The Uneducated Reader?
March 10th 2007 03:18
Recently I was drawn into a discussion about books – in-particular what constitutes good and bad literature. The term ‘educated reader’ was mentioned and my usually non-existent hackles rose, my back straightened and the indignation was felt right down to my toes. First of all (if I wanted to get petty), it is a contradiction in terms. To be able to read at all, one must be educated to a certain degree. After that, I still have a few problems with this term.
Books (along with movies and any other form of visual art) provide the reader with a story, concept or idea that is to be interpreted by them alone. Whether it is found to be acceptable, entertaining or enlightening can only be determined by that particular reader and what they bring to the reading. Everyone’s life experiences are different. So is their reading of a story. The fact that someone has not studied literary criticism is not a scale on which to judge their value of books and reading. There are many forms of leisure reading – genre fiction is one of the most popular catering to lovers of romance, history, sci-fi, fantasy, westerns and mysteries. As a librarian I see a large percentage of readers heading for these areas, and they are not ignorant or uneducated people. In fact, many are intelligent professionals looking for light reads to balance their load.
Then there are the people who read the best-sellers, the series and biographies. These people are avid readers and they keenly await the next James Patterson, Clive Cussler or Nora Roberts. They love the true stories of crime bosses, child abuses and rags-to-riches stories. Not Pulitzer Prize winners - but books that are read and enjoyed none the less.
Nowadays we also have the book club readers. They like variety. The odd light read, a Booker or Orange Prize winner with a classic Dickens or Woolf thrown in now and again. Their opinions vary but are always strong, well discovered and worth listening to, even though they are not of a scholarly nature. There is little point in even writing a book that cannot be enjoyed on more than one level. And the most simple or complicated novel can be picked over and analysed to its bare bones, but this should not alter the enjoyment value for any reader. We must always remember that it is the novel that came first, not the evaluation.
We have had the debate at work more than once of whether we, as librarians should be steering readers to more high quality literature. I falter on this idea only slightly. Yes, I consider it my job to help readers find good books. But first I must ascertain what a good book is for them. It would be useless handing Ian McEwen to someone who had just enjoyed a Barbara Taylor-Bradford. But I would, after a little conversation about novels and their content maybe suggest Joyce Carol Oates.
In the end, a reader will either enjoy a book, or not. It is their leisure time and whether they are reading to enrich the mind or for pure entertainment, it is a matter of choice and no-one should be made to feel inferior because of their choice.
As for this phantom ‘uneducated reader’ - after 12 years in libraries I have yet to meet one.
Books (along with movies and any other form of visual art) provide the reader with a story, concept or idea that is to be interpreted by them alone. Whether it is found to be acceptable, entertaining or enlightening can only be determined by that particular reader and what they bring to the reading. Everyone’s life experiences are different. So is their reading of a story. The fact that someone has not studied literary criticism is not a scale on which to judge their value of books and reading. There are many forms of leisure reading – genre fiction is one of the most popular catering to lovers of romance, history, sci-fi, fantasy, westerns and mysteries. As a librarian I see a large percentage of readers heading for these areas, and they are not ignorant or uneducated people. In fact, many are intelligent professionals looking for light reads to balance their load.
Then there are the people who read the best-sellers, the series and biographies. These people are avid readers and they keenly await the next James Patterson, Clive Cussler or Nora Roberts. They love the true stories of crime bosses, child abuses and rags-to-riches stories. Not Pulitzer Prize winners - but books that are read and enjoyed none the less.
Nowadays we also have the book club readers. They like variety. The odd light read, a Booker or Orange Prize winner with a classic Dickens or Woolf thrown in now and again. Their opinions vary but are always strong, well discovered and worth listening to, even though they are not of a scholarly nature. There is little point in even writing a book that cannot be enjoyed on more than one level. And the most simple or complicated novel can be picked over and analysed to its bare bones, but this should not alter the enjoyment value for any reader. We must always remember that it is the novel that came first, not the evaluation.
We have had the debate at work more than once of whether we, as librarians should be steering readers to more high quality literature. I falter on this idea only slightly. Yes, I consider it my job to help readers find good books. But first I must ascertain what a good book is for them. It would be useless handing Ian McEwen to someone who had just enjoyed a Barbara Taylor-Bradford. But I would, after a little conversation about novels and their content maybe suggest Joyce Carol Oates.
In the end, a reader will either enjoy a book, or not. It is their leisure time and whether they are reading to enrich the mind or for pure entertainment, it is a matter of choice and no-one should be made to feel inferior because of their choice.
As for this phantom ‘uneducated reader’ - after 12 years in libraries I have yet to meet one.
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Comment by David
There is little point in even writing a book that cannot be enjoyed on more than one level. And the most simple or complicated novel can be picked over and analysed to its bare bones, but this should not alter the enjoyment value for any reader. We must always remember that it is the novel that came first, not the evaluation.
And not mentioning how much I perve on Librarians when I go to libraries ... or asking you anything about your sexual preferences ...
Comment by Ahmed
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