{"id":42382,"date":"2014-06-06T17:43:22","date_gmt":"2014-06-06T23:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/06\/06\/shaming-those-who-dont-read-the-proper-literature.html"},"modified":"2014-06-06T19:19:38","modified_gmt":"2014-06-07T01:19:38","slug":"shaming-those-who-dont-read-the-proper-literature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/06\/06\/shaming-those-who-dont-read-the-proper-literature.html","title":{"rendered":"Shaming those who don’t read the proper literature"},"content":{"rendered":"
This happens every few years or so. Someone laments that Good Literature is not being read by one and all (let alone all and sundry), and that it's clearly the end of Mature Adulthood (if not Western Civilization) as we know it.<\/p>\n

I remember getting into just such a discussion while in college, (mumblety) years ago. It was no more productive, but it sure felt profound. Now — not so much.<\/p>\n

Let me throw out this alternative suggestion. I think it's great to recommend what is commonly deemed "good literature." I.e., books that have sophisticated plotlines and characters, that don't necessarily end with neat or happy endings, that use interesting vocabulary and imagery and sentence construction.<\/p>\n

It's also great to be able to say, "Y'know, I really don't care for a salmon-quinoa salad with cherry compote and an truffle-avocado creme fraiche\u00a0demiglaze. I'll have the caesar salad, anchovies on the side" — and not be told that I\u00a0have an immature palate, or that I'm not supporting the right causes, or that the truffles are fair trade and therefore morally superior to my croutons.<\/p>\n

It's wonderful to offer someone a 1953 Chateau-neuf-du-pape, with explanation of the subtle bouquet, the enchanting mouthfeel, and the complex interplay of tannins and fruit that can be attributed to the particularly dry summer after a late, wet winter that year on that side of that particular village. \u00a0And, in fact, I might even enjoy a taste of it. \u00a0Or, perhaps, right now, I'll have a beer. \u00a0Or a Coke. Or a caipiranha.<\/p>\n

Enjoy your tastes. Offer to share them with others. And, yes, explore other things. Learn to recognize the differences — not in a judgmental way but in an informed way. But heavy sighing and rolled eyes and tut-tutting makes you sound …<\/p>\n

Well, Ms. Graham, whenever you have to start a sentence with "at the risk of sounding snobbish and joyless and old," you might want to reconsider what you are about to say, because it most likely is not just sounding<\/i> that way.<\/p>\n

(h\/t +<\/span>Les Jenkins<\/a><\/span>)\ufeff<\/div>\n

\n

\n \n <\/div>\n

Yes, Adults Should Be Embarrassed to Read Young Adult Books<\/a>
\n As The Fault in Our Stars barrels into theaters this weekend virtually guaranteed to become a blockbuster, it can be hard to remember that once upon a time, an adult might have felt embarrassed to be caught reading the novel that inspired it. Not because it is bad\u2014it isn\u2019t\u2014but because…\n <\/p>\n

View this post on Google+<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This happens every few years or so. Someone laments that Good Literature is not being read by one and all (let alone all and sundry), and that it's clearly the end of Mature Adulthood (if not Western Civilization) as we know it. I remember getting into just such a discussion while in college, (mumblety) years … Continue reading “Shaming those who don’t read the proper literature”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[106,36,100],"tags":[586],"class_list":["post-42382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-plusposts","category-media-books","category-dolts","tag-pluspost"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":132649,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2017\/01\/25\/literature-even-comic-books-mean-something-or-else-they-mean-nothing.html","url_meta":{"origin":42382,"position":0},"title":"Literature (even comic books) mean something, or else they mean nothing","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 25-Jan-17 10:44pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Stan Lee may be a self-aggrandizing huckster who parlayed some great collaborative ideas into a media empire that he took credit for ...... but The Man speak sooth. Folk who want comic books to be simple escapist fare (and God knows I enjoy escapism and comic books) ignore that even\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/104fca54-df43-4803-842e-b04259aecc65imgmax%3D660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5663,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2004\/01\/28\/litppt.html","url_meta":{"origin":42382,"position":1},"title":"Lit.ppt","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 28-Jan-04 1:48pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Maybe this is a little too efficient: Too busy for Cliff's Notes? 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Or meeting your end at the hands of...","rel":"","context":"In "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/media\/media-books"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6962,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2004\/11\/23\/google_for_non.html","url_meta":{"origin":42382,"position":4},"title":"Google for Non-Idiots","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 23-Nov-04 8:25am","format":false,"excerpt":"Google is running a beta test on a version of its search engine focusing on academic journals, sites, and publications: Google Scholar enables you to search specifically for scholarly literature,...","rel":"","context":"In "Hi-Tech"","block_context":{"text":"Hi-Tech","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/hi-tech"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41773,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/04\/21\/genre-vs-literary-fiction.html","url_meta":{"origin":42382,"position":5},"title":"Genre vs Literary Fiction","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 21-Apr-14 9:01am","format":false,"excerpt":"Is a false dichotomy. There is fiction. There is, perhaps, good fiction and bad fiction, but where it gets stacked at the library or bookstore is not, generally speaking, by quality.Categorizations by genre vs \"literature\" should be, at most, categorization to help you find what you're looking for. 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