So I've been having this literary crisis for about a month now. I can't find anything to read. I use Goodreads. I browse my local library's catalog online. I've been through Barnes & Noble twice and left sorely disappointed. I even tried the used bookstore and found a book that was mildly entertaining but a fifth grader could read it. I am desperate to find and decide on something that will fit the bill of being entertaining or educational and take me longer than three hours to read. I'm not that picky, I do like a quick read every so often.
And then I hear this conversation between two of my coworkers today, a little embellished "OMG you guys I finally finished the Hunger Games! It was soooo good. It took me forever but I'm so glad I read it. And next on my Kindle is Fifty Shades of Grey. It's soooo addicting and I hate it because you have to find out what happens next. I can't wait to read that series."
I just had to shake my head. No doubt this person has read all the Twilight books too. But here's the thing, I wouldn't call the consumption of these books "reading" per se. I guess one does have to physically read them. But they are definitely not literature. Ok, I have read the Hunger Games, they were entertaining, but I read them the summer everyone else was reading them and they were way over-hyped. They are decent. But not the breakthrough literature everyone made them out to be. They did make a good movie though. I also read the first Twilight book to see what the big deal was. Bella seriously made me want to vomit. Whenever I think about reading that book I think about Jenn's reaction, (paraphrased) "The description of Bella touching Edward's cold clammy body...ewww that's disgusting. What's romantic about clammy skin?" Tee hee. So yeah, I stopped there. And Fifty Shades of Grey? From what I hear, besides the fact that it is fan fiction spun off from Twilight (maybe that should tip you off), it's just plain smut.
A Plea: America, I need better than this. And keep it clean, please.
In other news I heard a charming story about Grand Central Station in NYC today on NPR which celebrates its 100th year this year. I also learned that the word commuter came from the railroads starting to offer commuted or discounted prices for tickets for people who were taking the train into and out of the city each day, as in "commuting a sentence" only their trip price. And that's how that word came to be. Knowledge. I like it. Thanks Mr. Vanderbilt. I've never been, but I'm sure I'd enjoy that historic piece of architecture.
