According
to my parents, I was not a child that took to reading. They tried a lot of
tactics to get me interested in books, before finally finding some success with
comic books. Even then, I have remained a slow reader, who occasionally
struggles with word order and spellings. However, what I have lacked in natural
speed, I have made up for with determination, and now I list reading as my
favoured pastime.
Lately
though, I have been dissatisfied with my reading. Too often, I think, I have
picked up books because they just happened to be in front of me, or because, in
my laziness, I fell back upon some comfortable genre, instead of choosing my
books with careful intelligence. Lately,
I have found no challenge in the books I’ve read.
I
had been having these thoughts a lot as last year came to an end. Then, by
happenstance, I found myself in a small charity bookshop in my wife’s hometown.
Upon the shelf, I saw a small red volume entitled Sesame and Lillies by John
Ruskin. I knew of Ruskin more by reputation than acquaintance, having read only a
single lecture by him, but I find him an intriguing figure. He spoke a lot
about art and its relationship to society.
One
of the interesting things about buying really old books is that they do not
have blurbs. This book was old enough that it contained no information at all on when
it was printed. So,
knowing nothing but the author, I turned over £1 to the man at the counter and
took my new book home.
It
is by sheer coincidence that the first two lectures (of the three in the book)
are about ‘what to read’. In truth, that topic is just a launching point to
wander over a variety of ideas, but it still struck me as a very strange
coincidence.
At
the same time I had been considering my reading, I had also been considering
starting a ‘Commonplace Book’, that is my own collection of wisdom that I have
gleaned from books. So, I began my commonplace book with some quotes I found in
Ruskin. I will share a couple here, on the subject of reading:
No book is worth
anything which is not worth much; nor is it serviceable, until it has been read,
and re-read, and loved, and loved again; and marked, so that you can refer to
the passages you want in it, as a soldier can seize the weapon he needs in an
armoury, or a housewife bring the spice she needs from her store.
That to use
books rightly, was to go to them for help: to appeal to them, when our
knowledge and power of thought failed; to be led by them into the wider sight,
purer conception than our own and receive from them the united sentence of the
judges and councils of all time, against our solitary and unstable opinion.
So,
my goal for this year is to challenge myself with my reading, to actively seek out
books that contain wisdom or that will challenge my thinking. I
will still read science-fiction, fantasy, and adventure fiction, but only if I
have strong reason to believe those works to be above average (why bother
reading the average?). We shall see how I get on.
A noble goal!
ReplyDeleteI've been shocked lately to find out how few people of my acquaintance actually spend any time reading (or even have physical books in their house). I'll share a couple more reading-related quotes that come to mind:
"Those of us who have been true readers all our life seldom fully realize the enormous extension of our being which we owe to authors. We realize it best when we talk with an unliterary friend. He may be full of goodness and good sense but he inhabits a tiny world. In it, we should be suffocated. The man who is contented to be only himself, and therefore less a self, is in prison. My own eyes are not enough for me, I will see through those of others." - C. S. Lewis, An Experiment in Criticism
And of course the classic:
"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them." - Mark Twain
All true. I must try harder.
ReplyDeleteI am very lucky I have always loved books and get the chance to read them to children, being a teacher, it brings both me and them, I hope, great joy. I always try to instill in my students how fortunate they are to be able to read and never to take it for granted. I am due to retire soon and reading to children will be the main thing I will miss.
ReplyDeleteA lovely post, books of all kinds are a wonderful thing !
ReplyDelete“Some books are undeservedly forgotten; none are undeservedly remembered.” W.H. Auden
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post.
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking similarly recently.
I used to read a lot, but have noticed studying tends not only to reduce your spare time to read, but also to diminish the desire to do so (due to the volume of "forced" readings).
I have to start being more selective about which books I read, so I at least get more out of it the few times I do grab a book in my spare time.