers are commercial companies, out to make money. Therefore, they choose books because of commercial appeal, not necessarily because it’s quality literature.
• A quote from the article: “What I’ve heard from editors is, ‘My judgment doesn’t count any longer.’ They didn’t flock to publishing because they want to publish Danielle Steel.” In other words, editors don’t have much say in book selection. Danielle Steel gets published, while better authors might not. (I was an editor for a short time before I realized how much I don’t want to read most modern fiction.)
• Chic lit writers (for example) get better book deals than do former Pulitzer Prize winners. What has the world come to? That seems a sad commentary on what people read. It’s not that all Pulitzer Prize writing is superb or that all “chic lit” is generic, but I’d think there should be a standard of writing that we expect when we pick up a book. It’s a shame that monetary decisions get in the way of quality literature being discovered (or quality writing being edited properly). (For me, at least, “chic lit” stories are meant to be watched, as in “chick flick.”)
• Books by bloggers really are not the next big thing. Sorry, folks, but it’s not going to happen. Bloggers are not going to save the publishing industry,

The bottom line:

• Simply because a book has been published does not mean that (1) the author made any money or (2) it is worth reading. These days, especially, publishing a business venture!

Why do you read what you read? I know I didn’t answer the question myself, but I find it interesting to think about what “a published book” really is and how it got between two covers (or not).

• Stuart Little Was a Banned Book
• Is Reading Online is Making Us Stupid?
• Golden Legacy by Leonard Marcus
• Why ARCs?
• On Writing by Stephen King
• Abandoned Book and Giveaway: Bridget Jones’ Diary
• The Life of Our Lord by Charles Dickens
• Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling (and BBAW giveaway)
• Political Reading
• Jane Austen: A Biography by Carol Shields, a Quote Book, and a History of England

My husband, my ten-month-old, and I have all been sick this weekend. To my surprise, I couldn’t bring myself to finish my book and post the review as I’d planned. Every time I started to read, my eyes would close. I also usually read a book aloud to my son as he plays and my husband and I read a book aloud together. But neither of us have our voices, so I didn’t do that either. It’s amazing that I haven’t read much at all! My husband and I zoned out watching a movie all day Saturday, while our son crawled over us. That’s not like me.

Do you find your reading changing when you’re not feeling well? Or am I weird to be reading less?

Anyway, in lieu of a review, I’ll do Weekly Geeks this week, which is all about authors. (I don’t have energy to write up my thoughts about the book I just finished today, but I can do a few photo searches!)

So, the idea is, you guess in the comments who the authors are. I wish I could give you a reward if you get them all, but my budget really can’t right now. I will write a nice post linking to you. Is link love enough?

Note that I have my current and past reading on the Shelfari widget, so that could help you. Also, I am declining number 7 (“hot” authors?!) and number 5 (photo of myself with an author; my non-digital photos are in storage). I apologize in advance for WordPress’s default text wrapping. I don’t know how to work around it!

1.       Photos of your favorite author(s). I don’t have a favorite author, but here some I like.

[photo deleted][photo deleted]

Hints: (1) There is one author each from these categories: children’s, fiction, and nonfiction. (2) Each author has at least one book in my Amazon store.

2. Photo(s) of the author(s) of the book(s) you’re currently reading.

.

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3. Photo(s) of any author(s) you’ve met in person (even very briefly).

[photo deleted][photo deleted].

4. A youtube of (an) author(s) you’ve heard speak.

Note: I’ve heard all the authors in number 3 speak.

6. A photo of the author of the book you’ve most recently finished. (I’ll post the review soon…)

• Author Weekly Geeks Answers
• Weekly Geeks and the Premios Dardo/Primo Darios Award
• A Ruined Author?
• Celebrating the Classics: A Dead Author Blog Tour? (An Idea)
• What Are Banned Books? (Do I Favor Book Banning?)
• Blogging and Copyright
• Fun Facts about Homer
• Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman by Richard Feynman
• I’m Back and Book Miscellany
• Bookworms Carnival: You Are Never Too Old

A few weeks ago, a publisher contacted me: Would I like to review ARCs for my blog?

I’ve only been book blogging for a few months, so I was flattered they found me. I have an online presence! The publicist was able to answer my questions about ARCs, mostly. But I’m realizing that I don’t really want just any free books.

(For those unfamiliar: an ARC is an Advanced Reading Copy of a book slated for publication in the next few months. A reviewer gets it before publication.)

The publicist indicated that I’d be expected to review the book within two months of its publication. And “of course” I can write an honest review. But really, could I be completely honest when I know the publicist and the author are going to read my review? If you review ARCs, do you really feel as honest with your ARC reviews as you do about your other books?

To my surprise, after a few glances through this publisher’s catalog, I failed to find anything that I want to read, especially in the next months. There are some I may want to read at some point, but not right now. I have so many books on my TBR list.

This was an interesting revelation for me: free books, but I’d rather not read them. I’ve found that since I’ve started book blogging, I’ve gone through differing phases of reading.

Stage 1

In the beginning: I read what I wanted to read and reviewed it online.

Stage 2

What I started doing: For every positive review of an interesting book, I added the book to my TBR. I entered every drawing I found for any free book. I went to the library and got those recommended books instead of those I had planned on reading.

Stage 3

Present philosophy: I read what I want to read and review it online. If I see multiple positive reviews for a book that looks interesting, I add it to my TBR and plan it for a future read. If (and only if) a free book is already on my TBR do I enter a drawing.

I realize all book bloggers have their own methods of reading and considering recommendations. For me, I found it disconcerting to realize how I’d adjusted my reading habits to fit the blogging world; I don’t want to do that! When you started book blogging or reading book blogs, did you find your reading habits changing?

Why ARCs?

I no longer feel compelled to read every book before me. I feel this urgency to read the books I want to read. There are so many books, and so little time.

It’s kind of freeing to not be tied down by a publisher’s list. It’s freeing to realize that I won’t read a book just because it’s free. It’s freeing to realize that I’m not going to read a book just because it is published.

For the purpose of full disclosure, I admit that I worked at a book publisher one summer during college, assigned to the “slush pile.” I read the first chapters of submitted novels (by unknown authors) and summarized whether that chapter had merit and whether the publisher should request the rest of the novel. Needless to say, none of the “slush pile” chapters I read were “winners.” I don’t want to work the slush pile ever again.

To some extent, in my mind, ARCs by unknown authors are just beyond the slush pile: they had enough merit to get published, but no one has spoken for them yet. Some published books are very good. Some are not very good. Reading a not-yet published book is reading a book no one knows about; it could be “slush.” Then again, it could be the next Pulitzer. It’s a risk. Do I really want to risk spending time on a not-very-good novel?

That said, all best-sellers and prize winning novels were once ARCs. If it’s that good, I’ll get to it. Let someone else recommend it first. I’m not interested in changing my reading habits to fit someone else’s schedule.

But I’m curious, why do you read ARCs? Does the fact that it is free impact your choice to read that book? Would you pick up those books if it wasn’t a free ARC copy from the publisher?

If you do not read ARCs, why don’t you? Have you not had the chance, or do you feel as I do?

I’m sincerely interested in why ARCs are so intriguing to other book bloggers. Please don’t take my thoughts as criticism of you or your blog if you do like ARCs, since as I’ve said, I realize all books start as ARCs. Make your comment anonymous if you prefer (as long as it’s not spam or a personal attack on me, that is…).

• Celebrating the Classics: A Dead Author Blog Tour? (An Idea)
• How to Read and Why: Short Stories Retrospective
• The End of Publishing?
• Blogging as Storytelling and Blogging Tips from an Unprofessional
• The Book That Changed My Life, edited by Roxanne J. Coady and Joy Johannesson + Giveaway
• What Are Banned Books? (Do I Favor Book Banning?)
• Blogging Goals for the Coming Year
• This Is NOT Goodbye
• Thoughts on Blogging and Reading + HTR&W Giveaway Reminder
• LibraryThing versus Shelfari versus ?

When people started mentioning magazines they read for Weekly Geeks, I realized that I used to read The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, and other political newspapers and magazines on a regular basis. Since graduation, I haven’t read them. But I greatly enjoyed political subjects: Why don’t I make time to read those things?

For me, this goes back to my ability to read. I’ve lost my attention span and I’m caught up in the quickness of Internet articles: why read the news when I can skim the headlines? It takes a large attention span to read Foreign Affairs, and I was ashamed that it was hard to read through an article by Secretary of State Condelezza Rice at first glance. I had to force myself to concentrate. I certainly shouldn’t find it so challenging: I studied these kinds of things in school!

Something Condelezza Rice wrote stuck with me:

We know that today’s headlines are rarely the same as history’s judgments.

I think my problems with reading newspapers stem from the fact that I’m not interested in “today’s headlines.” I’m much more interested in the big picture, the entire history of these things. My courses were mostly looking at the history of various political issues, not the modern-day situations, although those were an aspect of the courses I took.

I feel the need to read and study the events in the last 5-10 years of politics so I can understand where the world stands now. I feel very clumsy. And yet, I still don’t really look forward to “today’s headlines.” History’s judgments are so much more interesting.

Which do you find most interesting: today’s headlines or history’s judgments?

• Magazines I Would Love to Read
• What is Reading? and Audiobook Review of The Book Thief
• Reading Habits: Who What When Where Why How?
• Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
• Kissinger by Walter Isaacson
• Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi
• The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order by Samuel P. Huntington
• Graphic Novels Challenge
• Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle
• Daughter of Destiny by Benazir Bhutto

The New Yorker

The Bluestockings discussion of The New Yorker reminded me that I loved reading it the year I had a subscription. Unfortunately, it takes me more than a week to read it and it comes every week. At the end of a one-year subscription, I still had 6 months to read. Maybe I’ll give it a try again.

The Atlantic

I’ve never read The Atlantic regularly, but someone sent me a link to the article I talked about the other day and I found the entire magazine online! I’d love to read this. There are some good articles.

Foreign Affairs

I read Foreign Affairs regularly for a year while in college (5 years ago). I’m embarrassed to say that while I minored in “International Studies” I am very out of the loop these days in terms of political happenings. Eva reminded me of this magazine. I should read it; much of the magazine in online and it is important.

So, I’m going to try to read some of these things. Like I said, I used to. What’s happened to me? Oh, right: I quit work and had a baby. He’s now teething and learning to crawl. I guess that takes my time from me, and I wouldn’t change that for the world.

• Booking Through Thursday: Manual Labor
• Political Reading
• Is Reading Online is Making Us Stupid?
• LibraryThing versus Shelfari versus ?
• Booking Through Thursday: Mayday!
• How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry by Edward Hirsch
• Doomsday for My Book Sources
• Stuart Little Was a Banned Book
• Reading Journal (28 October): Thoughts on Read-a-thons and Eye Strain
• Reading Habits: Who What When Where Why How?

Tan’s illustrations in The Arrival are gorgeous and realistic, although as the immigrant man enters the new world, fantastic elements enter the pictures. Such fantastic elements were odd to me and confused me. I believe Tan intended to illustrate the foreignness of the new land. Tan further illustrated foreignness by never using letters: even in a sample newspaper, the characters are odd letter-like symbols, not our familiar ABCs. This was a clever technique because Tan demonstrated the confusion an immigrant might feel upon arrival in a new country where even the language is unknown.

The story of The Arrival was “tender.” The man left his wife and daughter and arrived in the new land, confused and lost. He relied on others to help him, others who had likewise arrived as immigrants a short time ago. After some time, his family is able to join him. They have become the experienced locals helping new arrivals find their way.

I enjoyed reading this, but I wonder about the role of all-illustrated books for children (grade 5-7) like The Arrival. While it is important to help our children appreciate art and learn to read and interpret art, wouldn’t it be better to encourage our children to be literate by actually reading a story of an immigrant or many immigrants? How does The Arrival help literacy?

I consider reading Winnie-the-Pooh aloud to my son reading. I consider listening to an audiobook reading. I consider reading a graphic novel reading. I consider reading The Arrival reading. But which of these media actually help our children become literate, and which should we promote most?

I would suggest that while reading The Arrival might help children understand the immigrant experience, reading it won’t actually help children embrace reading. However, I’m certainly not a teacher or a literacy expert. What do you think?

Other reviews:

• Thoughts of Joy
• Reading Adventures
• Books of Mee

If you have reviewed The Arrival, leave a link in the comments and I’ll add your link to this post.

• Caldecott Corner: David Wiesner
• Poetry for Young People: Lewis Carroll
• Caldecott Corner: The House in the Night by Beth Krommes, 2009 Award Winner
• Twenty Years at Hull-House by Jane Addams
• Poetry for Young People: Robert Louis Stevenson (edited by Frances Schoonmaker)
• Baby’s Sunday Salon, January 4
• Author Spotlight: Margaret Wise Brown + Giveaway Winner
• Narrative in the Life of Frederick Douglass + The Listeners
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
• The Green Knowe Chronicles by L.M. Boston

I think the author has some great points: internet has changed the way I read, and that’s why I’m feeling a need to really read deeply right now.

In Google’s world, the world we enter when we go online, there’s little place for the fuzziness of contemplation. Ambiguity is not an opening for insight but a bug to be fixed. The human brain is just an outdated computer that needs a faster processor and a bigger hard drive. …

In the quiet spaces opened up by the sustained, undistracted reading of a book, or by any other act of contemplation, for that matter, we make our own associations, draw our own inferences and analogies, foster our own ideas. Deep reading, as Maryanne Wolf argues, is indistinguishable from deep thinking. If we lose those quiet spaces, or fill them up with “content,” we will sacrifice something important not only in our selves but in our culture.

What do you think? Is reading on the Internet making you less able to read?

• Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
• Thoughts on Blogging and Reading + HTR&W Giveaway Reminder
• How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster
• Political Reading
• Literature in Translation
• The Making of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman
• How Reading Order Affects Reading a Book
• A Ruined Author?
• Reading Journal (28 October): Thoughts on Read-a-thons and Eye Strain
• Author Spotlight: Margaret Wise Brown + Giveaway Winner

Reminder: On July 5, I’m drawing a name from those that are joining the HTR&W challenge. (Let me know by commenting on that post; I’ll wait until it’s July 5 in the USA to draw the name.) I’ll send the winner a copy of HTR&W; if you already own HTR&W, I’ll substitute another book or collection (poetry/short stories) on the HTR&W list valued under $20. I’ve added all the works from HTR&W to my Amazon store so you can find them in one place.

If you want to join with a caveat (such as, “I’ll read all the works except Proust’s 7-volume novel” or “I won’t reread any that I’ve already read”), I’ll still enter you in the drawing.

Why Do I Read?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about why I read. Part of my questioning stems from reading Harold Bloom’s essays on reading, and part stems from my book blogging. When I first found the book blogging cyber-world a few months ago, I was so excited to have found dozens (no, hundreds) of other readers out there sharing their thoughts about books. I’ve enjoyed being a part of the book blogging community.

By reading blogs, I find more books I want to read. I’ve even dabbled in graphic novels (well, the two or three my local library has!). As a blogger, I find myself neglecting other priorities (cleaning my house) to get a book read (“I need to blog about it!”).

There are some good things about my new habits, but there are also some not-so-good things. For example, the kitchen floor really needs to be mopped. Instead, I’m writing this blog post.

Two things this week alerted me to the fact that something needs to change.

Incident 1

I sat in the doctor’s office Wednesday and opened my next book: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. I’d finished a book that morning, and I was at the doctor’s office without my son. I could read!

I’ve wanted to read Capote for a long time. Then I read Katharine Graham autobiography and she was good friends with him. Then I read two or three fellow book bloggers’ reviews of In Cold Blood. I bumped In Cold Blood up my list; my library had it.

As I read, I was impressed with the writing. It was well-written and would be engaging. Ten pages later, it hit me: I don’t want to read about murder this week.

My mind tried to debate that (“You need to read it now because it’ll be due at the library!” and “You need to blog about it!”) but eventually I decided I’m not going to read it. I’m sure it’s good. But I’m not going to read it just to read it.

Incident 2

This week, I’ve been reviewing the HTR&W reading list. I have the goal to read all of it, and there are some really long books on the list! I found myself wishing I could be done with Proust so I could get to Faulkner and Toni Morrison. Then I realized that that is not the point of my goal to read the HTR&W works. My goal is to read the works slowly and determinedly. I am not meant to rush through this, turning pages just so I can cross it off a list. I’m meant to learn what it means to read well.

As soon as I realized that, I got very excited about each work. Next up: Chekhov’s stories. Which translation is best? Is there a “best?” I made a special trip to a library 30 minutes away to get the translation highly recommended on Amazon.com instead of reading the Project Gutenberg version. This is my chance to really embrace Chekhov’s stories. I’m going to do it right.

I’m likewise excited about many of the works on the list, even Proust. I’m also going to start now on the first novel, Don Quixote, even in the midst of the short stories. When I started wondering about translations and researching translators for Don Quixote, I decided not to: I can read Don Quixote in Spanish. Yes, I have lost my mind.

Just to clarify: while I did take a years of Spanish in college and I lived in Boliva for three months one summer break from college, I’m not actually fluent. I’m going to struggle through it with a dictionary, but I want to do it. If I’m going to read such a long book, why not really read it? As it was written. That will be a “difficult pleasure.” (We’ll see if I survive.)

My Resolution

I know I will read more graphic novels when I’m near a library that has them: they are interesting. I know I’ll read non-award-winning fiction, especially during weeks like last week when my son and I are both sick and I didn’t feel like doing much. I’ll keep reading Pulitzer-prize winners and Nobel prize-winning authors (a few a year), and I won’t give up my nonfiction. But I need to slow down again. I need to stop reading a book just so I can blog about it.

This post is my official resolution that I’m going to step away from the computer, stop compulsively checking Google Reader, and start reading again.

• Challenges, A Personal Challenge, and a Giveaway!
• HTR&W Winner + BAFAB Week
• Blogging Awards
• Blogging as Storytelling and Blogging Tips from an Unprofessional
• How to Read and Why: Short Stories Retrospective
• Comfort Reading
• Blogging Goals, Reading Journal (January 15), and a Winner
• Reading Journal (14 Oct): Blogging Burnout
• Google Reader Overload! + Blog Thoughts + Memelet
• My First Year of Blogging: A Contest with a Giveaway

• Dwells on isolated individuals on society’s fringes
• Wounds once (one major emotion)
• Gives multiple sensations (many emotions)
• Is not a parable or saying and so is not a “fragment”
• Gives us the pleasure of closure
• Can be read in one sitting (Edgar Allan Poe’s definition)

Bloom includes a list of the short story authors he considers great (note that Edgar Allan Poe is, in his opinion, horrible both as a writer in general and as a short story writer more specifically). Many of these favorite authors have works on the HTR&W list and I’ll be reading them in the next few days and weeks. I may or may not agree with his opinions and may or may not agree with me; these things are subjective.

Personally, I think a short story can be full of many emotions, but I love short stories that capture one emotion well. (I really enjoyed Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies because of the common themes and emotions in each story.) I believe short stories can be about any individual(s), not any particular type. To be a good short story, I do look for some degree of closure, although some artfully written short stories can leave me wondering about the resolution.

To you, what is a short story? What makes a short story “good”?

• The Student by Anton Chekhov: A Perfect Short Story
• How to Read and Why: Short Stories Retrospective
• HTR&W Preface and A Challenge
• Stories by Vladimir Nabokov
• Stories by Edgar Allan Poe
• Stories by Anton Chekhov
• Stories by Ernest Hemingway
• How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster
• The Dangerous Alphabet by Neil Gaiman + Happy Halloween
• HTR&W Prologue: Why Read?

Booking Through Thursday: What, in your opinion, is the definition of a “reader.” A person who indiscriminately reads everything in sight? A person who reads BOOKS? A person who reads, period, no matter what it is? … Or, more specific? Like the specific person who’s reading something you wrote?

I think a reader is one who *likes* reading and reads because they like it. So, my seven-year-old nephew, who is always reading something, is a reader. On the other hand, someone who reads a novel for tenth grade English class is not necessarily a reader. They may be going through the motions, but they might not really don’t care for the written word. (That said, just because a person is reading a book for an assignment doesn’t mean they are not a reader in that moment.)

For an analogy, I turn to the world of sewing. A person who sews a dress for herself or her daughter is a seamstress (not me, as I’d never do that). A person who rehems a pair of pants is just hemming a pair of pants (that might be me). I can sew but I’m not passionate about it, and I wouldn’t consider myself a “seamstress”. I think the definition of “reader” is similar.

After reading HTR&W‘s prologue the other day, I asked a similar question: How does one read well? It doesn’t take much to be a reader and enjoy reading. But what makes that reading good reading?

I wrote a very long post discussing and analyzing Harold Bloom’s argument to the question “why read?” Don’t feel you have to read all of that post, but I’d love to hear you weigh in there (or here if you prefer).

• What is Reading? and Audiobook Review of The Book Thief
• Google Reader Overload! + Blog Thoughts + Memelet
• What Are Banned Books? (Do I Favor Book Banning?)
• HTR&W Prologue: Why Read?
• HTR&W: What Is a Short Story?
• Trends in Reading
• Reading Journal (9 Dec): Thoughts on Being a Selective Reader
• The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
• The Life of Our Lord by Charles Dickens
• How to Read and Why: Short Stories Retrospective

This is a very long post; I’m breaking my own rules of length because I spent a long time reading and pondering Bloom’s prologue, and I have a lot of thoughts about it. I’ve included a summary at the end under “How Should I Read?” if you don’t care to read all of my post. However, I hope it may be a “difficult pleasure” to read the entire post.

So Many Books, So Little Time

Harold Bloom begins his prologue to How to Read and Why by asking simply, “Why read?” He points out that:

You can read merely to pass the time, or you can read with an overt urgency, but eventually you will read against the clock. (page 21)

This just reiterates what I’ve always known: there are so many books, and there is so little time.

Why Read Fiction?

Bloom argues that we all should have urgency about us when reading and we should determine why it is that we read. For himself, he claims,

I turn to reading as a solitary praxis, rather than as an educational enterprise. (page 21)

At the same time, he confesses that the best reading is “never an easy pleasure.” So why do we or should we read in our solitary time? He explores this question while also exploring five principles of reading fiction. Bloom argues that when we accept these principles, reading in that solitary time is more enjoyable and fulfilling.

Principle One

Clear your mind of cant. … [C]ant in this sense is speech overflowing with pious platitudes, the peculiar vocabulary of a sect or coven. (page 23)

In other words, don’t read with a specific ideology in mind. Finding support of ideology should not be the point of reading fiction. I find it hard sometimes when I know a novel is about a certain perspective. But Bloom’s counsel is wise: how can I let the novel speak to me if I am busy searching and taking notes on the sought after issues? Better to let the situation speak to me through the story. In after fact, I can find themes that stand out to me personally, not those that are dictated by society.

Bloom later emphasizes:

To read human sentiments in human language you must be able to read humanly, with all of you. You are more than an ideology whatever your convictions …(page 28)

I like Bloom’s emphasis that reading is not and should not be ideological but rather personal, human. So there, college English professors!

Principle Two

Do not attempt to improve your neighbor or your neighborhood by what or how you read. Self-improvement is a large enough project for your mind and spirit: there are no ethics of reading. (page 24)

I can’t lecture others via a book; a book that changes me might not change someone else.

I think that just about summarizes why I hesitate to give book recommendations; people either think I’m crazy because they hated it or completely agree with me as to a book’s merit. I can never predict.

Principle Three

A scholar is a candle which the love and desire of all men will light. … You need not fear that the freedom of your development as a reader is selfish, because if you become an authentic reader, then the response to your labors will confirm you as an illumination to others. (page 24)

Oh, I love this concept! Bloom is suggesting that if I read authentically and sincerely and I love it, others will be inspired by me. Giving what I read to others might not inspire them, but if I was inspired, my sincerity might be inspiring to those around me. Thank you, Mr. Bloom, for inspiring me to read more!

And yet, lest I get too excited, he does counsel:

The pleasures of reading indeed are selfish rather than social. You cannot directly improve anyone else’s life by reading better or more deeply. (page 22)

With those words, I must remember that reading to inspire won’t work, but reading for myself is what reading is all about. Reading is by nature solitary and, by default, reading will help me alone.

Principle Four

One must be an inventor to read well. … We read, frequently if unknowingly, in quest of a mind more original than our own. (page 25)

I think that just perfectly summarizes why I read. I think others are so much more original; and yet, I find myself in their creative worlds of words.

Principle Five

[We read for] recovery of the ironic … (page 25)

This threw me off at first: what does he mean by irony? He means simple metaphor.

Irony, noun. 2 a: the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning b: a usually humorous or sardonic literary style or form characterized by irony c: an ironic expression or utterance (definition courtesy merriam-webster.com)

Bloom’s following pages discussing irony made me want to pick up the nearest novel and get back to the world of irony. I love the fact that we live in a world where things don’t always have to be literal. We say one thing but mean another. Such irony is one reason why we read novels: to escape to a world of metaphor and make-believe.

Irony demands a certain attention span, and the ability to suspend antithetical ideas, even when they collide with one another. Strip irony away from reading, and it loses at once all discipline and all surprise.

Reading Bloom’s explanation of irony, I fell in love with reading all over again.

How Should I Read?

I love Bloom’s concepts for reading (interpreted and reworded by me):

• Reading should be done without ideology in mind
• Reading that inspires me might not inspire you
• I can’t change anyone else by reading, but I might inspire someone
• Reading invents new worlds of more creativity in the reader
• I should read to be not literal (ironic)

Bloom writes many quotable things; I could just quote the entire prologue. If you have this book, read the prologue with a pencil in hand.

He writes about why we should read and how we should approach it: personally and humanly, not as a student at a university. That is a censure for me, since I was thinking I’d approach his book and the recommended works as university texts. His point is that we shouldn’t read for that kind of reason.

He quotes Sir Francis Bacon:

Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for granted, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider. (page 21)

And then he “weighs in” himself:

We read deeply for varied reasons, most of them familiar: that we cannot know enough people profoundly enough; that we need to know know ourselves better; that we require knowledge, not just of self and others, but of the way things are. Yet the strongest, most authentic motive for deep reading of the now much-abused traditional canon is the search for a difficult pleasure. (page 28-29; emphasis added)

“The search for a difficult pleasure.” I love that phrase because it so accurately captures the challenge of reading a good book. Sometimes reading is painful, and I’ve read some books recently that have been hard to read and yet beautiful at the same time.

Bloom claims “we certainly owe mediocrity nothing,” something he realizes now that the clock is winding down on his life. What have I read recently that has been mediocre, and why did I read it?

Ultimately, why should we read? Here’s part of Bloom’s final answer:

Read deeply, not to believe, not to accept, not to contradict, but to learn to share in that one nature that writes and reads. (page 29)

Why do you read? What is reading well?

Other Thoughts:

• Sophisticated Dorkiness

• How to Read and Why: Short Stories Retrospective
• What is a Reader?
• Two Stories by Turgenev
• HTR&W: What Is a Short Story?
• How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster
• HTR&W Preface and A Challenge
• A Few Fairy Tale Reviews
• The Student by Anton Chekhov: A Perfect Short Story
• Thoughts on Blogging and Reading + HTR&W Giveaway Reminder
• The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

I found the book I was looking for in the fiction aisle and was turning to go when a grandmotherly lady stopped and looked at my son. I’m used to this at the library: grandmothers, kids, toddlers. Everyone loves a baby! She asked if he’s a boy or a girl. I told her he’s a boy and smiled at her.

“Humph. A book for him! He’s a bit too young, don’t you think?” she said in a low voice as she turned away.

I had already started pushing the stroller to the checkout when I realized what she had said.

Too young for a book?

I read my son Winnie-the-Pooh when he was 4 months old and I’ve read to him every day since. Granted, most days now he “talks” loudly over my voice or ignores me or tries to eat the book, but I still read to him every day.

Is there such a thing as too young for books?

I think not.

• Trends in Reading
• What is Reading? and Audiobook Review of The Book Thief
• Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
• Speak, Child: The Illiad as the Infancy of Children’s Literature
• Poetry for Young People: Robert Louis Stevenson (edited by Frances Schoonmaker)
• Judging a Book By Its Cover Again