December 24, 2010

Need to Read

I've hit a no reading hiatus. Ever since the new school year has started, I've been busy finishing the compulsory list of literature books. During the course of my studies (I'm doing Masters in English Literature) I've read some new novels such as Heart of Darkness, Adam Bede, and The Return of the Native and also some old favorites like Pride and Prejudice and A Tale of Two Cities.

Studying a novel critically is very different from reading a novel purely for enjoyment. I've discovered that literature is hard work! Between reading critics T.S. Eliot and Aristotle, and poets William Blake and Coleridge, I find no time for writing a review. Literature, instead of a pleasant hobby has become an a necessary study item for upcoming exams.

The reviews that I will write (hopefully) will mostly be of books that I have already read. For me, the most enjoyable part of anything - be it watching a movie or reading a book - is the discussion that takes place afterward. The critical analysis and arguments about what happened, why it happened and how it should have happened is something I look forward to more than the reading itself. And then who doesn't love re-reading their favorite parts? The scene between Darcy and Elizabeth after the proposal in Pride and Prejudice is one which I never tire of.

The suggestion of a new author or novel is always welcome. I've already on my list of novels to read Anna Karenina, War and Peace and Middlemarch. Let the new year start - then I'll make my resolution!

2 comments:

Alee said...

yeah i think we really need to read books because its an enjoyable hobby.I never understood this thing in my childhood when someone said that books could be your true friends but now I do. A book can be your good companion better than human beings. After opting for literature i came to know about new aspects. Literature is not as easy as i thought but its not an impossible thing if you have interest or zest and if you are courageous enough to study in depth. My list of new books is so long as after exams i first wanna finish The Anna series, Little Women, Gone With The Wind, Some books of Agatha Christie then War and Peace and the list goes on.....
Do add something about the books,which you are going to read. I am looking forward for your review on War and Peace.

Sarah said...

Aleena - just let the new year start; than i'll give a whole list of my TBR books in 2011:)