“Yeah, it IS a nerdy thing to do. I mean, to read for your job all day
and then read a book at lunch? On your break?”
and then read a book at lunch? On your break?”
That was, basically, what a co-worker said to me yesterday. And she’s right, I suppose. Reading is a nerdy hobby.
But it’s my hobby.
According to my mom, I started reading at a young age and pretty much haven’t stopped since. Growing up, I heard this phrase all the time: “Get your nose out of that book!”
Actually, I still hear that phrase. In my head.
I don’t think my love of reading is an addiction or anything, but on the other hand, I can’t NOT do it. If I’m sitting at the breakfast table without a book or magazine, I will read coupons, cereal boxes, anything.
Okay, so maybe I have a problem.
But that’s not the point of this post. My point is that I consider myself a reader. I read all the time. I read a ton of things: parenting magazines, mysteries, self-help books, marketing articles, blog posts, women’s magazines, and yes, even the occasional romance novel.
However, when it comes to the classics? The books that other “big readers” assume you’ve read?
Um…I haven’t. (Don’t tell!)
I don’t know what happened. I think I’ll blame my small-town education. Then again, the few classics I’ve read – Of Mice and Men
, To Kill a Mockingbird
, Romeo & Juliet
– were a result of assignments in high school. I read a few short stories and plays in my American Literature and Theater Appreciation classes in college.Other than that, though? My list of classics is embarrassingly short.
Do you think a person can be a “big reader” even if she’s not classically well-read? And what classics should I put on my to-read list?
(Natalie Merchant, Jealousy)
For more More Than Defined, read about why I consider myself Generation X, Southern, patriotic and cool and nerdy.
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