How to Talk about Books You Haven’t Read
It’s a title that certainly leaps right off the shelf: How to Talk about Books You Haven’t Read.
I actually did read French professor and psychoanalyst Pierre Bayard’s book all the way through before finding out I never needed to and learning how to discuss it anyway.
Approximately 97% of all reviews of the book include sentiments along the lines of, “I wish I’d read this book A) in college, B) in high school, C) before becoming a book critic,” but Bayard’s intention turns out to be a little more subtle than handing out speed-scanning tips for lazy students or delinquent book club members.
The book raises some fascinating questions about the psychology, purpose, and pleasures of reading at the same time it attempts to overturn any obligation to actually read before discussing a book. Bayard convincingly argues that books we haven’t read still influence us through knowledge we’ve managed to gather about them, and he encourages readers to let go of any guilt they may have acquired from failing to read the entire canon of classic literature upon entering adulthood.
Bayard notes, “We must not forget that even a prodigious reader never has access to more than an infinitesimal fraction of the books that exist.” While he cites fascinating examples of the value of “non-reading” from novels like The Name of the Rose and The Man without Qualities, Bayard even includes a complicated and hilarious footnote technique to alert the reader that he has often only “skimmed” or “heard about” a particular work before forming an opinion about it.
Along the way, interesting questions are asked about the nature of reading. If we forget about a book we’ve read, can we really say we’ve “read” it? Considering the tiny amount we remember about any given book, how much memory constitutes true “reading” anyway? Using the plot of The Name of the Rose as an example, Bayard points out that deceptive reconstructions or misremembered fragments can become more real in our minds than the true texts.
(And I totally bought it because, even though I’ve never read The Name of the Rose I’ve heard a lot about it and have seen the movie and really would like to read it . . . someday.)
The book is framed by a pair of quotes from the great non-reader Oscar Wilde. First, Wilde insisted, “I never read a book I must review; it prejudices you so.” Later, Bayard quotes Wilde’s observation, “To know the vintage and quality of a wine one need not drink the whole cask.”
Bayard’s philosophy encourages readers to engage their own creativity while practicing what he calls “active non-reading.” I imagine many teachers and professors might not fully appreciate these techniques that could be mis-applied as “active slacking off” or “creative laziness,” but the book makes a really compelling case for re-thinking the way we approach and talk about reading.
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Comments
Hey, I’m on the long library waiting list for that! It’s looking more and more likely that I won’t be finishing it before the movie comes out (like that was going to happen anyway).
According to wikipedia Leonardo DiCaprio’s character is abducted by aliens and Kate Winslet’s character builds a spaceship out of spare parts from a ‘57 Chevy to rescue him. Wikipedia rules!
[...] space has already seen some discussion of “How to Talk about Books You Haven’t Read,” and 65% readers in the UK admit to lying about books they’ve never cracked. The most cited [...]
Do you really need a whole book to tell you how to look something up on wikipedia? Quick, ask me anything about Revolutionary Road.