I was talking with Todd some time ago (and again more
recently) about the author Stephen King.
I had, at the time, made a dumbheaded remark about how I would never
read Stephen King because he was too popular (read: pop) and therefore not
literary enough for my tastes (ohhhh so high brow). Todd, rightfully so, let me have it at the
time, saying regardless of my perception, I was missing out on some great
writing. And, truthfully speaking, it
was for nothing other than King’s popularity (mass appeal) that I banished him
from my own personal canon.
Books are much different from “pop music”. Reading a book (especially a King novel,
given their average girth) takes an investment that cannot be equated to a 3
minute long auditory sampling one would give to a song. Dismissing popular culture comes easy to me
because of my musical tastes and my lack of interest in most popular
music. But the music method of judging a
book by its author(‘s popularity) isn’t defendable.
I haven’t read much Stephen King yet, so I really cannot say
whether I like his books or not. But in
rethinking this whole approach to books, I realize that, because books cannot
be quickly assessed without a significant investment, popularity isn’t a good
way to determine what has literary merit and what does not. For example, some of my favorite modern day
authors are some of the most popular and best-selling writers out there (e.g. Mitchell,
Marukami). Even more poignant in the “stands
the test of time” aspect is the fact that most of the writers I cherish who are
from another time in history were quite popular in their day (e.g. Dostoyevsky,
Hesse, Huxley).
I would say, too, that with age comes the ability to
appreciate works of fiction for what they have to offer, rather than to hold
them up to some ideal of what I consider to be a great work of literary
art. I’m not ashamed to say I like
Bukowski because the enjoyment I get from a Bukowski novel is surely as impactful
to my life as the great existential thoughts Hesse has triggered, even if only
in practical/applicable terms.
That said I do need to get some value out of a novel to
consider it worth my investment. And this
makes it very hard for me to start a book by an unknown author. So I’m curious… what do YOU think makes a book valuable as a
reader? How do YOU pick new authors to
read?
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