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When somebody mentions “literature,” what’s the first thing you think of? (Dickens? Tolstoy? Shakespeare?)
Do you read “literature” (however you define it) for pleasure? Or is it something that you read only when you must?
Dickens, Tolstoy, Shakespeare, definitely. Melville, Austen, Bronte, Poe, Hugo, check. Faulkner, Hemingway, Vonnegut, Huxley, Orwell, yup. Homer, Dante. All that stuff. In fact, I just bought "William Faulkner: A Literary Companion
" last night. The word "literature" makes my brain start smoking with thinking of all the books I want to read. The standard "classics" are usually the first thing I think of, but I'm learning to add more modern books to that label. Though I suppose "classics" is a word we could all haggle about also. :-)I do read "literature". A lot more than I used to. Years ago I wrote reviews for a romance novel newsletter, so that was all I read for about 5 years. Then I went on a murder myster/thriller rampage for a long time. In the last couple of years I have made a conscious effort to read more "literature", and I have become a convert. Not that I don't love the others, too! Who doesn't like to break up serious reading with a good, gruesome slasher every now and then? :-) OK, those aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I think we all have our catagories of what we consider "fluff" reading in which we indulge to balace things out. I'm really enjoying not only all the old classics I missed out on earlier, but discovering more modern and world literature that I never took the time to explore before.
Here's to looking forward to more "Lit-Ra-Chur"!
Lezlie
Play along with Booking Through Thursday here.
9 comments:
I'll drink to that! ;-)
IT's all about the balance isn't it? We read different things for different reasons, but we get something out of each book.
Lezlie, lovely, I can just see your brain smoking! I think of "books" when I think of "literature" and "enjoyment".There are just too many books I want to read as well.
Joanna ~ Exactly! Though my TBR pile would maybe be a little more manageable if I were a little fussier. . . :-)
Books Please ~ Those are good words, "books" and "enjoyment". Synonyms, I believe. :-)
What a wise and sensible reply - which of course makes you a woman after my own heart!
Table Talk ~ Thank you very much! What a nice thing to say!
I love how you weave "fluff" and "gruesome slasher" into the same post and make it work....hehe.
I like to feel that I am a well-rounded reader so I tend to usually sprinkle a little of this and a little of that amongst the pile of classics sitting on my shelf. So I guess no one should be too surprised to see The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers sitting next to Pride and Prejudice. At least not in my house.
Happy Reading!!
J.C. ~ Is that "Stiff"? You'll have to let me know how that is. I've picked it up a number of times, but have yet to purchase it. I heard rumor there is bad stuff happening to dogs in there, so I'm scared.
Lezlie
It is nice to break things up...and as long as a story is well written, I'll read it in between my *serious* reads. KWIM?
Trish ~ I'm going to display my ignorance: I'm guessing "KWIM?" means "Know What I Mean?", right? And I do know what you mean! :-)
Lezlie
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