Quote:
Originally Posted by CRussel
I've reached an age where I don't read books because they're good for me, or they're assigned, or even because they're literature, but simply because I enjoy them. And if I don't enjoy a book? I'm very likely to simply walk away from it.
|
This is so me! Except that it has been me since I could read. That's why I've never read
War and Peace, or
any Dickens - I didn't want to. Now that I'm on the wrong side of 50, I've decided to give both a try, because
I want to. I certainly don't feel obliged to read anything or anyone simply because the works or the authors are universally esteemed. I believe this book was a "guilty pleasure" selection, which is a bit of a misnomer really, because it suggests one should feel guilt over one's choices of reading material. Do I feel any guilt at having read
LotR eighteen times, the
HHGTTGseries at least as many, all of the
Discworld series and not having read any Tolstoy, Dickens or Dostoevsky? Nope. Which is why re-reading the
Scarlet Pimpernel has been a fun exercise - a pleasure, without any guilt
