Addicted to Reading?

Sometimes I wonder if I am addicted to reading. When I say this to friends, they usually say, “If you are, it’s a good kind of addiction.” And I obviously basically agree with this assessment; reading is a powerful, informative, illuminating, productive, and enjoyable activity. If it is an addiction, it is certainly better than many other kinds of addictions. But like all addictions, it sometimes interferes with other parts of one’s life. Sometimes I think I read when I should be doing other things. If it is an addiction, it is one I have had since I was a child, and I doubt I could ever wean myself away from it. It is too powerful an addiction for me, too central an activity in my life.

A Low-Maintenance Art

One convenient aspect of reading is that it requires no equipment and little expense. Aside from procuring the book itself at a bookstore or library, or from a friend, nothing else is required. Other arts and avocations generally require more. Visual art requires trips to museums and galleries; music requires going to concerts or at least regularly stocking one’s I-Pod or CD player; dance and theater require going to performance spaces; and so on. Books have a few available accessories – e.g., shelves, bookends, reading lamps, dust covers, bookmarks – but these are optional. Books are gloriously portable, unencumbering and unencumbered; we can throw them into briefcases, book bags, beach bags, purses, or pockets when we go out, thus having them available to read on buses, subways, and planes, and in cafes and parks. Books are also sturdy, not fragile, so (except for the occasional rare or valuable book) we don’t need to fuss over them or be overly protective of them. And there they are, always ready to be opened up and read, always ready to provide enjoyment, information, enlightenment, connection, and so much more. Think of it: little alternative (yet familiar) worlds always at our fingertips: what could be better?

A Love letter to Newspapers

As we all know, newspapers are an endangered species in this era of the Internet. Here I won’t go into the many important reasons that Internet news cannot and should not replace print journalism (but I do note that much of the news on the Internet is taken directly from in-print newspapers; who else does investigations and reporting in depth?). Supplement, yes; replace, no. Here I just want to write a little love letter to newspapers. I have read and enjoyed newspapers since I was a child; I read them daily, and feel deprived and twitchy without them. When I lived in India as a child, we took an English language newspaper called, if I remember rightly, the Madras Mail. When my family moved to Michigan, we read the Detroit Free Press, and I continued reading it for all the years I lived in Michigan, and even occasionally in the years after I left; I greeted it as an old friend when I went back during summer weeks at my parents’ lakeside cottage or visits to my friend in Ann Arbor. When I moved to San Francisco, I started reading the San Francisco Chronicle, and have read it ever since. The Chronicle is now rather sadly thin and diminished, but I am very fond of it, and can’t do without it. I do read The New York Times occasionally, and subscribe to its Book Review, and I read other newspapers when I travel, but my day in, day out newspaper is the Chronicle, and I am very loyal to it. What is better than reading the morning paper with one’s morning coffee? My husband and I amicably divide the sections, and then trade. The bulkier Sunday paper with its lovely supplements (magazines, book review, travel and food sections, comics, etc.) is a special pleasure. It’s a great way to ease into the new day. I love the physical aspect of holding the paper in my hands; I even love the smell of newsprint, although in recent years I have developed a slight allergy to the smell, just as my late father did; however, a few sneezes can't stop me from reading newspapers! I hope that there are enough of us that feel so passionate about, and loyal to, print newspapers that they will survive and prosper.

Daffy and Marvelous Lucia and Mapp

Do you know the “Lucia” novels, by E. F. Benson? If not, and if you like a certain kind of witty, slightly daffy British humor, full of lovely nonsense, you have a treat in store. There are six novels, starting with “Queen Lucia” and ending with “Trouble for Lucia,” published in the 1920s and 1930s. These are collectively known as the “Make Way for Lucia” series. The main character, Lucia, has an ongoing friendly but intense rivalry with the other main character, Mapp, and hilarious antics ensue. Both are women "of a certain age" living in a small town, “Tilling.” (As an interesting aside: Lucia’s house, “Mallards,” is based on Benson’s house, Lamb House, where Henry James had also lived earlier.) Each wants to be the acknowledged social leader of the town. They go to great lengths to outdo each other, and they are not above playing tricks on each other. Each can be imperious, pretentious and manipulative, but all in good fun. Each has her supporters, and those characters too are very funny. Lucia and Mapp and all the characters are truly memorable, and these novels are incomparable, irresistible. They were also made into an equally hilarious BBC television series.

Academic Reading: Sometimes Tedious, Sometimes Wonderful!

Besides the novels, memoirs, and other books, as well as magazines, that I read for pleasure and write about in this blog, I also read many books and academic journals for professional reasons. I need and want to keep up with the research in my discipline, and in related disciplines. This reading feeds into my own research and writing, as well as into my teaching. To be honest, not all of this academic reading is fascinating; sometimes journals pile up for a while before I get to them, and sometimes I skim through them, reading only the articles that are most relevant to my interests. But when I do find the articles or books or book chapters that are relevant and interesting, even exciting, I feel a great, sometimes even exhilarating sense of discovery. I get out my pencil and underline and write notes in the margins, with liberal applications of post-its (such a great invention!) as well. I enter references onto my various bibliographies. I put journals and books into various piles related to various of my writing projects. It is a different type of reading than my reading of novels for pure enjoyment, but each provides different types of pleasure and enrichment in my life.

Colonial India

Because I lived as a child in barely postcolonial India, I have always been drawn to literature set in India. Novels about India have political, social and emotional resonance for me. On March 1, 2010, I posted a list of selected novels by Indian writers. Today I am writing about novels by British writers that are set in India during the Raj. These novels certainly have a colonial perspective, being of their time, but also manage to transcend that perspective in many ways. Perhaps the greatest such novel, and certainly the best-known, is E. M. Forster’s “A Passage to India,” set in India during the later years of the British Raj. Forster felt a real connection to India and Indians, and his novel shows understanding of all its characters, both British and Indian. The next most well known example of this genre is Paul Scott’s “The Raj Quartet,” four interconnected novels also about the British Raj. These novels are satisfying on so many levels: historical, psychological, cultural, and of course literary. They were collectively made into one of the best PBS presentations ever: “The Jewel in the Crown.” Scott followed this quartet with another novel set in India after Independence, called "Staying On," also very good. Other British novels set in India are M. M. Kaye’s huge bestseller about the Mutiny, “The Far Pavilions,” and Rumer Godden’s delightful novels reflecting her childhood in India, such as “The River,” which was made into a film by Jean Renoir.

A Living Shrine for Books

On the third floor of the library of the university where I teach is the enchanting Rare Book Room. As visitors walk in, they are surrounded by gorgeous antique wooden tables, comfortable old-fashioned sofas and chairs, windows overlooking a green vista of the city, display cases with ever-changing exhibits, and a large, authentic printing press. And, of course, everywhere, there are books in beautiful old-fashioned cabinets. This is where old, rare books and book-related items are kept. Although they cannot be checked out, they can be looked at, and looked through, in this beautiful, inviting room. The atmosphere is welcoming, and the Rare Book Librarian encourages visitors to enjoy the room and its contents. As part of a library orientation every semester, I take my students to this special room, and the Librarian shows them such artifacts as ancient stones with hieroglyphic writing, beautiful aged scrolls from China, pages from a Gutenberg Bible, books that are art objects in various unexpected shapes, and more. He also explains how the printing press works, and tells them about the special collections of the works of various authors. The students are always impressed with the room and with these displays. I never tire of visiting this living shrine to the history and variety of the written word.