Okay, so I grossly over-estimated myself. Two pages into "A Tale of Two Cities" and I'm already crushed by it's weighty Victorian overtones. The opening paragraph wasn't too bad: "It was the best of times, it was the worse of times, etc etc". But! After that dramatically declamatory passage, the rest is just (to me) frustratingly incomprehensible. Sigh...
So I conclude to let it stay in my bookshelf for another year while I acquire the necessary literary knowledge to consciously appreciate the towering value of that masterpiece =)
As time goes by, I noticed that the way I approach reading has changed, somewhat subtly. Reading, to many, is a past-time, to be enjoyed at leisure. Many people read for sheer emotional and intellectual gratification, in the sense that they chose books according to their personal taste. Now, that's nothing wrong at all with that, after all, it's an enjoyment, not a chore.
The Choice of Books
But what I really want to talk about is not about the "proper" psychological frame of mind one should be in when reading. What that concerns me is our attitude when it comes to choosing books. Sadly, most people do not place much emphasis on the actual literary value and depth of a book. Instead, many prefer to read books that are well-publicised.
How many people carefully evaluate a book's inner content: the message it carries, the theme it centralises on, the social impact it aims to achieve, and also the writer's penmanship, before spending hard-earned money on it? For example, there has been all this hype about the "Twilight Saga", but technically, it merely falls under the category of "teenage romance". Not that it is an illegitimate genre, but it offers more emotional pleasure than intellectual gain. What can we learn from books like this? How to be a vampire?
Intellect vs Emotions
Nevertheless, we are not robots. We are humans. Highly Emotional beings. Therefore we must strike a reasonably well balance between cold intellect and fiery emotions. The next time you buy a book, ask yourself, is it worth my RM xxx? What can I learn from it? A well-written book will (in most cases), be both satisfying, emotionally and intellectually as well. An oft-repeated notion is that an intellectual work will be generally boring and inaccessible to the reader. This is not true. To those who haven't tried out Indian writers, give them a try! They are the most powerfully descriptive and painfully intellectual group of writers I've ever seen.
So, be wise in choosing your next book!