Quote:
Originally Posted by LDBoblo
So you're saying I should quit Oprah's book club?   |
Yep!
I am of the opinion that
the more popular the book is the less it's bound to be worth to the reader. Ideas and knowledge from hugely popular books will almost certainly filter down to you in a myriad ways... ideas and knowledge from obscure ones will almost certainly not.
Read a book about the history and culture of the Mutair or the Akamba, instead of the Pennsylvania Dutch.
Read about Maurice Benyovszky instead of Columbus.
Read about New Netherland instead of Plymouth.
Read about the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 instead of the French Revolution of 1789.
Read about the Ottoman Empire or the Mongolian Empire instead of the Roman Empire.
Read about Ancient Berber culture and religion instead of Ancient Egyptian.
Et cetera.
Doing so will make you a more broadly informed and (quite possibly) also a more interesting and broad-minded person.
Not to say, to be clear, that the Pennsylvania Dutch, Columbus, Plymouth, the French Revolution of 1789, the Roman Empire, and Ancient Egyptian culture and religion aren't worth knowing about. They certainly are. But for the non-professional there is no genuine benefit to reading book after book after book about them... when there are countless equally (if not more) fascinating subjects that they may never even have heard about.
- Ahi