How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read: An Interesting Read or Non-read!
How can you talk about a book without reading it? When I first started reading Bayard’s book, I wondered if this was a tongue and cheek piece with a twist of dry French humor. Or maybe Bayard is the antithesis, the mortal enemies of Adler and Van Doren? After all, Adler and Van Doren suggest that every book worth reading must be read according to their proposed in-depth reading methodology, while Bayard is suggesting that it is not necessary to ever read a book!
However, the further I got along in the book I realized that it was neither tongue and cheek piece nor are Adler and Vandoren Bayard’s mortal enemies. How to Talk about A Book You Haven’t Read is Bayard’s admonition for all who are interested in knowledge and life to experience the total breath and width of the whole corpus of written knowledge and to understand where each book fits into that corpus. It is also a philosophical treatise.
Bayard is not advocating the absence of reading. He is promoting (1) the understanding that a person cannot possibly read—word for word—every book that is necessary to read and (2) the importance of locating a book within the corpus of all knowledge. I agree. For when you understand the place of the book on the grander scale, you can already know enough about a book to talk about it. In this way, non-reading is not the absence of reading but a different kind of reading—one that skims, listens to others or even makes up (creates) things about a book they have not read word for word, (the “create” part is problematic). In Bayard’s world what matters most is the context of the book within the spectrum of knowledge and the methodology he proposes to get out of the uncomfortable situation where you find yourself having to talk about a book you haven’t read.
Baynard explains his methodology and develops his arguments within three broad categories and the 12 chapters within those categories. There is no need to list the 12 chapters, but the divisions are helpful in understanding the author’s argument. He begins by discussing the Ways of Not Reading; he then explains the various types of situations (confrontations) in which a person might find themselves needing to discuss a book they have not read. Finally, he discusses the personal impact of being a “non-reader” and how to navigate those treacherous waters.
In Chapter 4, “Books You Have Heard Of,” Bayard encourages with a simple methodology. If you have not read a book and need to talk about it, “read or listen to what overs write or say about it.” (Loc. 531) I think most people have practiced this. This advice applies to movies as well.
The Alfred Hitchcock movie “The Birds” was released in 1963. In 1968 it was broadcast on television for the first time. I was ten years old, and there was no way my parents were going to let me watch it. Not wanting to be “out of the loop,” at ten years old my fear of missing out (FOMO) got the best of me. I knew that on the bus ride to school I could pick up everything needed to talk about a movie I hadn’t seen. All I needed to do was listen. No one would ever know that my parents wouldn’t let me watch it. By the time I got to school, I could talk about “The Birds” like I had watched it myself. I was even able to give a 10-year-old analysis of why the birds didn’t attack Melanie as she drove away in the convertible. Unlike Bayard I didn’t have to make up or “lie” about the story (Loc. 2107), I knew all I needed to know for that time. When I finally saw the movie—I was 30 something—I realized that Mitch and not Melanie was driving the car and that the children were in the car with them. Maybe the kids on the bus hadn’t seen the movie after all!
Below the surface of How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read, is a philosophical construct dealing with life, reality, and existence. Oddly enough, one of the reoccurring themes of the book is “guilt.” Bayard speaks of the “unconscious guilt” one has by discussing a book one has not read. (Loc. 1535) For this, he brings Freud into the conversation and the use of childhood memories to illuminate this guilt. (Doc 715) In the end, Bayard equates the ability to talk about a book without ever having read it to the act of creativity, which for many is “their first encounter with the demands of creation.” (Loc. 2352) His part in the act of creativity in this book are his, “recounting of events that, literally speaking, are not a part of the books [about which he was speaking].” (Loc 2107) According to Bayard, “in the end, we need not fear lying about the text, but only lying about ourselves.” (Doc 2297)
How to Talk About a Book You Haven’t Read, is entertaining and interesting. Though I don’t disagree with some of Bayard’s methodology, I do disagree with the philosophical underpinnings. Is it so terrible to announce that you have not read a particular book? Are we so motived by the pressures of life and a FOMO culture that we must resort to “creating” so people will think we are full-fledged members of the intelligentsia? (I Cor 13:11) Is it possible to “say what we know and know what we say?” How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read: An interesting read or non-read!
About the Author
Jim Sabella
16 responses to “How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read: An Interesting Read or Non-read!”
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Jim, I had a similar experience to your “The Birds” story with the movie “Halloween.” My mom would not let me see rated “R” movies. I knew not to ask. But a kid in homeroom described it in such detail, that I felt like I had seen it. I never discussed it, but I feel that I could have.
I really like your discussion of Bayard’s discussion of “guilt.” His belief in psychoanalysis definitely shines through. I think that he does a lot to relieve the reader of guilt in a variety of ways. By having a GUILT FREE conversation about books that you have not read, you are released from the feeling of having the be perfect.
Thanks Stu.
I loved the movie “The Birds”. I must say I am still scared when I am out and see a flock of birds sitting and waiting on buildings, electric lines… I immediately think of Melanie. LOL
On the point of lying about what we read, I do have trouble with, but what about evading the truth hmmm, what do you think?
“what about evading the truth hmmm, what do you think?” Great question Lynda! For me, taking the high road is always the best road.
Lynda– You need to come bird watching with me. Jim, maybe you should come, too. Birds are fascinating, not scary.
But then again, if I’d ever seen that movie, I might change my mind and dismiss my hobby. 🙂
Yes, Bayard writes about the game that we must all sign up to – the vague pretence and ambiguity of whether we have read a book or not… I don’t think I feel shame about what I haven’t read, or the gaps in my cultural knowledge, so much as a I do feel guilty at not reading an assigned book or pretending to have read someone I have not.
Thanks Geoff.
According to Bayard, “in the end, we need not fear lying about the text, but only lying about ourselves.” (Doc 2297)
This quote speaks to the fallacy of our human condition. Our inability to truly see ourselves because we are so focused outward ( how we look, how we look to others, how others perceive how we look to others, etc.) that we do not take time to reflect and listen within. So to his point our fear is magnified by the fact that we think we are lying about the text rather than having a fear of lying to ourselves. Who knew reading a book about not reading a book and talking about it could go that deep! Reading and reflecting on everyone’s post this week has been the best thus far! 🙂
Christal, I agree, great post and discussion on this book. Thanks.
The elephant in the room: Is the book even worth reading? Why can’t I skim over a book that I know I will disagree with? Why can’t I just come out and say, “No, I haven’t read it and I’m not going to.”? I never read “Rosemary’s Baby” because I heard enough other kids on my school bus talk about it to know I didn’t need to read it. I agree, Jim. No need for “guilt” if you have discernment enough and courage enough to speak the truth.
Thanks Mary. God help us all to have the discernment and courage to speak the truth!
Shame and guilt are powerful emotions. I have an Italian mother…need I say more! The discussions on this book have been fantastic! My challenge in leadership is striving to be authentic, not something that I’m not. I don’t want to be totally hidden behind a wall or have no walls at all. In fact even as I write this I am aware that it is a public forum and anyone can read my posts and comments. It’s a fine and delicate balance. I think part of that goes deeply into our need to be an insider. When I say, “sure I read that book!—when I’ve never even heard of the title—for me, I am lowering my core value to be a part of “the group.” It’s the old peer pressure thing—does it ever go away? Leading is leading! That means that sometimes, a leader’s not a part of the group. They are, in fact, outside of the group. They are leading! That which sets you apart may actually be that which make you the leader you are. Sometimes it means saying, “Haven’t read it,” or “I don’t know that.” or “I wasn’t aware of that, talk to me.” Relativism and being relevant are two different things. I believe (absolutely!) a leader can be relevant without having to resort to relativism. Mary…I think you’ve got it right, it takes “discernment enough and courage enough to speak the truth.”
I really liked your quote “what matters most is the context of the book within the spectrum of knowledge and the methodology he proposes to get out of the uncomfortable situation where you find yourself having to talk about a book you haven’t read.” That was a great concise sentence summary of the book and Adler would be proud of you.
I also enjoyed your personal story about the movie the Birds. So pertinent to the reading and humorous. I enjoyed picturing you thinking you had this movie all figured out only to discover decades later you were wrong. Oh the arrogance of our youth, thinking we have things all figured out only to discover we never even had all the facts or context straight- I could totally relate. As we age, we grow in wisdom and humility, and it is inspiring to see that in your writing and in you. Thank you for this enjoyable, heartfelt post.
Thanks Jennifer!
Jim, your example of “The Birds” is fantastic. I can think of examples like this in my own life. The greater point you raise there is in wondering how many of the other kids on the bus hadn’t actually seen the movie but created the illusion they had. This need to be “in” plays heavily in the need to, essentially, lie about what we have seen or read. I think you are right that the FOMO culture is a big influence. Like I mentioned to Chip, I am often guilty of shaming people haven’t read books that I think are “essentials,” rather than telling them about the books to build their inner library.
Thanks Kristin. It seems like the books we read become a measure of who we are in the eyes of others. I read the article you posted on FB about the idea that unread books are more valuable than read ones. Maybe the books in my library, even the ones I haven’t read, show more about who I am than the books I’ve read. Interesting to think about.