Another new semester has begun my friends, and even though you thought you may have left me and my worldwide literacy ambitions behind, I'm back again to needle you into reading just one more sentence, and possibly the sentence after that.
I assume that after last semester most people want to shut the book on reading, never to open it again, and yes that pun was intended. Over the long break I've had time to think about how to make everyone change their minds about that and become more like me–reading-wise at least–and I felt I'd come up with a few great reasons. My list obviously began with the total smugness of knowing you are smarter and more caring than every other person in any given room who hasn't read ""Anna Karenina."" Unfortunately that rationale didn't go over so well when I tried it out with people who weren't deeply interested in Russian literature, and soon I found myself back at square one.
What could bring a book alive for those who persist in thinking reading is an ineffably dull pastime? Well, other than knocking people over the head once or twice, I was finally stumped. That was until I had one of my many grand epiphanies: What would bring the liveliness back to a dead pastime? Live people themselves, of course. The cure may be going to see an author in person. Although I am not suggesting you track down J.D. Salinger and ask him for an interview on ""Catcher in the Rye"" —if you did I wouldn't be the only one who would pay copious amounts to see it due to his secluded nature—I am asking you to judge a novel by its author. And who doesn't love to judge people?
This means I'll be advocating something I'm sure only about three people will actually do, which is to first read a book–though I hope that's been done before–and then go see the author talk about it. This isn't as boring as it sounds because, really, who wouldn't like to know exactly what's going on in Nicholas Sparks' head, knowing that his most recent bestselling novel is based on a screenplay written for Miley Cyrus? Now that I think of it, it might also make a good people-watching activity as well. Who exactly are the ones who put ""The Last Song"" at number five on the New York Times Best Seller list?
Even if you have no interest in seeing who attends Nicholas Sparks' readings, trust me, you can drag yourself away from the first half of that epic game of beer pong to check out a local reading. I know for a fact that Avol's Bookstore has them a few times a month, and if you find a dynamic author–which many of them are–it might just change your entire understanding of a book. At the very least, it might make you more interested in reading their other novels, and more like me. Which is, of course, my ultimate goal.
If you know who put Nicholas Sparks on the Best Seller list, enlighten Alex at kuskowski@wisc.edu.
