What to Read and What to Skip

Mostly, we’ve been talking here about recommended reading, especially our 10 Books to Read before You Die. But today I came across an entry from the Washington Post’s blog Short Stack that talks about what to skip in literature. The posting mentions a new book called Beowulf on the Beach: What to Love and What to Skip in Literature's 50 Greatest Hits. I have not seen this book, but it sounds intriguing. Its author, Jack Murninghan, has chosen fifty works of literature and goes through each suggesting parts busy readers can skip and parts people should not pass up. The Wahington Post blogger notes books where he went along with Murninghan's recommendations and one (Great Expectations), with which he disagreed.

Personally, I read every word. I don't feel I've read a book if I haven't read all of it. However, I know many people who blithely skim books, skipping parts they consider dull. As the Romans used to say, "De gustibus non est disputandum." If your Lain is rusty, that means there's no accounting for taste.

Summer Reading

Those of you who have gone though our 10 Books to Read before You Die and are looking for some further guidance might want to try Rebecca’s Pocket's Summer Reading 2009. This posting includes links to a variety of recommended reading lists including Smart Summer Reading from UC Davis and Excellent Summer Reading Recommendations for Brides-to-Be. Rebecca also has lists of books for Young Adults, such as Summer Reading for Tweens from the Kansas City Star.

Of course, once you find a book to read you can check our holdings in Merrick Library's catalog.

I found Rebecca’s Pocket listed on the Librarians’ Internet Index, a great source for useful websites.

Would Holden Caulfield Be on Facebook?

Checking my Facebook page, I came across a link to a posting on the Barnes & Noble blog Unabashedly Bookish. The writer notes that some students reading The Catcher in the Rye today say that the book's protagonist is just a whiny rich kid, who maybe should shut up and take his Prozac. The piece goes on to pose a question as to whether Holden Caulfield would be involved in social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter if he was a teenager today.

As Catcher is on Merrick Library's list of Ten Books to Read before You Die, we'd also like to know what you think about this question. Comments welcome.

Ray Bradbury and Libraries

The front page of today’s New York Times features an article about Ray Bradbury’s fight to keep a California public library open. A number of the state’s public libraries may be forced to close because of the current fiscal crisis. Bradbury is focusing his efforts on the H. P Wright Library in Ventura County, which has been told that it must raise $280,000, or it will be forced to close.

When he was young, Bradbury, now 88 years old, could not afford to go to college, so he went to libraries three days a week for ten years. “I don’t believe in colleges and universities,” Bradbury says, “I believe in libraries.” Though the author of such books as Fahrenheit 451 and Something Wicked This Way Comes didn’t make our list of 10 Books to Read before You Die, we’ll have to give Bradbury an honorable mention for his support of libraries and reading. Here’s to you Ray!

Beach Books Poll

NPR is asking its listeners to vote for the Best Beach Book of All Time. They define this category as follows: "When you read one, your surroundings recede, time bends and you're transported, mesmerized, enthralled. These are page turners to be sure, but that doesn't mean they're brainless." OK, you have to remember that these are NPR listeners they are talking to.

Go post your vote. Then leave a comment here letting us know about the book you suggested.

Best Books You Never Read

It seems that NPR is on the same wavelength on which we are operating, given that this is the second post referring to them today. In an NPR blog called Monkey See, correspondent Lynn Neary writes about 'The Shelf Of Constant Reproach': Best Books You Never Read." These are those classic books that one owns and has been meaning to read--without much success. Ms. Neary admits to Moby Dick, anything by William Faulkner, and Lolita. I know exactly what she means, as I have whole bookcases that fall into this category. Maybe someday.........

Reading during the Great Depression

In the midst of the current international economic crisis, there has been much harkening back to see what happened during the Great Depression. In this vein, National Public Radio recently broadcast a segment called "What Were People Reading during the Depression?" The people at NPR went through some issues of Publishers Weekly from the period to see what books were popular.

Though we often ponder how things have changed in the last seventy years, much seems to be the same in the area of popular reading-- chick lit, commentaries by noted politicians, vampire novels, and books about dogs, including a fictional biography of a dog named Flush, by Virginia Woolf of all people.

Oh, yes, and like today, public libraries back then recorded marked increases in their circulation statistics. So join the crowd. Come on into the library and borrow a book.

Gatsby's Relevance

Recent comments about the relevance of some of our 10 Books to Read Before You Die inspired me to do a little delving. I happened upon an interesting 2008 article about The Great Gatsby in the New York Times. The author Sara Rimer wrote:

“Some educators say the best way to engage racially and ethnically diverse students in reading is with books that mirror their lives and culture. But others say that while a variety of literary voices is important, “Gatsby” — still required reading at half the high schools in the country — resonates powerfully among urban adolescents, many of them first- and second-generation immigrants, who are striving to ascend in 21st-century America.”

It may be interesting to note that The Great Gatsby had fallen into obscurity by the time of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s death in 1940, and only became popular again when critic Edmund Wilson began to promote it, and Scribner’s published a paperback edition.

11 Books You Can't Read

In this blog, we've been discussing 10 Books You Must Read before You Die, so I thought I'd take another tack and point out the article "Short Takes on Books that Don't Exist--Eleven Essential, Imaginary Beach Reads for Summer," published in a journal called Believer.

I came across this piece at one of my favorite sites Arts & Letters Daily. Of course, "Short Takes..." is silly, but we can't be serious (or read serious books) all the time....

J. D. Salinger Tries to Block the Publication of a Book

Many people know of J. D. Salinger's passion for privacy. The author, who lives in Cornish, New Hampshire and is now 90 years old, has not had a new story published or given an interview in decades. Salinger is protective of his short stories and his one novel, Catcher in the Rye, which made our list of 10 Books to Read before You Die. Few of his stories have made it to the big screen, and you will not find recorded book editions of Salinger's works.

In the 1980s Salinger fought the publication of a book In Search of J. D. Salinger by Ian Hamilton, which quoted extensively letters Salinger had written over the years. Salinger won that suit, and the book was later published without the quotes from his letters. Now, Salinger is fighting the publication of a novel by John David California called 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye. In this book an elderly Holden Caufield-like character named Mr. C. escapes from a nursing home and roams the streets of New York in a story reminiscent of Catcher.

To read further about this dispute check this article from the New York Times and another piece from Publisher's Weekly.