For the bookish in the audience, I'd recommend reading "Books we have never read," over on the Times Online site, a review of Pierre Bayard's essay "How to discuss books that one hasn't read."
Too much to blog about right now, but this touches on a few themes of interest to me -- namely, that the world is filled with literary works of value that many people will never, ever read. I'd love to have conversations about John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany, for instance -- but not to quiz someone on the minutiae of the novel, but the grand themes of the novel. Sure, it'd be better to have read the novel (it's a wonderful book) but couldn't a person have an intelligent discussion having read (say) the Cliff Notes?
Discussing books you haven't read
For the bookish in the audience, I'd recommend reading "Books we have never read," over on the Times Online site, a review of Pierre Bayard's essay "How to discuss books that one hasn't read."
Too much to blog about right now, but this touches on a few themes of interest to me -- namely, that the world is filled with literary works of value that many people will never, ever read. I'd love to have conversations about John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany, for instance -- but not to quiz someone on the minutiae of the novel, but the grand themes of the novel. Sure, it'd be better to have read the novel (it's a wonderful book) but couldn't a person have an intelligent discussion having read (say) the Cliff Notes?
More on this topic later, I hope...