Before the holidays started, I started reading this book that Jane Smiley started to write when she had writer’s block. It’s called Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel, and before your eyes glaze over, it isn’t what you think. It wasn’t just about writing a novel, it’s about what it means to read one, too.
Her theory, when faced with the inability to write, was that she could read her way out of it. She started out with the intention of reading 275 novels (I know!), but admits she had to pare it down because she’s “a slow reader.” (I cannot tell you how relieved I felt when I read that. Truly.) She read all kinds of books, from The Decameron, which is often called the first novel, to works by modern writers. She wasn’t trying to make a list of the best – it was just a list of books she’d read.
I’ve been finding this book quite inspirational in ways I wasn’t expecting. I often feel like I’m not as well-read as I should or could be, and I know I’m not alone in this. How can you read everything? Impossible. I’m also afraid, sometimes, of not liking something I’m reading. I found it refreshing to discover that Jane Smiley doesn’t like everything she reads, either, and that sometimes sticking with something you don’t like has its own rewards in the end, the same way bailing on A Christmas Carol after 50 pages might bring its own sweet relief (followed rapidly by guilt. Oh, the guilt.).
The book contains Smiley’s own list of 100, and there are some great books on there. I was pleasantly surprised to discover I’d read more than a few of them, and that some were even favorites of mine. There were a few I’d not encountered, and others I’d heard of but never read. They now have a place on my ever-expanding reading list.
Since it’s the start of a new year, I figured there was no better time to tackle another self-improvement project. So I’m going to start reading my own 100. And I’m going to write about them here. I’m no book critic, and I’m no English Lit major, so I’m hoping I don’t sound completely clueless when I document my impressions for the whole internet to see. All I want is to cross a few books off my list, and maybe discover a few new favorites along the way. I’m not going to read the list from the book, but there will likely be a few similarities here and there. And I’m not going to stick to “classics”. It’s good enough for me that it be a novel. If you have any suggestions for me, feel free to post them here.
So here goes! Page one…