As I sit with a hot cup of tea, curled up on the couch with my computer (damn e-books) I am in the place and space I love most in the world.\u00a0 To sit unimpeded by distractions of noise, children, work etc. and read\u2026\u2026there is nothing better or more rare in my life.\u00a0 And Pierre Bayard had the audacity to try and steal that from me.\u00a0 Well screw him!\u00a0 I am going to try to read his entire book and talk about it before I forget what I read.\u00a0 I must, however, admit that even the writer of Ecclesiastes recognized the impossibility of reading all that was written, little did they know.\u00a0 \u201cOf making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.\u201d (Ecc 12:12)\u00a0 (Anyone else weary right now?) Today the proliferation of books, hard copy and electronic versions, is beyond measure.\u00a0 It seems as though Bayard might have had this Hebrew Bible reference in mind as he was writing his own book.<\/p>\n
For those of you who read Jay\u2019s post or several of his responses to the posts of others last week, you would likely note his embarrassment at the limited number of \u2018classics\u2019 listed in Adler\/Van Doren he had completed.\u00a0 This week, however, Jay is off the hook.\u00a0 Bayard astutely points out that if he, or any other knowledgable person, is able to place the unread book in its appropriate \u2018location\u2019 amongst other important texts he has every right and even a responsibility to discuss the text, though it remains unread on his shelf.\u00a0 In fact later Bayard goes on to point out that as a result of the interplay of books amongst themselves it is in fact \u201cthe entire library that is called into play through each book\u2026<\/em>.\u201d.1 \u00a0Therefore Jay, having read some of the books in the pantheon, and countless others that are in the library and thus have a connection with those that remain for him unread, brings as much to any discussion as someone who may have read the list in its entirety.<\/p>\n Yet, I myself must now confess to feeling both compelled to read every word of Bayard\u2019s book and unable to do so in the requisite time.\u00a0 Some of that compulsion is testament to my own unwillingness to relinquish my reverence for books and authors. (Sorry Jason) It was also a result of Bayard\u2019s book being such an entertaining and interesting read.\u00a0 No matter, now that I have read it I have forgotten most of it already and almost forgotten that I even read it.\u00a0 Yet, I am hopeful that I will be able to discuss it astutely enough during our interactions to suitably impress you all with my knowledge and acumen.\u00a0 If nothing else I hope that something of this reading has affected my own inner book and that possibly this growth will help me connect better with others with whom I share this experience.<\/p>\n Yet for all its encouragement and seeming purpose to free us from self imposed reticence to discuss texts which we have possibly only encountered cursorily, Bayard utilizes intricate textual examples which communicate that he is very widely read and even seems to thoroughly recall most of what he has read.\u00a0 Thus, though his premise is strong and he eruditely communicates his thoughts, for me his method undermines it all, serving only to compel me to take better notes. (Even if they are notes written inside the back cover reminding me that I actually did read this particular book at one time.)<\/p>\n I must admit to feeling some discouragement as a result of this book, though I also recognize the truth that it has revealed.\u00a0 My retention of books that supposedly have been influential in my life is tentative at best.\u00a0 Sadly, I must admit that Bayard is correct when he writes; \u201cWhat we preserve of the books we read\u2014whether we take notes or not, and even if we sincerely believe we remember them faithfully\u2014is in truth no more than a few fragments afloat, like so many islands, on an ocean of oblivion.<\/em>\u201d2 \u00a0Though there is no clear means of measuring such I remain hopeful that these influential texts have somehow written themselves irreducibly on my own inner book.<\/p>\n Further, as we launch into a rather long and expensive journey toward writing a dissertation and obtaining the desired letters of note after our name, we will be reading countless texts, articles, blogs, studies and other writings.\u00a0 Yet; \u201cwe should perhaps use the term un-reading rather than reading to characterize the unceasing sweep of our forgetfulness.<\/em>\u201d3 \u00a0This is a rather discouraging thought which raises the question whether or not we will retain anything of even our own dissertation six months after completion.\u00a0 (Someone please remind me why I am spending all this money on a D Min?)<\/p>\n The activity required to be a non-reader does serve to reduce some of the guilt associated with feeling like an ignorant baboon and the ancient words of the reference in Ecclesiastes helps some, but I can\u2019t help feeling, as widely read as I might be, that somehow I don\u2019t measure up.\u00a0 That is my problem and part of my own inner book that will interact with the words that I read and the ensuing discussions with all of you.\u00a0 In the meantime, I am going to enjoy this cup of tea and the remaining chapters of Bayard while I still have time and a little bit of quiet.<\/p>\n 1Bayard, Pierre. How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read (Kindle Locations 1527-1528). Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n 2Bayard, Pierre. How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read (Kindle Locations 798-799). Bloomsbury Publishing. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n 3Bayard, Pierre. How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read (Kindle Location 828). Bloomsbury Publishing. 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