In his interesting book How to Talk about Books you Haven't Read Pierre Bayard says he has no inclination to read every word of James Joyce's Ulysses, a book he feels he already knows. Some books are more easily admired than digested, he says.
I agree. I had to plough through Ulysses when an undergraduate, and it was quite a chore!
In some respects reading books or plays might actually interfere with the appreciation of literature, Bayard says. I agree again. High School English teachers did not help me appreciate Shakespeare: I did not enjoy trying to take apart his stanzas and writing about their possible meanings...
I see book titles in 'Must Read' lists which I confess I haven't read. I may one day. I haven't read To Kill a Mockingbird. I tried to get into The Great Gatsby as a youth and gave up. Same recently with Harry Potter. I was in the wrong queue when the gift of imaginative appreciation was given out. Which is also why the English-Speaking world's Number one author Tolkien has also eluded me...
But I do read a lot of books: generally one or two a week. And in this Blog I want to whet your appetite to read books of your choice and enjoy the experience...
Rowland Croucher
