I always think, why are you wasting your time reading some pretentious idiot like Cormac McCarthy, David Foster Wallace (the typical ‘dude’ books), when you could read books that have staid relevant for hundreds of years and stood the test of time, like the Divine Comedy, Decline and Fall or the Roman Empire, Herodotus, Canterbury tales, etc? Those works are so much more profound – and even more relevant to our modern life – than “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy. Why would you waste your time reading that kind of junk, when there’s a deep sea of classic literature out there, which is better in every way?
by VitaeSummaBrevis
25 Comments
No, because even those ‘profound’ books from hundreds of years ago had guys like you saying the same thing about them that you are saying about modern-day authors.
Life’s short and they are too many books. Read what makes you happy.
…no.
Don’t police people’s readings. Everyone’s allowed to read whatever they want. It’s silly to judge others for not reading what you want them to read.
Well, to each their own. Judging people based on their tastes in literature doesn’t improve your own mind. If you like the classics (I do), then read them, master them, be ready to argue and discuss them. If you like 20th century novels, read them. If you like pop fiction, romance, magazines, read them! Read what you enjoy.
I actually hate classic literature. I don’t disagree that it’s art in itself, it’s just not a style I enjoy. Life is short, time is limited. I’m going to read the things that I enjoy.
I also think that if we were to boycott all modern literature that nobody would read anything in 100 years. Let’s appreciate new talent too.
ETA: that the classic literature isn’t doing favours for your spelling. Stayed not “staid”
Sorry for my moment of being petty🤷🏻♀️
Decline and Fall isn’t even the most accurate way to learn Roman history anymore. Gibbon’s very outdated, on account of how the classics & historiography have changed in the last 200-odd years. Even at the time, his work was heavily critiqued & it still is today.
Good lord no. Books can be just for entertainment. That’s like saying people should only watch documentaries on TV and not worry about sitcoms or game shows. There’s room for everything.
Because prose changes over time, as does speech.
You can’t just lock and load into Divine Comedy, the amount of other works referenced is just going to create a ? on the average reader.
By this I mean it takes a degree of education to even be able to appreciate the works of Dickens, Shakespeare etc. Your mind needs to be trained to appreciate this, it’s work.
Modern books, like YA novel, don’t have that restriction.
Similarly with history books, I greatly prefer modern writers like Rick Atkinson, Caroline Etkins.
Similarly how the medium of cinema changes and audience taste.
Not even remotely because people have different tastes in what they enjoy and that kind of attitude just makes you look like an asshole.
Are you 15?
are any of them books set in a post-apocalyptic world? No, then your point is invalid. You just sound like a butt-hurt, ignorant, snob person and I haven’t even read The Road. Also you spelled “staid” wrong.
This whole post reeks of english literature major superiority complex. Let people read what they want to. Sometimes people want to read for fun. Sometimes they don’t want to read complex, thought-provoking plots. Sometimes they want to read something relevant to their time or their values. Or sometimes they even want to read something that, and this may shock you, they prefer over classic literature. Classic literature isn’t the end all be all of books especially since books are a heavily subjective topic.
No. I prefer The Beatles to Bach too.
This is like saying “does it annoy you that people see marvel movies when they could be watching citizen cane or charlie Chaplin films instead”
Maybe because they haven’t “staid” relevant. Who cares about the Decline and Fall *OR* the Roman Empire? Sometimes people just wanna read at the beach, or masturbate to some Fifty Shades. Is that wrong?
I spent my life studying these classics, and I think they have their place. But they’re not “better in every way.”
How do you feel about James Joyce?
The only reason those classics are classics is because someone read them when they weren’t.
r/bookscirclejerk
I think a lot of historians would debate how well Gibbon has “stood the test of time.”
Being a classic or old does not mean something is profound. I love the divine comedy but half of it is Dante coming up with punishments for his political enemies. Gibbons can be… shall we say… dry. Half of Herodotus is completely fabricated. So let us be careful about putting these albeit classic and influential books on a pedestal.
For instance, people have made entire careers out of reading things into Shakespeare while ignoring how many dick jokes there are. Go see a play live and it’s an entirely different experience from the dusty experience of academia.
The other thing is that these classics often do not reflect the experience of modern life. They are not written in a way that engages us. They are no longer in dialect with other authors. I’m not saying cormac McCarthy is going to have classics read in 200 years. But his books bring joy and meaning to people which should not be put down. Don’t yuck someone else’s yum.
Does this mean you’ve also missed out on contemporary literature? How old does a book have to be for you to consider it worth your time.
This is certainly a take.
No. Not at all. I have no interest in reading “the Divine Comedy, Shakespeare or Edward Gibbon”.
No, it doesn’t bother me. I love classics myself but I also find modern authors great. And Cormac McCarthy is amongst them as well as John Irving and Donna Tart for example. J. K. Rowling rocked with HP books and we most likely won’t see massive crowds of people all over the world waiting for *a book* ever again. Stephen King made a huge impact on the horror genre.
You’re just being snobbish.
What bothers me is when people act as if their opinions on what others should read is in any way relevant to anyone. STFU and read the books you want to read and we will do the same.
Don’t be a snob and a gatekeeper. I’ve read the classics and I read modern pop stuff. There’s good in all of it. Come on down off your high horse.