KAY Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 I like to think i'm a real reader, someone who is open to a variation of genres and reads anything and everything. However the other day i realised i had not read the true classic "Animal farm". I felt it was one book i had to read. I then thought of other books that you cant call yourself a reader if you have not read. For example "catcher in the rye" " to kill a mocking bird", " Curious incident of the dog in the night", " Rebecca" by daphane du Maurier, " memoirs of a Geisha", "Angelas Ashes" etc...... This is just in my opinion. What book woould you say must be read if you want to call yourself a reader? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 I would say, you can't call yourself a reader unless you've read something by: Charles Dickens Ernest Hemingway Jane Austen or at least ONE of the Bronte sisters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 I would say, you can't call yourself a reader unless you've read something by: Charles Dickens Ernest Hemingway Jane Austen or at least ONE of the Bronte sisters. The only one who I haven't tryed out of you list is Ernest Hemingway I am more a thriller, horroe and fanasty fan. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louiseog Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 You cannot call yourself a reader unless you've read - full stop for me;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipread Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 You cannot call yourself a reader unless you've read - full stop for me;) I agree, I don`t think it matters what you read, as long as you enjoy reading you are a reader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charm Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 You cannot call yourself a reader unless you've read - full stop for me;) I agree, I don`t think it matters what you read, as long as you enjoy reading you are a reader. :lol: I think once you start saying things like 'you're not a true reader unless you've read ....' you start to create a kind of snobbery about reading. I know before I joined here I used to be conscious of having not read the greats, now I just read what I fancy but still consider myself a true reader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nici Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 (edited) You cannot call yourself a reader unless you've read - full stop for me;) I agree, I don`t think it matters what you read, as long as you enjoy reading you are a reader. I think once you start saying things like 'you're not a true reader unless you've read ....' you start to create a kind of snobbery about reading. I know before I joined here I used to be conscious of having not read the greats, now I just read what I fancy but still consider myself a true reader. Edited February 1, 2009 by Nici Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Quote: Originally Posted by Echo I would say, you can't call yourself a reader unless you've read something by: Charles Dickens Ernest Hemingway Jane Austen or at least ONE of the Bronte sisters. The only one who I haven't tryed out of you list is Ernest Hemingway I am more a thriller, horror and fanasty fan. :lol: It dosn't matter what you read people find their own genre as I have but as a avid reader I tryed all types of genre before I decided what I liked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 I do understand what you're trying to say Kay, but I agree with the other people who've responded. To me, it doesn't matter what you read, as long as you're doing so. Of course, I know people who would disagree, but for me, that is entering the realms of book snobbery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 I think it's just about personal taste...no one's trying to be snobbish! That's not the point here. Everyone has their threshold...."wow, I knew I was really a reader when I read this." For me, my turning point was when I read Pride and Prejudice when I was 17. I feel like I became an adult reader then. No one here is trying to say that someone else isn't a reader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 And I didn't say that anyone here was being snobbish! I guess this is all a matter of interpretation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 I completely agree with everything Michelle and others have said. You can't saying that you can only call yourself a reader if you've read a certain book. How can you do that with the amount of books out there to read! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kreader Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 I completely agree with everything Michelle and others have said. You can't saying that you can only call yourself a reader if you've read a certain book. How can you do that with the amount of books out there to read! True, there are so many books out there:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceinwenn Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 You cannot call yourself a reader unless you've read - full stop for me;) I agree, I don`t think it matters what you read, as long as you enjoy reading you are a reader. I think once you start saying things like 'you're not a true reader unless you've read ....' you start to create a kind of snobbery about reading. I know before I joined here I used to be conscious of having not read the greats, now I just read what I fancy but still consider myself a true reader. Just because a book is classed as a classic doesn't mean that it is something that everyone will, or should read. Classics bore me to tears & I would find it incredibly arrogant of someone to imply that someone else wasn't a reader simply because they hadn't read a certain book. To each their own, I say. Reading books, regardles of their genre or popularity, is what makes you a reader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 I agree, I'd hate to be judged by what I have or haven't read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimera Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Same here... plus a list of books you "have to read" would vary greatly depending on the time and place. It wouldn't make much sense for me. I think it's just about personal taste...no one's trying to be snobbish! That's not the point here. Everyone has their threshold...."wow, I knew I was really a reader when I read this." For me, my turning point was when I read Pride and Prejudice when I was 17. I feel like I became an adult reader then. Put like this I can relate... Consciously or not I'm sure we all have books we think we should have read. But it's something I'm trying to distance myself from: for a long time I've thought, because of school and my parent's 'enthusiasm' (don't get me wrong, they're great and gave me my love for reading but my father in particular always had 'high tastes' and I probably took him too literally at some point) that there were some books that were worthwile and others not, some that made you a 'real' reader and some were just fluff to pass the time. But now I just want to read whatever I feel like and enjoy it whithout wondering "Is this a 'real' book?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 That's perfectly understandable, Chimera. I think everyone has that one book that acts as a turning point in their lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 You read what you read, you like what you like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 You read what you read, you like what you like Agreed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I'm willing to bet that, like me, there are others who don't mention every book they read, for the very reasons brought up in this thread. I don't read as fast as some, or as many as some, but a reader I am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwemad Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Is it OK to confess in here? I read Pride and Prejudice because I thought I 'should' read something that would make me a 'proper' reader. And absolutely hated it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephanie2008 Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I've only read books by Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. But I am starting to read more classics now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andaira Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I'm willing to bet that, like me, there are others who don't mention every book they read, for the very reasons brought up in this thread. I don't read as fast as some, or as many as some, but a reader I am. Well said, and completely agreed. If you love reading, if you read, if you enjoy picking up a book and sitting down with it and going through it cover to cover, then that makes you a reader. You don't need to read only the classics (unless you enjoy them, and then well good for you!), but simply what you wish to and feel drawn to read, whatever that may be. As far as I'm concerned, that's all it takes to make one a reader. Is it OK to confess in here? I read Pride and Prejudice because I thought I 'should' read something that would make me a 'proper' reader. And absolutely hated it That's happened to me with more than one classic, so I completely understand. Case and point: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain. I was never able to read the whole book because I simply did not enjoy it even though I truly, truly tried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueK Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I totally agree that you shouldn't be judged on what you read. I remember the BBC running a quiz on how "well read" you were - if you weren't able to quote lines from Dickens, Dylan Thomas, Hemingway, etc, then you were classed as a luddite and asked if you had ever picked up a book:irked:. Absolutely wrong in my opinion. Read what you enjoy and what you feel comfortable with I say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I second that. Well said Sue ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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