What does "seriously well-read" mean to you?

Because I enjoy reading, I often watch various BookTube videos. The following is my response to: The Seriously Well-Read Tag (created by Randy Ray @LiterateTexan ). For the following, I'm mostly sticking to fiction -- my answers would be quite different if I dove into my non-fiction reading life. Also, while I do read some 'high-brow' literature, those considered the Classics, and what are often referred to as the Great Books -- I'd consider myself more of a low-brow reader when it comes to fiction. So, spoiler alert, many people would not consider me to be "seriously" well-read if they get all academic and "serious" about it! 

1) What book made you take reading seriously?

I’ve always taken reading seriously because it’s my nature but also the way I was raised. My dad was a lifelong reader and learner, always seeking more knowledge and ways to bring that into living a Good Life. Books were important from my first exposure to them when I was toddler and being read to by my parents; I was hooked on stories and wanted to read the ‘magic’ words myself. So there hasn’t been any particular book that performed that function.

2) What book did you pretend to understand? Be honest.

Can’t recall there being one for that. I’m not a college graduate or an academic or anything but consider myself intelligent, reflective, curious, discerning, and I enjoy language. If a story or book at some point leaves me feeling a bit lost, I usually pause or slow down, do some ‘close reading’ or even journaling (of which I’m a huge advocate and life-long journal-keeper).

3) Which three books are on your personal ‘required reading’ list?

This is a big question! And to try and narrow it down just three? Crazy! Also challenging to quickly separate ‘favorites’ from why I think they could be considered ‘required.’ My choices have certainly changed over the years and could easily change tomorrow or next year but … 

Since BookTube focuses mostly on fiction, I will answer to that up front. The first ones that come to mind are: A Tale of Two Cities; Gone With the Wind; and, hard to narrow it down, but maybe Lost Horizon. Honorable mentions, just to name a few more, are: The Thirteenth Tale, The Stand, Winter Solstice, The Gabriel Hounds, The Overstory, The Sparrow, The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein, Frankenstein, Jurassic Park, Earth Abides, The Lace Reader, The Double Bind, The Wood Wife. Maybe in a later post I will go to each of these and describe how I understand their importance in this context — and perhaps clarify why I remember them so well. I’m sure many more will pop into my head the moment I post this.

Required reading for non-fiction: The Matter With Things by Iain McGilchrist; Becoming Animal by David Abram; and The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt. And so many could be listed here that I’m not even going to go down that rabbit hole!

4) What author have you been avoiding? 

Not author really but book that immediately comes to mind is: Moby Dick by Melville. I’ve had an aversion to that book for decades, mostly because it’s about a man’s desire to seek vengeance against an animal. I admit that I may be giving it short-shrift and approaching it with the pre-judgment that I recommend others not do. So there. Thanks to this question, maybe I will make time to read this one. That said, being now in my elder years with only so much time left and a very long list of books I’d love to read — maybe not. 

5) What’s the hardest book you’ve ever finished? 

That would be the one that I’m still working on:  The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe. I’m not sure I was call it “hard” to finish, just taking longer than expected; the writing is beautiful but it’s all narrative, quite lengthy, and is simply one I find myself reading ever so slowly — it’s not gripping like 20^th Century novels. It’s not lively like Dickens, for example. If I’m using the word ‘hard’ as in emotionally difficult, I still recall how upset I was in high school after reading the required book Watership Down. It’s another superbly written, excellent novel — no doubt about that — but because my own sensitivities lie in the abuses of humans upon nature and wild creatures, I’ve no interest in reading it again although I learned a lot from reading it the one time. This is also why I answered the way I did (below) in question #9 — I completely understand sensitivity to certain topics, but I still feel it vital to not pre-judge a book and to read it in the context in which it was written. I had no idea what was going to happen in Watership Down — this relates to one of my big problems with social media’s influence in our current culture. 

6) What’s a book that changed how you read? 

This is perhaps redundant, but that book might be A Tale of Two Cities. It was required reading in high school and showed me that a Classic could be enjoyable. I’ve been reading for more than six decades so definitely hard to pin down.

7) Quality vs. Quantity — would you rather read 100 good books in a year or 10 great books? 

I would choose 100 good books for the simple reason that I’m a constant reader, a daily reader, and retired, so to be limited to only 10 books in a year would feel like torture. I like to experience many, many worlds.

8) Which genre are you embarrassed to say you have not read? 

Not embarrassed. And since I’ve always read broadly, my biggest shortage would be not having read very many books in the Classics, something I’ve recently begun to rectify. I feel I’ve acquired adequate reading experience in the rest of the genres.

9) Which book do you think most people misread? 

These days, for fiction, that would be Gone With the Wind. Seems like many if not most people reading this book ‘can’t see the forest for the trees’ within this absolutely fantastic American novel. I don’t agree with some of the aspects it reveals about human nature and our blindspots, however, like all historical novels, it’s a product of its time and that of its author.

Bonus: What does “seriously well-read” mean to you?

The answer depends on each person and what their intention is. I would first ask whether one wants to be an expert in one genre or one author? Or does one desire to be well-read on a broad spectrum? Does that include both fiction and non-fiction? For me, personally, when I think about this phrase “seriously well-read” I lean into having read broadly enough to glean at least bits of wisdom in all areas. Maybe not an expert in more than one or two topics or genres, but able to access understanding on some level across a broad scope of both fiction and non-fiction. If we want to be able to understand a broad swathe of human personality and culture, of philosophy and history, then I believe reading broadly is a good choice.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my answers to these great questions!