Thinking Critically about Books

I am taking an online media class and one of the assignments this week was this questionnaire. I'd thought I'd post my response because I've been wanting to to a Reading List or at least a list of Favorite Books on here, and for now this will suffice.  I posted the questions below so that you can see the whole flow of how this piece was written. Enjoy

-R

The most important books in my life are the Bible, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Ariel by Sylvia Plath, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Caroll, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Girl Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen, It by Stephen King, The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera and Naked by David Sedaris. Then, of course, there are the plays and sonnets by Oscar Wilde and William Shakespeare, as well as the poems by Edgar Allen Poe, of whom I’ve been a huge fan since the third grade, and honorable mention goes to the Series of Unfortunate Events, I’ve yet to finish the entire series (I’m two books away) and these stories are incredible.  These books are the “most” important because they have influenced me greatly. They have influenced the way that I think and my perception of the world around me; most importantly, they have influenced my writing style. Most of these books are books that I’ve read over and over again, and some that took me a while to finish; which is notable because I am a very fast reader. The Bible is obviously up there because I believe in God and it has the biggest influence on my life and how I treat others.  I haven’t read all of it but the passages I have read have all been memorable and moving. The Bell Jar was a book that I related to 100%. Sylvia Plath really brought me into the 21 century with my poetry style; before her I was stuck religiously to iambic pentameter, after her, there was flow and something more natural and raw. Jane Austen is my hero; I’ve read Pride and Prejudice too many times to count and have it listed as #1 on every summer reading list. She is remarkable and Pride is still my favorite among her works. The books by Lewis Caroll are notable because I’ve read them both a hundred times each, and not as a child but as an adult and the amount of creativity and descriptiveness is staggering; I admire his offbeat tone and find it refreshing against his more scientific work. The Catcher in the Rye shook me just like The Bell Jar did, I found it funny and relatable and freeing.  Girl Interrupted was simply hilarious; I had always wanted to go to a ward similar to the one described in this book and write something as clever and heartfelt as this piece, the notion of which is ridiculous, but still great for those creative juices. It by Stephen King was by white whale; I could never find it in a thrift store or for a cheap price because I was broke. It fell into my lap when a new friend had told me it was great, and when I told him I had yet to read it (I was a King fan for years) he gave his copy which just so happened to be in his trunk at the time. It was the longest book I’ve yet to read, other than Anna Karenina and the Bible, and epically fantastic. I hated the film as a kid, than loved it as a teen and practically worshiped the book thereafter. The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a favorite, mostly because its title suggests some serious ostentatious notions, but also because it was beautifully descriptive and jarringly relatable, I’ve read it several times. Naked by Sedaris has also really helped me develop my writing style; I’ve discovered the art of satire through him and find that it comes quite naturally for me. Writers such as Shakespeare and Wilde are simply great; Shakespeare’s words are always grandiose, and whenever I write I try to match his level of sophistication, while still including some intrigue and confusion. Wilde is hilarious, in a way that only people who truly love words can understand. There is a level of education and sense of humor involved in everything he writes, and enjoying it requires the same, for lack of a better word, perspective. Edgar Allen Poe has been my favorite poet since grade school, he is a true storyteller and that what makes his work so rich; he is not just plotting words down on the page, he is weaving a tale, one that is enthralling and captivating.  The majority of the books mentioned are novels. These books became available to me through my parents; they are both avid readers, especially my dad. When I had money I would buy my own, either from a bookstore or online or at a thrift store. And when I didn’t have the money I would steal books; I don’t anymore, but I don’t feel that I should be too apologetic. I was stealing books, not makeup or candy or toys. I did get books as gifts, but that was rare. School libraries, especially in grade school, where my favorite part of the week. We would go to the library and check out books or a teacher would read one aloud and it was incredible. Everyone loved it, because we weren’t sitting in a class actually learning, but I savored those days. Books were my obsession. When I got older, a visit to the bookstore with friends was a day well spent; I didn’t always agree with my company’s choice of book, but nonetheless it was a great bonding ritual. The role that books currently play in my life, unfortunately is somewhat lacking. Nowadays, the majority of books I read are textbooks. I’ve been traveling around a lot lately, so all of my books are currently sitting unread in a storage unit. If I read anything for leisure it’s a downloaded book from my phone or laptop. I’ve tried my best to hold onto all of my books. When you travel as much as I do though; it can become cumbersome. The biggest tragedy of my teen years was when I moved back from Mexico and lost all but 25 books from my collection, which had over 300 books in total. I never throw a book out; I have “Eat, Pray Love” still in my collection, despite the fact that I have never read it, and nor do I plan on ever reading it. I’d like to have a huge library of books one day, especially since I predict that they won’t be printing books for too much longer. At that point they will become beautiful artifacts.  I started reading in grade school, which is when everyone learns to read, but I started seriously reading great and classic literature in the third grade. At the time, the only media activity battling for my attention was the television. I was a real kid who thoroughly enjoyed “normal” kid activities, such as riding my bike and reading books and yeah I watched television but I was an active kid and I feel pretty lucky to have grown up in the era that I did. I had all positive experiences when it came to books and reading. Books where assigned at school and they were all pretty great: Bridge to Terabithia, To Kill a Mockingbird (before it was banned), Esperanza Rising, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, The Diary of a Young Girl (which is also one of the most influential books of my early teen years, and even my early twenties; seriously I cry every time I read it and want to be Anne’s best friend forever), Tuck Everlasting, Hatchet (reread it recently and it’s incredible still) and Charlotte’s Web etc. The only “coming-of-age” experience I guess was crying while reading Bridge to Terabithia. It was the first book that captivated me so much that it brought me to tears. I also got suspended from school from a book once; I won’t go into details because it is embarrassing but definitely a coming-of-age experience. I think the role of books in an age of electronic media is doomed; people aren’t reading, they are watching. All of our best books are movies or television shows now anyways, people figure “why bother?” There are the options of online books now, but young people, who are our future, are not interested in anything related to reading. They are more preoccupied with social media websites. 

(and here are some images, cuz that was a lot of reading you illiterate fucks)

JK

QUESTIONS:

This Critical Process exercise is designed to reevaluate the significance of books in people’s lives, especially in an era of electronic media. These questions also go through the critical process to practice critical thinking. 

1. What have been the most important books in your life? 

2.  (Describe) Consider the books that have made a difference in your life. What kind of books are they (e.g., novels, reference books, religious books, children’s books, comic books)? How did you access these books? Were they already in your home? Did you go to the library? Did you get them as gifts, or did you buy them at a bookstore? What were your early experiences with school libraries, public libraries, and bookstores? What role do books currently play in your life? Have you kept many of the books that are important to you? Why or why not?

3. ( Interpret) Consider your book experiences in relation to the decade in which you started reading and the other media and activities battling for your attention. Did you generally have negative or positive experiences connected to books and reading? Do you have certain coming-of-age experiences connected to books? Why?

4. (Evaluate) After considering your book experiences, what do you think is the role of books in an age of electronic media?