How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read
By M.-L.
@MALUSE (69428)
Germany
October 26, 2017 1:02pm CST
Scandal! The renowned French professor of literature Pierre Bayard confesses in his book ‘How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read‘ that he doesn’t like reading and that he’s frequently lectured his students on books he hasn’t read.
He has got a bone to pick with ‘culture’ and the obligation it puts on us. He lists three constraints we feel as readers, “The first could be called the obligation to read. We live in a society . . . in which reading still remains the object of a form of sacralisation, particularly where certain ‘canonical texts’ are concerned: it is practically forbidden not to have read them.”
The second constraint “could be called the obligation to read a book in its entirety. If non-reading is frowned upon, speed-reading and skimming are viewed in as poor a light.” Oh, I know what Bayard is talking about here. It has cost me quite an effort to learn to put away a book only half (or even less) read. But I’ve finally come to the conclusion that life is too short to finish books I don’t enjoy reading.
The third constraint is the need to have read a book in order to be able to talk about it. According to the author, it’s enough to know the book’s position in the ‘collective library’. Of course, you can only relate it to other books if you’re already well read. This is not the only occasion which makes clear that Bayard doesn’t advocate not reading at all.
Some books have become part of our collective literary consciousness and we just know about them without ever setting eyes on a copy.
Bayard isn’t interested in classical tomes as much as in current bestsellers. How can we talk about them at cocktail parties without proper prior perusal? Reading the blurb, the first page, the index, skimming a chapter or two, reading or listening to reviews and/or gossip on the author may be enough. Bayard, “To be able to talk with finesse about something one does not know is worth more than the universe of books.”
Am I grateful for Baynard’s pieces of advice? Hm, I don‘t seem to be his target reader. I don’t go to cocktail parties where bestsellers are discussed in order to show that I am up to date. Occasionally I talk with friends but always only about books I’ve read. If they introduce an author or a title I don’t know, I have no problem of saying so. If a book appeals to me I enjoy reading it from cover to cover. I had already learnt to put books away I don’t like before encountering Bayard as I’ve told you above. I’m sure, however, that some readers will see the essay as a kind of liberation from the constraints they’ve imposed on themselves or accepted from society.
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P.S.
Now the question raises its ugly head: Have I read the book I’ve reviewed here at all? Dear myLotters, I wouldn’t cheat on you - or would I?
15 people like this
15 responses
@JohnRoberts (109865)
• Los Angeles, California
26 Oct 17
Since when would a book or author be cocktail party conversation in this day and age?
3 people like this
@marguicha (214294)
• Chile
26 Oct 17
I like to read. No. I LOVE to read. But there are some books that are a MUST for readers and I cannot read past the first few pages.
I am not a guilty sort of reader as I don´t believe in sin either. If I like it, I read it. If all I want to read is up to the23rd page, then let it be it.
I have read a lot of classics with joy, but not because they were classics. In fact, I have read them in spite of them being classics.
3 people like this
@pgntwo (22412)
• Derry, Northern Ireland
26 Oct 17
That undying need to seem knowledgeable on a topic whilst expending minimum effort... Ever read a Shakespeare play using just the published student notes? Efficient, yes - rewarding, well, only for as long as you can fool people into thinking that you are well-versed in the original, seminal, work!
And we all know: whilst you can fool some of the people some of the time, you can't fool all of the people all of the time!
2 people like this
@cindiowens (5120)
• North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
26 Oct 17
I wrote many a book report on books I never read. Got excellent grades too. Now as for the question you pose at the end...
2 people like this
@cindiowens (5120)
• North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
26 Oct 17
@much2say I didn't even get the cliff notes. I would skim the table of contents if it had one, or read the insert and talk about something philosophical.
1 person likes this
@much2say (53665)
• Los Angeles, California
27 Oct 17
@cindiowens You're a pro at "winging it"! I didn't have that skill til later on in life .
1 person likes this
@FayeHazel (40250)
• United States
26 Oct 17
Oh that is irony, isn't it? Maybe you didn't read the book about not reading books.... lol
1 person likes this
@bunnybon7 (50975)
• Holiday, Florida
2 Nov 17
well i lost that response i just typed. but i agree with all that about book reading
@ptrikha_2 (45331)
• India
5 Nov 17
I do not think "Speed-reading" or skipping a few sections should be frowned upon, especially if the book is say 500 pages or more longer.
@much2say (53665)
• Los Angeles, California
26 Oct 17
Oh @MALUSE , although I think you are keen enough to be able to fool us, I also think you are an honest person who has no need to fool anyone . Maybe you didn't read the entire book word for word . . . but you got to the main parts of it anyway?
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (454979)
• Switzerland
27 Oct 17
I would be embarrassed to talk about a book I have not read, but only perused to know the essential to talk about it. I love to read, but there are several books that I abandoned after the first few chapters. I do not even remember what they talked about. When I do not like something I do not memorize, a way not to clutter the brain with unwanted info.
@xFiacre (12536)
• Ireland
26 Oct 17
@maluse I had an enchanting conversation on Monday with someone who is definitely not a man of letters, and the topic he introduced was the books of Albert Camus. He claimed to have read them all (in translation) and the conversation we had certainly indicated that he was telling the truth. I've read them all myself and asked questions that could only have been answered by a well-read Camus fan. Now I've forgotten how we got onto the subject.
@MALUSE (69428)
• Germany
27 Oct 17
@xFiacre I couldn't ask intelligent questions on Camus now to say nothing about giving intelligent answers. I read Camus and Sartre when I was still at school (I and some classmates had an existentialist period then. We wore black and smoked.). That was ~half a century ago.
@nanette64 (20368)
• Fairfield, Texas
27 Oct 17
If a book doesn't capture my interest by the end of the 2nd chapter, it's a gonner @MALUSE . I could have written a book about my life that probably would have been a best seller but instead I've just had my poems published in several different poetry books.
@nanette64 (20368)
• Fairfield, Texas
27 Oct 17
@MALUSE Thank you Auntie Malu. I've gotten as far as 2002, so I guess I should get on it before........
@MALUSE (69428)
• Germany
27 Oct 17
@nanette64 So you are working on it? That's good to hear! Winter is approaching. You'll have more time indoors and get more chapters written.
1 person likes this