Hey friends!

Just wanted to give you a quick update about my goal to read 1 major book per month. You may be thinking, “Well, that’s strange, you started this less than a month ago.” But here I am. What gives?

I finished my first book, Anna Karenina, a full two weeks early. I found that the book was most enjoyable when I was able to concentrate on it deeply and for extended periods of time, and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to read it that way once I was back at college. So I finished it early–934 pages in 17 days. It may average out to only 54 pages per day, but that’s still 54 pages per day more than I read in July.

Having already finished such a major work, I feel very confident that I’ll be able to keep up with my challenge. But I was also reminded of something, as I worked my way through those pages.

We frequently encounter these kinds of books in our literature classes. We analyze them, we place them in historical and literary contexts, and we compare them to other works across subjects, eras, and regions. But rarely is there a place in that discussion for the appreciation of prose that is simply good. We become so absorbed by importance of a work that we forget how enjoyable it is to read good writing. We’re not missing the forest for the trees; we’re missing the trees for the forest! I’m really enjoying this chance to slow down, appreciate the pleasure of reading something crisp and lyrical and meaningful, and not having to supplement it with research unless I want to.

Next up: Lord of the Flies. (Contrast is good, right?)