Of Books and People
How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read, by Pierre Bayard
When I first looked at the title of this book which I was required to read and discuss, the irony was almost too perfect. In fact, I half expected that this was one of those books you find in novelty stores that have a presumptuous title but are blank inside (see What Men Know About Women, Fergusson, 2011).
Instead, I discovered an engaging collection of stories knit together by a brilliant French literary critic who turned up his nose at intellectuals who read books for narcissistic purposes.
If there is any doubt that the author is serious about his premise, you should go no further than the story of the Musil’s librarian who exclaims “If you want to know how I know about every book here, I can tell you! Because I never read any of them.”
Pierre Bayard
A surface reading of this text may cause one to ask “so, what is the point?” It helps to know that Pierre Bayard is not only an author and a professor of French literature, but is also a psychoanalyst. It is easy to see that Bayard is drawing from all three of his professions in this book.
As an author, he resists the temptation to think that his readers will hang onto every work which he pens. In fact, he clearly states that many who will talk about his books may have never read them.
As a literary professor, Bayard gives his readers insights into his world. The fact that several of the stories in the book relate to members of higher education point us to his life situation. As a professor of literature at a prestigious university, Bayard himself is expected to have read just about every book of substance, both old and new. This is virtually impossible. Like a magician revealing his secrets, Bayard gives us insights into how he can effectively speak to books that he simply has no time to read.
It is Bayard’s third profession, as a psychoanalyst, that interests me the most. More than any discipline of psychiatry, psychoanalysis places much of its emphasis on the unconscious. As I reflect on How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read, I wonder if Bayard views books the way that he views people. There are some people whom you can identify by sight, and that is all. There are others whom you know trivial things about, but no more. Still, there are fewer people in our lives whom we know intimately. This is not only permissible but favorable. It is not possible to have a deep, transparent relationship with everyone we meet. Yet, even casual relationships can add value to our lives. Our relationships shape our subconscious, even casual ones.
I think that this is Bayard’s point. While there may be some with an attitude of “do not start to read a book unless you are committed to finishing it in its entirety,” Bayard encourages us to discover for ourselves what a book has in store for us. By viewing books the way we view people, we can make the decision as to how much investment that we want to give to that “relationship” with no apologies.
Stu Cocanougher
About the Author
Stu Cocanougher
9 responses to “Of Books and People”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
“It is Bayard’s third profession, as a psychoanalyst, that interests me the most. More than any discipline of psychiatry, psychoanalysis places much of its emphasis on the unconscious. As I reflect on How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read, I wonder if Bayard views books the way that he views people.”
Great point Stu! His philosophical views show throughout the book.
Wow Stu,
I did not consider the point of reading a book as viewing a relationship. I know that he made reference to relationships but the way you stated it or maybe my mind is at a different place. smile
What happens when your relationship with the book is like a bad relationship?
Liked the insight, Stu…. on the relationship analogy, I think this is part of the insight that I appreciated the most – because in a relationship all of those involved in the relationship are changed, simply by the fact of being in relationship with each other. Of course the books themselves don’t actually change… but our experience of them and remembrance of them does. I have a few books that I reread at regular intervals specifically for this reason and remarkable they always seem to have changed 🙂
I like that image. Books that change when we re-read them.
I agree. There is a great book on friendship by Joseph Epstein, which outlines the various different types of friendship that we experience and how these change over time. As an introvert, I like a few deeper friendships, rather than lots of surface acquaintances. Maybe that’s why my view of reading is similar – I would rather read a book slowly and deeply than skim over several books quickly!
“By viewing books the way we view people, we can make the decision as to how much investment that we want to give to that “relationship” with no apologies.” Stu, I really appreciated your insight into this. I too read the book expecting to see some wisdom from Bayard. I’m glad you did not state the analogy the other way around – I don’t want to view people the way I view books! Very interesting post; thanks for your research and help in understanding.
“I wonder if Bayard views books the way that he views people.”
What good insight into the author himself!
Sometimes we glean enough from a brief encounter with a person (or book) to know if we want to engage in a deeper relationship with them. Some we choose to spend more time with, savor conversations, and grow together. But like books assigned to us, occasionally there are people in our lives, through no fault of their own, whom we are compelled to spend time with, though we may not necessarily choose to. Bayard suggests that, while we may not have the choice to dispel that relationship, we do have the choice in how much we invest in it.
Interesting summary thought about how we can apply Bayard’s principles to book reading as we can to reading and investing in people. Love this connection! Also, it mirrors Bayard’s writing as I felt even though he was often referencing books, he was also referencing relationships and how to connect with people. Made me want to question you: “What do you look for to continue to invest in people, and what makes you want to stop investing in people?” Thanks Stu for the thought provoking post.
“I wonder if Bayard views books the way that he views people.” Since I tend to build “relationships” with books I read (often wondering what happens after the story ends), it makes sense to view relationships with people the way we interact with books. I know people who are so good at delving deeply into relationships with people where I have a tendency to “skim” until I find a point of connection or comfort that I can trust them. What kind of people “reader” would you say you are, Stu?