Books Are The Shit

I am lucky enough to work in a profession where discussing books is part of the job. I get to talk about books every day. I have come to the realization, after teaching high school English for the past 11 years, and studying literature intensely for 5 years prior, that analyzing and discussing books never gets old. I always discover something new--about the books themselves ("I never SAW Candy as Mary Magdalene!), about myself (I am fascinated by the darkness in the human spirit), or about the infinite ways they can connect to our own experiences.

I'm partial to the classics, especially because they tend to be spot on about the human experience, characters' flaws, and how we relate to one another.  Besides, there is something triumphant in finding something new in something "old." I have lost count of the number of times I have read the texts we require our students to read, but I always seem to find something I missed the other 15 times.

At school, my colleagues have become some of my closest friends, and it is no coincidence that we share not only a love for literature, but a desire for a deeper understanding of most everything we encounter. Some of our most deeply enriching conversations happen in relation to something we have read, or using literature to look at a difficult problem through a different lens.  Students seem mortified when I mention that we were talking about a certain book at lunch:  "Is that really what you talk about??"

In every class, every year, the age-old question haunts me:  "When will we need to use this?"  I contend, every day. While you may not be stopped on the street by someone quizzing you about Lennie's affinity for soft things, you may come to realize that people are faced with horrible decisions, and sometimes making the right one is the hardest thing to do.

Students always suspect that I am "reading too much into" whatever text we are discussing. I over-analyze. I would contend that we don't analyze enough. In my classes, students want me to just tell them what it means.  But the whole point is coming to an understanding of human experiences from within.  I used to view my over-analysis as a flaw, but I now see it as a way to keep growing. And teaching. And living.

The long and the short of it is this:  pick up a book, especially if it has been awhile. Start a conversation about it. Hell, I'll start a social media book club with you. I can suggest some great classics that have been resonating in my consciousness for some time now.  Maybe you'll find yourself understanding Holden more as an adult. Or you see yourself in R.P. McMurphy. I contend books can make you a better person, and give you a deeper understanding of others. Read something and analyze the shit out of it just for fun. You might find yourself unable to stop.