How much do you read?
I read quite a lot, which may come as a surprise given my obvious status as a massive film nerd. But I have so many happy memories of books, from hiding under the covers reading past my bedtime as a child to basking on sunny beaches abroad with a book for company. Right now, I have quite a sizeable stack of books to devour, which is probably a good thing with time on my hands as I read pretty quickly. As an aspiring writer, I also find that books help me a lot with my vocabulary, my spelling and they help to keep my brain working.
But what I love to read, is a classic. Bram Stoker, Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare. I especially like reading classics when the copy I get hold of is old. There's something quite magical about old books, with their creased spines, dusty, yellowing pages and that soft, musty (but not entirely unpleasant) old book smell. I imagine past readers experiencing the books as I do, taking each magical step across the pages as I do.
It makes me sad that generations younger than me aren't enjoying the classics. There was talk a while back about removing Shakespeare from the curriculum as it's not current anymore. NOT CURRENT? Shakespeare's writings are still as poignant today as the day they were penned.
And as much as I love Harry Potter, it'll be a cold day in hell when I refer to it as classic literature. I've heard a lot of noise on the internet recently about the Twilight Saga being a classic. As much as I have absolutely no desire to read said books, it must not be sad that I'm using this as an oppurtunity to slander them. Neither Harry Potter or Twilight is even close to old enough to be called a classic.
I have every intention of reading what I would call classic literature to my children (when I eventually have them). I think it would be a great shame if they didn't experience Alice in Wonderland or Black Beauty, or even Grimm's fairy tales like I did.
I'm tempted to agree that shakespeare should be replaced by something else (not necessarily something more modern) but that's mainly due to the fact that schools tend to focus on macbeth, romeo and juliet and a midsummer night's dream, with hardly a mention of the other plays.
ReplyDeletehowever, with regards to what it should be replaced WITH, let's be honest: twilight is not literature. the only way that tripe should become part of a school curriculum is as part of a course on 'how not to write a book'.
it makes me angry :D
I personally wish we'd studied Hamlet, as I've heard it's very good, and it's on my 'to read' list. Also, studying Henry V was like torture.
ReplyDeleteI feel if we lose Shakepeare, we lose part of our heritage.