Pajiba

Hey, Ace of Base - touché

Nice review. I might like to read this one - even though I like to think I get what I'm reading, it would be good to see if I'm on the right planet.

Good that it wasn't Rabkin. Rabkin's a butt.

I have so many questions (many of them repetitive)I think I might need to take some theory courses. Or buy the book.

Why should I want to read literature like a professor?

Is the notion behind the book that in order to truly appreciate books we need a kind of primer? I don't really object to that concept, I just want to know.

Will this new understanding interfere with my visceral response to what I am reading?

Will it make your take on books more dry and academic? Shouldn't good writing triumph over that anyway?

Is this approach how one decides what books are cannon?

At what level do we suppose authors are consciously-aware of the symbols and themes they are using? Does it matter?

What level of understanding/awareness of the recurrent elements did you find you already had?

Can you tell I have an uncle who is a literature professor and who responds to every single thing anyone says as a thesis to be discussed and drives everyone crazy?

@SCPTFT
Re: Why should I want to read literature like a professor?

It's a valid question. How important is it to "get" all the symbolism, allusions, and deeper meanings from what you read? Is this "better" (implying that not reading like this is in some way deficient)? Does it change the way you experience reading, possibly robbing you of the simple enjoyment of getting lost in a story and replacing your natural emotional response with a more dry analytical one? Do we pick up on a lot of this stuff anyway, at least on a basic, instinctual level even if we can't articulate it like a grad student? How important is the author's intention if we start reading into a story a lot of symbolism and excess meaning that isn't there?

(I've been tempted to use my cannonball blog as an excuse to explore these types of questions more deeply, if only for my own benefit. I'll throw out some of my ideas just in case it sparks a discussion here).

First of all, it is all relative. Some books are really deep, dense, and packed with complex ideas, references, and meaning. Others are more shallow, more simplistic. It's hard not to make a value judgment (deeper = better) when you start comparing Dan Brown and Stephanie Meyer to Proust and James Joyce, but I don't think that is really the point. There are many enjoyable novels all across the spectrum and what you get out of them depends on you as much as the book and what's really important is that you get what you want. If the book speaks to you, makes you think, gets you excited, whatever, than it's a "good" book. (But come on, Dan Brown is a hack, Proust is a genius).

Now, do you need to read like a professor? Do you need to extract all that hidden meaning? Do you need the annotated version so as not to miss any historical references or antiquated phrases? Of course not. The pleasure of the story and your emotional response is reason enough. However, a more detailed reading, appreciation of historical context, picking up on the irony, symbolism, or allusions can expand your enjoyment, deepen your emotional response and open up whole new avenues you didn't know were there. You can improve on these abilities as a reader. Book clubs and good literary criticism can help, too. It's obviously beneficial and won't cause a wholesale change in the way you experience books, just maybe a deeper appreciation.

Ultimately, you'll never know everything there is to know about a story. This point was made especially well in the Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao book review here on Pajiba, how there is so much geek trivia, Dominican history, and Spanish slang in the story that few readers would be familiar will all the references but that they weren't supposed to, they were supposed to get the stuff that had meaning to them and maybe become exposed to the rest along the way. I thought that was a really great way of putting it. Reading is always an interaction between your brain and the author's work, so everyone experiences it a little differently. You can even read things into a novel that the author never intended.

Ok, that's enough for now. Everybody's already talking about the best TV shows of the 00's by now anyway.

These symbols that the chapters focus on, are they like archetypes? Just curious, I may want to pick this up.

@Yossarian - I like your take on it. I am also right now reading the book with your namesake(?). I am checking out your blog.

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