I am finally reading Les Misérables, having decided to do so well over two years ago at the behest of my mother. I’ve seen the movie version with Liam Neeson, which was arguably a decent movie, and read a highly abridged adaptation, so I’m familiar enough with the story, but oh! the richness of Victor Hugo’s writing! If only I could read his original French version, but alas, I’m sadly monolingual. Sigh… I am reading the unabridged translation by Lee Fahnestock and Norman MacAfee based on the classic C.E. Wilbour translation, and I’ve been told they do Mr. Hugo justice, so I can only trust that they do.
When I first took up the book to read, I observed that there were some 1463 pages. I figured that if I were to read roughly 10 pages per day, it would take me nearly 5 months (!!!) to read. This train of thought led me to ponder on how many (adult classical) books I could possibly read in the time I have left on this earth. Oh dear! Obviously, I could poof out of existence at any moment, however, even living to the ripe old age of 90 and taking into account that most books aren’t as long as Les Misérables, most being even 75% less, I could read an average of 8 books per year. Since I am 37, that leaves me able to read, gulp, 424 books. There are so many more!
Now, some days I read a lot more than 10 pages, some days less, and this is just me figuring in my current novel. Besides that, I read countless pages of classic literature to my children, pre-read books for my children’s personal reading, I often read and study the writings of Charlotte Mason and also the wonderful books based on her teachings (Penny Gardener, Karen Andreola, etc.), I am studying the mechanics of building a cordwood/cob home, I read magazines and internet articles about design, cooking, teaching, handicrafts, gardening, health, religion, faith, and more, not to mention e-mails and yahoo groups (which I’m trying to keep to a minimum-it’s SO hard!).
Another consideration is the idea of only reading 10 pages per day of a particular work of literature. Why not read more? Like I mentioned earlier, some days I do, however, this is an average, and I am not a fast reader when it comes to the classics. I can read a good, but fairly twaddly book in a considerably short amount of time, but I love more thoroughly getting to know the story and characters in classics by taking it slower, really appreciating what’s being read, pondering the ideas. Charlotte Mason was a big proponent of this type of reading, as others have been also. Victor Hugo spent nearly 15 years writing Les Misérables, why should I plow through it in a rush?
I could read faster and more hurried to “get through” as many classics as possible, but that’s not the point. There are pages I’ll never turn, I accept that. I read slowly on purpose. I have to accept that I’d rather savor 10 books than put quick checkmarks next to a list of 100.
This leads me to two separate ideas; the first being that I have made a goal to write a review of each book I read. For a book like Les Mis, I will make periodic notes as I go along, writing down favorite passages, and I’ll be sure to post some of them here.
The second idea, or goal, if you will, is that I am simply not going to waste my reading time. I have been a proponent of avoiding twaddle for several years now, but every so often (more than I care to admit!) I find myself reading pointless newspaper articles, junk mail, catalogs, etc. I am not going to limit myself to only classic literature just the same as I am not going to go through life only eating ice cream. Magazines and the like are relaxing and require very little of me and I think we all need that at times; just not too often. There are good reading choices, better ones, and then there are the best. I read a lot and since I have it within my power to choose from the latter group, I am resolved to be more discerning in my choice of literature.
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