READING Did you know that there are some 200,000 books published every year? When I first read that, my response was an understandable, "What the fuck!" How in the hell is a person supposed to keep up? Even if you read all the time, like 24/7, you still couldn't read that much. And that's not even taking into consideration all the books that have already been published. What's a body to do? Especially a body that loves to read? You might respond, "Well, why do you think you have to read so much anyway? Isn't there more to life than reading?" To which I might reply, "Hell, yes, there's more to life than reading books. Haven't you read my essay on Fantasy?" But to really put it in perspective, I've got to turn to a much better mind than my own, namely, Harold Bloom's, a guy who's taught at both Harvard and Yale. In his book, How to Read and Why, he states that, " ... there is a prime reason why we should read. Information is endlessly available to us; where shall wisdom be found?" If that's not enough for you, try this:
We read not only because we cannot know enough people, but because friendship is so vulnerable, so likely to diminish or disappear, overcome by space, time, imperfect sympathies, and all the sorrows of familial and passional life.
And finally, this:
One of the uses of reading is to prepare ourselves for change, and the final change alas is universal.
In the essay Conversation I remarked on the rarity of such events, but reading offers us some hope. It is but another avenue to that most worthy of pursuits, the exchange of ideas (as opposed to personal information). Yes, I regard reading as a form of conversing, especially if I make marks in the book, or make a written response to it. But that still doesn't solve the major problem of deciding what to read. After giving it some thought (like for years), I've come to the rather fatalistic conclusion that we should read whatever we feel like reading, with the unequivocal emphasis on the word feel. Why not? Life is short. Enjoy it to the max. Like I said in Fantasy, the whole purpose of reality is to somehow figure a way to escape from it. Selections: Reading That Will Change You
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