You Don't Need To Read All The Classics - And New Book

how to avoid the problem of "Double Think" in finding books you like. Also, an important announcement about the new book.

The Learned Disguise (My First Book)

[inlesinlet]

This is So Good! A lesson I learned last summer is to not let my inner Literary Snob stop me from reading a book just because it's on a bestseller list. In Norway (where I'm from) there's this conviction that any book on the bestseller list is Bad Literature... But then I stumbled across "Where the Crawdads Sing", I was seriously intrigued by the summary, and so I caved in and started reading. Then I had to force myself to take breaks, because it was So Good (for me) that I dreaded being finished with it. I wanted to crawl into that book and live it. Hadn't had that experience in years. So: If something peaks your interest, don't dismiss it just because every "non-literary" casual reader happens to love it.

[Thedeadjoker]

Abandoning a book is not a failure. It's a favor to yourself in finding a better experience.

[Teresa-peyg]

The whole point of reading a book is not finishing it, is taking something out of it

[Cat-and-Tilly]

I am continually amazed at this Zoomer generation. At 62, I still have a lot to learn, and these are the minds I look to for inspiration and direction. Eighteen? Dear gawd. Perhaps there is hope for the future.

[pyan]

You're 18 years old? Well I'm in my 30s and I'm learning a good deal from you. Kudos.

[nhatlaihoang]

he's the same age as me but i feel like a 10 years old listening to a university professor

[tungvu]

this guy is so underrated for his humor, guys. Does reading books make you more articulate?

[Kamomilla]

This video is perfect. "Pedestal mentality". When I was majoring in Literature, everyone kept talking about The Odyssey in such an elitist, academic, pedantic way that it was literally the last thing I wanted to read. One year after I graduated I decided to pick it up for myself and I loved it. When you peel off all that "snobbish" foolishness, and actually enjoy it and experience it for yourself, everything makes sense. You are allowed not to like classics, you are allowed to think Sophocles is boring. Do your thing, give every book a chance and be honest about what you like. <3

[shethewriter]

“You are your own champion of thought.” -R C Waldun

[calvinwazoo]

There is a time in your life when a book is right, and often we pick up a book we're "supposed" to read too early in our life and it becomes a chore. For example, when I finally read Moby Dick, I was stuck at home, recuperating from surgery. I couldn't do anything much except read. And so I began Melville's classic. And I got into it and really enjoyed it. I was ready. I was in my 30s at the time.

And then there are books you read twice at different ages and you take away completely different experiences. In college I read Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse. Really liked it! Hesse was the man! I read all his books then. Now I'm 61 and a year or so ago I read Steppenwolf again. It was a completely different book for me, still great, but my perspective had greatly changed (it is after all about an older man facing questions about his life, questions I wasn't asking myself in my 20s, but was asking now). So I re-read Demian. Loved it in college. But reading now that I'm older, I thought, what a stupid and dull book. And then I re-read the Glass Bead Game. The first time I read it, I felt it was important, but didn't quite grasp it. But now that I'm 61, I found the story magnificent and so revealing, particularly about education forms, as you were alluding to in your video.

I ignore most book recommendations, although I make a lot of recommendations to others. Lately, I've been reading a lot of biographies, African American history and Asian history. I've paced myself with Nietzsche, and have enjoyed his material and perspective even though I think he was bat-shit crazy. Books are like music. What someone else likes, you may find irritating. What others view as hugely serious and meaningful, you might find comical.

But music and literature and art are the pillars of life.

[Fuliginosus]

When I was around 20 years old I made a list of about 100 or so classic books that I felt I had to read as soon as possible in order to put myself on the same footing as well-known academics whom I admired. I ended up not really absorbing much because I was always so frantic to move on to the next book. It's easy to become familiar with all the worlds famous paintings, because you can see them at a glance, but with literature it's just something that takes years.

[elroyrebello]

I was feeling guilty for not being intrigued about Ulysses, Edgar Allan Poe, War and Peace, Kurt Vonnegut and Virginia Woolf, among others, and this video as such was quite liberating for me. Best of luck with your writing projects.

[ajr]

I had an English teacher who adored talking about books, the same as me. One time I was talking to her about how I wanted to buy a classic--I don't know if it was "Jane Eyre" or "Huckleberry Finn, " I can't recall--and she told me: "Why do you only read classics?" I told her that I liked reading classical literature, that there was something so intriguing and fascinating about them and their writers that always caught my eye. To that, she answered: "Reading only classics is such an elitist mentality. You need to read everything." Although I could understand her point of view, I simply couldn't believe she, of all people, would say that. I never told it to her then, but I wanted to tell her that she was wrong. There is no such thing as elitist literature. Never has been. Tell me, where's the elitism in reading "Huckleberry Finn, " "Don Quixote, " "War & Peace, " "Jane Eyre, " "One Hundred Years of Solitude, " "Moby Dick, " "Brave New World, " "Beloved, " etc. In all of the previously mentioned books, there is not a single drop of elitist mentality; on the contrary, these books attack the very idea of elitism. There is no such thing as elitist literature, there are only elitist people. The same people who flatter themselves on the idea of having read an "old book." In conclusion, it isn't bad to read a classic if you are looking for wisdom and guidance; however, it turns bad when you start boasting about having read a classic to make yourself seem superior to others.

[bhavanishankar]

I feel so happy that this came up randomly on YouTube. This indeed was a eye opener man. Just found out how much clouded my mind was with the suggestions and the best books list of all time. Atlast understood the importance of finding our own taste in books. So clearly articulated. Thanks a lot.

[thijmevanderburg]

Finally, a book guy on YouTube who isn't pushing his opinions or saying stuff like "you have the right to think that, but you're still wrong". Thanks man, was looking for channel like this! Thank you! (I think I said "thank you" one time to much)

[j.r.r]

You see, I love history. I absolutely love history and have always had this longing to go back in time somehow.With this in mind, I actually really love Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, The Brontë Sisters, Thomas Hardy, etc. I love their books. They are my little time machine, and they take me right into the times and places that I’ve always dreamed of seeing and experiencing.

When I was in High School I made the mistake you spoke about and tried to get into books like Brave New World, 1984, and even fantasy books like The Hobbit just because of the bragging rights. I found myself avoiding my books. I really didn’t enjoy reading them, and I felt this heaviness every time I read them that made me almost sick to my stomach. They bored me, but I still felt this bizarre need to pretend to love them.

Then one day what you just spoke about occurred to me. I wanted to read for me. I wanted to read because I enjoyed the world the books I read took me to and not because I was trying to get through someone else’s “must read” list.
Ever since that day I’ve never picked up a book that didn’t draw me in or excite me, and it has allowed me to never feel that my love for reading gets old or passes away.

It’s also taken me to other kinds of reading material that I never thought I would like, but really, really enjoy.

Reading should be the most enjoyable form of learning, and if it feels like a chore, it won’t do you any good.

[nassimamro]

I can’t imagine being this articulate and thoughtful as an 18 year old, I don’t want this to come off as patronizing kudos to you man I hope you realize it

[SpacemanTheo]

Elitism is a human but completely ridiculous concept/practice.
I am severely dyslexic and when the school system destroyed my self-worth and left me to drown because I couldn't read all this WWII books they tossed at us kids, and ridiculed me when I took to fantasy books. I found self fulfillment and joy in these worlds and bit by bit I tampered my disability on my own. I became a reader in spite of elitism beating me over the head every day. Fantasy opened the door to other books that I wouldn't have had the skills for. This is not to say fantasy is 'easy/simple to read, just that it enticed me to keep trying and work through my dyslexia. If they want to tell me that 'fantasy is basic/not real literature' they can eat my hairy ass.
But with all that said, I'm looking to expand my reading and I'm completely open to suggestions and putting in the time and effort to give that book a try. The key word here being 'suggest', not 'must'. I'm far too old and done with that whole superiority complex for any art form.

[christinebihasa]

Thank you, youtube, for recommending me this guy.

[sarrahalejaga]

I really love classics and want to read as much as I can. I just finished Jude the Obscure last night and now I'm starting Tess of the D'urbervilles and annotating while reading makes me feel like my book and I are spiritually connected.