{"id":1420,"date":"2013-10-19T20:35:18","date_gmt":"2013-10-20T00:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/noelfigart.com\/blog\/?p=1420"},"modified":"2020-06-03T10:35:46","modified_gmt":"2020-06-03T14:35:46","slug":"great-literature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/noelfigart.com\/wordpress\/2013\/10\/19\/great-literature\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Literature"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now, I read a lot. \u00a0I know, big secret. \u00a0But, online social media being what it is, there are websites that will quantify that. \u00a0 I tend to track my reading through Goodreads<\/a>, where you can track your books, list what you’ve read and when you’ve read it, and interact with friends online about what you read.<\/p>\n

I try to read about a book a week. \u00a0Call it fifty books a year. \u00a0More than the average for an American, but I know several people who read more. That’s cool. \u00a0I’m happy with how much I read.<\/p>\n

Fifty books a year is a lot. \u00a0Well, it looks like a lot until you look at what I’m reading. \u00a0Some of it is Serious Literature, or Serious Non-fiction. \u00a0That tends to be history, biography and cultural analysis, with a bit of self-help and motivational thrown in.<\/p>\n

Otherwise? \u00a0 I read all over the place. \u00a0Science fiction, fantasy, sentimental late 19th century stuff that probably had yellow covers when it came out, children’s literature, YA, classics, men’s adventure, horror, you name it.<\/p>\n

With that experience, I find myself impatient with people who are necessarily proud of themselves for only being into Great Literature. \u00a0Is there such a thing? \u00a0God, yes. \u00a0But it’s simpler than people think<\/p>\n

Great Literature is Great Literature because a\u00a0lot<\/em> of people over a long period of time read it, loved it and took it to heart. \u00a0 Can we analyze why this is so? \u00a0Again, God yes. \u00a0Can we predict if something new will become such?<\/p>\n

Not so much. \u00a0It takes time. \u00a0Harry Potter is a great example. \u00a0People have loved it and it’s a phenomenon. \u00a0Will people love it 100 years from now? Dunno. I would say I doubt it. \u00a0A lot of its charm is the juxtaposition against late 20th century life.\u00a0 I could also be dead wrong. People still love Dickens, and a lot of his work requires an understanding of the times.<\/p>\n

It’s about the love that people put into it over time that makes Great Literature. \u00a0That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Now, I read a lot. \u00a0I know, big secret. \u00a0But, online social media being what it is, there are websites that will quantify that. \u00a0 I tend to track my reading through Goodreads, where you can track your books, list what you’ve read and when you’ve read it, and interact with friends online about what … <\/p>\n

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