Thursday, April 3, 2008

Booking Through Thursday: Lit-Ra-Chur

When somebody mentions “literature,” what’s the first thing you think of? (Dickens? Tolstoy? Shakespeare?)
Do you read “literature” (however you define it) for pleasure? Or is it something that you read only when you must?


I generally think of the books that are "good enough" by someone's standards somewhere to be read in school. Or I think of when you are learning about something new (like a medical condition) and people offer to give you "literature" on it.

I read it occasionally, and yes suffer from a bit of guilt thinking I should be reading more. This kind of reading takes more time for me, there is usually more to ponder and sometimes the writing style is quite different. I would say I read one to two books a year that fall into this category, but I would also say that most of my favorite books are in this category. Jane Eyre, Silence, etc.

What about you?

3 comments:

Carole said...

I haven't read "literature" since college, a long time ago! The closest book I've read in that category since then would probably be "To Kill a Mockingbird." A wonderful story that I need to read again, in fact.

FancyPants said...

I would count Jane Eyre as literature any day of the week. What do I think about the word literature? Well my little Mac dictionary defines it as: "written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting written merit."

I guess I think of it as standing the test of time? But I think anything can be considered literature, really. I think. I've never really thought about it before, actually. =)

Amy said...

Carole,
I have never read To Kill a Mockingbird! I should read it sometime.

Fancypants, you are probably right. Anything can be considered literature.

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