Lately, I’ve been having a hard time settling down with a new book to read. A book, after all, is a weighty commitment, not only of time but also of emotional investment. It can be the wellspring of thoughts which follow you throughout the day, and the inspiration for your own writing and (at the risk of sounding overly-sentimental) life. A book can also be bad writing. Or worse, uninteresting. And while I love reading in general, there’s something deeply satisfying in getting just the right book for my current mood. That’s what I’ve been after lately.
For whatever reason, my own bursting shelves at home have felt rather lacking lately for new reading material. Not that I don’t like my hefty collection of creative nonfiction, or my very specific branch of literary fiction written by 19th century British women writers (George Eliot, the Bronte sisters, Elizabeth Gaskell). It’s just that I’ve read a lot of these books already, and want to encounter something, well, different.
Perhaps it’s the literary equivalent of scrolling through Netflix in hopes of finding something new to watch, and seeing the same plot pop up again and again: the kind that, once you’ve seen the trailer, you’ve basically seen the movie, because you have already seen it a hundred other times in previous iterations. Not that I’m meaning to imply that run-of-the-mill movies are of the same calibre as George Eliot’s Mill on the Floss. It’s all just to say that, sometimes, we all just want something different than what we’re used to.
It began well. I recently finished four of P. L. Travers’s books in the Mary Poppins series, which I found unexpectedly delightful. The writing was more witty and layered, the characters more comic than I’d presupposed. If I’m honest with myself — and you, dear reader — I’d have to admit that I was looking for a light read. I got it, sure (it’s possible to read these stories quite quickly and even passively), but I also got much more.
It was a library book. And the beautiful thing about a library book is that you can check it out, even when you’re unsure you want to invest in your own copy. This means that the stakes are lower — because, let’s face it: it’s not just time and emotions that we invest in books: it’s money as well — meaning that we’re more likely to try something a bit out of the ordinary from our normal purchases or reads when we don’t haven’t to spent money on it.
But that can also backfire.
After finishing Mary Poppins, I began another library book: a new biography on L.M. Montgomery. But when I got to about page 30 and still had not found a single solitary fact about her life that I hadn’t already known, I lay the book aside with a sense of squeamish guilt. Though I love most things L.M. Montgomery, this title wasn’t holding my attention. The read was more like slogging through, just so that I was up on whatever was current in the L.M. Montgomery world. And so I stopped reading it.
The bookmark still is in its place, but I have a feeling that I’ll be returning the book before I take it up again. Perhaps it’s another case of over-reading the same thing over and over again (I do, after all, have three other LMM biographies on my bookshelves, plus her autobiography, her letters, and her Selected Journals). Because I didn’t purchase the book myself, I feel less compelled to finish it (though still guilty for even admitting that).
Eventually, I settled on something, which I wouldn’t have found had it not been for my blog. As I wrote in my post last week, I’ve been thinking a lot about reading children’s literature as an adult. And one of you commented, leaving a wonderful recommendation of Bruce Handy’s Wild things: The Joy of Reading Children’s Literature as an Adult. Again, I found it at my local library and have been eating it up ever since. The dust jacket markets it as “Literary Criticism,” but it seems too engaging a read to be merely that (says the M.A. in English lit.) Who knew that literary criticism on children’s literature could be just the thing?
And so, how do you choose a book when you don’t want the same-old, same-old? Of course, there’s no easy formula. But you might consider taking a chance on a random library book, or a recommendation, and read something entirely different.
Question: What is a book that you’ve unexpectedly enjoyed?
I almost picked up that very book when I saw it in the library this week! Then I thought, “Well shouldn’t I just read the children’s books?”
I guess I always expect to enjoy any book I start to read. It’s the disappointments that stick out.
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I can relate to your struggle on finding good books worth reading. Sometimes I find myself browsing through a book store, just wondering if I might actually become interested in any novel. I usually start by reading the back cover to see what the book is about, and if I am not hooked in the first couple of sentences, I simply put it down and move on. Just like you, if I’m not engaged after a certain point, there is a huge possibility that I won’t finish the book. But I have liked skimming through some of my favorite childhood stories recently. Before I watch any movie based on a book, I like to read the book first. I am a big fan of The Wizard of Oz. This is one of my favorite films of all time, but this one I watched before I read the book. However, I find the book much better, entertaining, engaging, colorful, and just all around awesome. There is absolutely no shame in reemerging oneself into these reads as an adult. In fact, this should be encouraged. Thank you for a wonderful post ! 🙂 Looking forward to reading more of your articles soon !
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Thanks for sharing your experience! Yes, I’ve totally done that where I’m in a bookstore, or even browsing online, and haven’t been able to find a single book that interests me! For me, I’ve found that it usually has more to do with my mood than actually being unable to find anything that might interest me. You’ve given some good growing techniques to weed out what’s not desirable!
Thanks for telling me about your enjoyment of The Wizard of Oz – I think I’d known it was a book; I just never had considered reading it for myself. This is something new for me: going back to children’s literature. Before Mary Poppins, I hadn’t even considered that some of my favourite movies as a child were actually based on books! (the things we take for granted!) As you say, lots of writing is much more engaging than the book. I think I will make it a point to check out The Wizard of Oz. Thanks so much for commenting, and your kind words about my post! Hope to see you back here soon!
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You are welcome 😊 That is certainly true, we do take alot of literature for granted, but reading childrens book is a good start to remedy that 😊 Would love to see more of your posts 😄👌🏼🌟
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I just finished reading a hefty biography of Robert E. Lee, called READING THE MAN, that had been standing on one of my library shelves for a few years. We were experiencing a cold snap and all I wanted to do was settle into a hefty book. The weather and the book made a wonderfully fulfilling week of evenings, ignoring the television and Netflix. I followed with a new copy of Lee’s daughter Agnes Lee’s GROWING UP IN THE 1850s. That one was pure delight! It filled out the picture of the Lees’ homelife at Arlington, even though the General was absent much of the time, either at West Point (with the whole family) or on military campaigns in the Southwest.
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I love it when a book that’s been sitting on the shelf for a few years turns out to be a great read! Isn’t it interesting how we have different moods for certain kinds of books? I totally know what you mean about wanting to settle down to a nice “hefty” book when the weather turns cold. Thanks so much for sharing your books about Robert E. Lee and his daughter Agnes!
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