Chris Clegg
Last week in this space Slave Lake Lakeside Leader Joe McWilliams wrote about reading books. He cites, using his words, “In some circles, you have to be well-read to be taken seriously” and adds, “My personal social orbit so far hasn’t intersected with the literary elite, but I plan on being ready if it ever does.”
He cites several literary classics. Many I have never heard or read.
Wow! What a kick in the you-know-what!
Away from work, my idea of a literary classic is to curl down with Charles Schulz, author of Peanuts, or Bill Watterson, author of Calvin and Hobbes. Not exactly War and Peace or Ulysses, but I prefer to be entertained. McWilliams’ desire to expand his mind and explore the world of the classics is certainly a far more ambitious endeavour than reading comic books. May there be more like him!
Compare me to the ambitious nature of Brent Leroy on Corner Gas, who would rather read the latest issue of Captain Marvel than pump gas for a customer. Leroy and I won’t exactly change the world reading comic books.
In fairness, we are all entertained in different ways. McWilliams not only reads classics to expand his mind but to be entertained. No doubt he and many others derive tremendous pleasure from their choice of reading material.
Me, not so much!
I always tell students if they want to be a writer, to try pursuing writing about a passion of theirs. Look at the magazine rack or the library. There are countless subjects already written about. Why? It’s because someone is interested in the chosen subject. Never think you are the only person interested in knitting, how to make chicken soup, alien life, the Flat Earth Society and more. The variety of books only exists because of the demand people have to explore the subject.
I try to tell myself my passion for Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes does not make me inferior. I try to convince myself there is a lot of wisdom in those books. Many times Schulz and Watterson use the platform of the comic book world through their characters to make a point. At least that is what I try to convince myself.
Readers of the literary classics would scoff at me, but so be it!
The truth is, after a day of dealing with politics, writing, editing, laying out a newspaper, I want to relax. My brain is almost to the point of driving me crazy – many people suggest that drive is only a short putt – and does not need the extra challenge of trying to interpret Animal Farm. Instead, let me try to figure out how Linus is going to convince Lucy to his way of thinking. It’s as far as I want to go.
I would never suggest anyone should not challenge themselves in the reading material they choose. The fact is, the preschool children I see at the local library reading at four and five years old tend to be the better students in school. They get better grades and are more model students. It is not because they are reading War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy or The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Rather, the passion for reading begins with Dick and Jane or Winnie the Pooh.
Sheesh! Will I ever graduate beyond Peanuts?
Probably not, but I enjoy reading what I do. It’s enough for me!
And as far as McWilliams says, when he claims “in some circles, you have to be well-read to be taken seriously” I guess I will never enjoy a cup of java with that crowd. Shame on them! They might never experience the wisdom of Snoopy.