Oct 10 2008
Garbage In, Garbage Out
I was the only kid in my junior high school who had read every one of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels.
They were good reads, but I don’t think even the most ardent fan would claim that they rose to the level of classic literature. Did they shape my writing talent or inspire me to higher levels of thought? No. Did they affect my life at all? Not really, except that my pubescent buddies made fun of me when I suavely ordered escargot at a downtown café one afternoon and specified that my chocolate malt be “shaken, not stirred.”
One evening a year or two later, I had a life-altering experience: I turned off the television (I watched a lot of it back then), pulled a book of short stories by Rudyard Kipling off the shelf and started reading. I read well into the night … and the next night, and the next. I realized that reading that stodgy old Englishman’s writings was light years more enjoyable and satisfying than sitting through another episode of the Beverly Hillbillies.
I was soon addicted to classic literature and spent the next 30 or so years reading virtually nothing but the classics. I also turned off the television and didn’t turn it on again for about 10 years. (Believe that if you will, but it is true.) With good literature at hand, television was no temptation. I am certain that I became a professional writer because of that period of my life.
In recent years books by contemporary authors have invaded my bookshelves and audio book players. Many of these, I am certain, will stand the test of time and earn their places as classics. But some, though entertaining or informative (rarely both), will definitely fall short. I typically rationalize the time I spend with these books by telling myself that, because I’m in the writing business, I need to stay abreast of what is being published today.
Whether this is a valid reason or not, I often finish these books feeling the way I feel after eating a meal of empty calories. Worse, my own writing suffers when I read low-quality books. The old Silicon Valley adage comes to mind: “Garbage in, garbage out.”
Where do you come down on this issue? Should people who write restrict themselves to the classics? Or should they take a more eclectic stance? Do your reading tastes affect the quality of what you write?
I think TheWritersBag readers would be interested in your opinions and your personal experiences or reading habits. Let us know what sorts of books and which authors you read and whether your reading choices impact your writing. Enlighten us with a comment.
I think writers should read what they enjoy. However, definitely, the classics should be read. at sometime. I agree.
Then again, I reckon it all depends on what caliber writer one would like to become. Yes, in that regards; garbage in, garbage out.
I cannot imagine a life without reading. I came from a very troubled, chaotic and violent home. As a young child, I never knew what condition my alcoholic father would be in and to say I carried a huge emotional burden is an understatement.
My escape was reading. I loved school and anything that involved a book. I actually had images of taking a big bite out of a juicy, red apple every time I read a book. It made me happy, satisfied my soul and took away my pain.
I could fall into a world that shut out everything that hurt and distressed me faded away.
The first book I remember becoming engrossed in was about Harriet Tubman of The Underground Railroad. I was a young child in the early 1960’s in the Deep South. I was acquainted with racism shall we say. The book had a profound impact on my life and shaped much of my attitudes as an adult regard race in the South.
I enjoyed biographies as I got older and leaned toward military generals. Why, I cannot explain, but Ike was one of my favorites……..the philanderer that he was. Perhaps I was beginning to find my way to my military officer husband.
I still love biographies, but have enjoyed my share of classic literature as well. I spent many summers during my college years on the floor of the library reading D.H. Lawrence, Emily Bronte and Nathanial Hawthorne.
One of my favorite authors for many years was a bit more contemporary……..Ernest Hemingway. He taught me about pernod.
I would have to say my love for poetry however has likely shaped and defined my personality more than anything else. The power of the written word never ceases to amaze me and I’m always baffled that someone could be impervious to it.
I love your blog.
Hi Steve,
I think it’s important for writers to read, and I think keeping abreast of what is out there in your particular genre is important. I’ve heard of people who won’t read in their genre because they don’t want their writing influenced. Hogwash, I say.
For myself, I can’t hang in there with a book that is boring, slow or is driving me crazy for one reason or another. I remember picking up a Tom Clancy book at one point. (which one, I can’t remember) - the writing was so stilted and arrogant I quit after the first few chapters and never looked back.
I think the more writers you can expose yourself to, the better your writing will be. Character development, flow, style - these are all things that can be looked at from a new perspective if you like the way a particular author handled these things.
So, there’s my 2 cents!
George
Steve:
I’m with you. I am a classics guy myself. I have read most of Dickens, Hugo, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Balzac, Stendahl, Walter Scott, Thomas Hardy and my beloved Anthony Trollope. I also enjoy early–to-mid 20th century authors: Thomas Mann, Hermann Hesse, Paul Bowles, Robert Musil, P.G Wodehous, George Orwell (recently re-read Burmese Days - just wonderful)
I have a really difficult time rattling off a similar list of contemporary (to me) authors. The books of the latter, I have read in fits and starts, never in a sustained way. Curiously enough I find contemporary female authors more interesting than their male counterparts e.g., Francine Prose, A.S. Byatt, Iris Murdoch, Alice Munro. Contemporary male authors that I have enjoyed tend to be non-Western born, in particular Haruki Murakami (if you haven’t read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, you absolutely must), Vikram Seth and Vikram Chandra.
The books I like to read that are written by contemporary authors are more factual in nature: almost anything my Steven Pinker, Richard Dawkins, the political stuff - most recently Jane Mayer’s The Dark Side; most of the major Iraq/President Bush books COBRA II, the Woodward books, etc.
Regards,
Mike
I think even reading bad thing can be helpful, from a writer’s perspective. I read all sorts of things - from trashy novels to contemporary fiction to the classics. It all depends on what mood I’m in, as well as where I’m getting the books from (my mother and best friend are heavily into romances). If a book is absolutely horrible, I’ll put it down. But even books written for “the lowest column denominator” can teach me things about writing.
For example, I read the first installment in an incredibly popular young adult series, and though I recognized the writing was less than stellar, I noticed the author had a real gift for leading the reader from scene to scene and chapter and chapter. You were left always wanting to know what was going to happen next. I took those lessons and thought about how I could apply them to my own writing.
My childhood was steeped in the classics because they filled my parents’ book shelves. I eventually branched out, especially into science fiction, but unless a book is well-written, it’s not going to hold my attention. My reading tastes are fairly eclectic and I think that’s all to the good for any writer. Like Tumblemoose, Tom Clancy turned me off within a chapter. Horrible, horrible writing. But he apparently tells a cracking good story or his novels wouldn’t have been turned into movies.
By the way, I didn’t grow up with television, so never got quite as addicted as the average viewer. With the steady decline of quality, I’ve been watching less and less, and once the country goes digital, my set will go black except for DVD-watching.
television was strictly limited in our household, so we turned to books & art. i started on the Nancy Drew series- like most young girls- and wound up with the likes of Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Donald Westlake, Rex Stout, and P.D. James- all of whom i still greatly enjoy.
certainly these masters of mystery have shaped my own writing, but the weekly (sometimes daily) Bible reading also shaped my prose somewhat- i tend to group things in the way they’re listed in Proverbs, my language bends to the archaic, and there’s a very pronounced authoritative background voice. also read every single fairy tale and colloquial legend i could get my hands on, this history shows itself in the rule of threes as well as a strong right-or-wrong-no-middle-ground theme throughout my books.
interesting how the words that one reads shapes the formation of words inside of one’s head! great article!