Those who know me know that I have long been a reader. You can blame my parents or my school teachers or maybe it`s in my genes, but i LOVE to read. You might even blame LeVar Burton and his Reading Rainbow program i watched as a kid. (By the way, LeVar Burton also played Jordie LaForge in Star Trek: The Next Generation and was in Roots). If i am late going to bed or if i miss getting off at my stop on the train it is usually because i am immersed in a good book (this has happened more times than i care to think of and i have actually accounted for it in my travel time to work so as not to be late!).
Lately i have been reading a lot more non-fiction but still make room in my schedule for a good novel every now and again. I think "Reading Week" and "Canada Reads" and other programs aimed at encouraging reading (especially those aimed at youth) are necessary, important and fun. Adding to this list is Amazon.ca (or .com or .jp depending on where you are). They have selected the "52 Best Books Ever Written" and they are challenging readers to read one a week in 2008, according to the promotional e-mail i got today. Normally i just delete these e-mails, choosing instead to select my own books (i have shelves full and overflowing with books i am working my way to reading and yet i still borrow and buy new books all the time). And one per week is a little fast for me! But the idea is good and the list is full of classics. The idea is that they will unveil a new title each Saturday (and presumably we would rush to order it from their service). You can, of course, find most of these books at almost any used book shop or even on Amazon`s "Used Books" service for much much cheaper. Also, i think Amazon`s list may be a little biased since they appear to be in cahoots with Penguin Classics for their selections. I was surprised, looking at the list so far, at how few of these i`ve actually read.
So here is the link for you to take a look: Amazon`s 52 Best Books Ever Even if you don`t read all of them ( i know i won`t), may i suggest picking up two or three and finding out why they are such classics. To many people "classic" = boring. I, for example have never made it all the way through a Jane Austen novel without falling asleep repeatedly and then just renting the movie, during which i would again fall asleep repeatedly. But this list has many books that are ideal for a wide variety of readers. And contrary to popular belief you don`t actually need your high school English Lit teacher standing over you to enjoy a "classic." Nor will anyone ask you to write an essay about it later (though you can by all means if that`s what gets your motor running). So grab a coffee or a glass of wine and get into a good book.
No comments:
Post a Comment