If your visiting my site from the Hop, welcome. The question this week is:"Why do you read the genre that you do? What draws you to it?"
I originally began reading the classics out of worry. I was fairly worried that I would die without having read what I felt were the most important fictional works ever written. What I learned was, these stories and characters are interwoven into our society in subtle ways and they have an impact on our lives, whether we're readers or not.
Now that I have been reading classics for a number of years, I have noticed I have learned a lot about writing techniques as well as history. Because of the bookclub, I generally do additional research on books on topics that I would never have researched into otherwise. This opens me up to a wealth and breadth of information.
I used to take pleasure when people called me 'well-read', but I think I realize now that this compliment holds very little weight with me. My goal is to be a 'well-balanced' person, and I think reading the classics opens me up to new perspectives and enriches my everyday life. I do not understand 'mindless' reading, because for me, reading only has value if it is mind-ful. I am occasionally ridiculed for this perspective, and while I don't mind other reading 'mindless' work, I don't feel there is anything for ME in novels of that sort.
I also enjoy reading business books that deal with the economy and trends that occur throughout the world. Leadership books and general 'how someone got to be rich' books do not interest me. I also enjoy reading non-fiction, but I generally like to have a good classic on the go at the same time. Recent non-fiction reads (Pompeii, as an example) have enriched my life, and I hope to delve further into the genre going forward.
I still worry about not finishing all the classics before I die, but I have learned to let that go by focusing on reading books I really feel guilty for not having read instead of reading books on the periphery of my interests. This is a concept I still wrestle with.
What about you?
7 comments:
Here I am hopping on by...
I went all over the map with this question on my blog. I read and enjoy almost every genre of fiction out there. There’s no way I could just pick one.
So I talked about all of them. Even romance fiction (sort of)! I invite you to hop over to my blog at http://www.howardsherman.net and see for yourself.
Howard A. Sherman
http://www.howardsherman.net
Just hopping by! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Reading Lark's Hop Post
I started reading the classics for the same reason! I must read as many of them as possible as soon as possible!
I started reading the classics for the same reason! I must read as many of them as possible as soon as possible!
Hopping through. I'm a new follower!
I read a wide variety of books, although mostly YA.
With an economics and law degree I like business books too. Are you a fan of Thomas Friedman? I like his books.
My Hop
I used to read books based purely on their entertainment value, and I raced through them without thinking about what I was actually reading. Now that I've started reading classics my reading speed has greatly decreased because I have to reread passages once in a while, and I stop to reflect about the text. I don't regret my decision to focus on classics, though, because I've learned a lot.
I agree with most of your points in this post. Being well-read, perhaps, is just one of the many perks you can get from reading classics. :)
It's great to see a blog devoted to the classics! Stop by and say hi if you get a chance!
Have a great weekend!
Kristin
MyBookishWays
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