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Originally Posted by SpiderMatt
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I think the point of Hazlitt's statement was that people should seek out literature and books that challenge them. You're probably not going to know for sure whether a book holds any value for you unless you read it yourself but you should allow yourself to recognize poor writing vs good writing. I think that's an important skill and that's the point the article was making. If we're more likely to imitate what we write, we should want to read higher quality literature. This has nothing to do with the types of stories a person enjoys but rather the actual writing itself. You won't find me knocking leisure reading because, hell, who in this community doesn't love that? But there should be a line. And why can't more challenging fiction be enjoyable? Shouldn't we strive to teach ourselves to enjoy higher forms of writing? I hate this "just read what you enjoy" catchphrase. Not because you shouldn't enjoy what you read but because it seems to imply this sort of literature hedonism. I think literacy is only a value as long as you allow the skill to mature. There's a reason kids are forced to read certain books in school. It's hoped that they'll be able to recognize good writing and that they'll eventually have an appreciation for it (I think schools mostly do a terrible job at this but that's a different debate). If kids were never forced to eat their veggies when they were young, they would probably grow up with very poor eating habits. I'm sure there are some kids who just love classic lit or broccoli without being forced to do anything (personally, Edgar Allen Poe has been my favorite author since 5th grade and it wasn't anything I was forced to read).
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I think I can only agree with you (also on the point about the schools
) I've never forced myself (much) to read anything I didn't like, but as I have discovered, over time, is, that the more I expose myself to something, the more I learn about quality - and ultimately I get more discerning. I think that's a quite normal process. What my point was; uh... I forgot
Anyway, perhaps it's an overall media consumption thing; do we involve our minds, think, and learn from our media consumption or not? It does, I think, affect our ability to think and learn.