The art of handling talking about books

I have to be careful about how I talk about books, there are certain ways one has to discuss reading. Likewise, music is a subject that requires considerable thought, listening is similarly to be revered. It is only by turning these activities into something "splendid and worthwhile"[2] that you, me and everyone can discuss books. Only those who read worthwhile books, listen to only pre-approved 'good' music, whose reading elevates their daily life, whose collection contains absolutely no 'guilty pleasures', they are the only people who are privileged to talk about books and music.

What poppycock, what utter nonsense peddled by the lazy and those who wish to keep a sense of us and them. As much as I try to be progressive in my life there is nothing that "just gives me the impulse to be complete reactionary"[3] more than the person who says there is a worthwhile book or record, by extension there are unworthy books and records.

I will try to refrain from writing this only a handful of times in this but THERE ARE ONLY BOOKS AND MUSIC AND HOW PEOPLE INTERACT WITH THEM.

On Monday 12 and Tuesday 13 October I attended two more events at the Ilkley Literature Festival, Frank Furedi: The History of the Remember, and Treasures of the Brotherton Library. Three events in total[4], my first proper convention (though three out of everything Ilkley has to offer is not that much). My overwhelming desire is to do more next time, and take the opportunity to ask questions and talk with the other bloggers and commentators there.

The three events managed to take me through all the aspects of books that I love and dislike, from celebration to dismay, with the discussion of the panelists or guests to the questions of the audience. There is a discourse happening here, which is to be encouraged, though generalised, lazy, disingenuous discourse should be avoided.

There were some aspects of Frank Furedi's talk that impressed me considerably, and there were other aspects that drove me up the wall. Furedi has written a book on the power of reading, and I need to read that before properly being able to comment on it.

That said, there were the occasional comments that I'd like to pick up. Furedi discussed his own reading experience as well as those that lead him to start his book[5], which appeared to be a number of students at the university he teaches at not reading handouts or recommended text. This lead to a lot of research as to the role of reading thorough history.

Reading is good, books are one of the most amazing things humans have ever created. And not just book as in two covers and paper between them, book as in document that represents fact or non-fact, fiction or fictionalized. All that which can be at one's finger tips.

Yet there is a tendency to be negative about books and reading, from society at large and from booksellers in particular. Jen Campbell mentioned that booksellers could be doomsayers even when book sales were up for the first time since 2007[6]. Furedi discussed how reading seemed diminished as something that people enjoy, making suggestions about how reading is taught and the decline of public libraries.

And underneath it all, that spark of people reading, enjoying, sharing the connections between books. There is an issue with reduced library number but it is not solely a reading issue, libraries have always had a central role in communities, once they are removed, closed, shut, they remove, close, shut a community hub[7].

There is an issue in how people talk about books, and I think this is where I need to read Frank Furedi's book before commenting. I do not think there is an unworthy book, and we should celebrate that there is fanfiction just as much as there is Milton[8]. If someone enjoys any given text let's celebrate rather than berate their choice.

It is possible to construct a way to talk about worthwhile and splendid books. How, you ask? Really, you need me to show you, oh, you do?

Well, firstly, I suggest there is a value for every book. Every book, taking note of what I said earlier. Now, if one takes all the differing values everyone places on books, it's quite hard to correlate them. One needs easily definable values, such as monetary or rarity. The bonus of using these these kinds of values is that it replaces the conservatives' 'good/unworthy' equation with one that they really like showing off, money. This book X and Y like, you see, Y likes it more because they bought a rare first edition copy that cost more than reasonable because every other third word is misspelt.

The value of books is in the reading. Value can be found in how reading then spurs on to further reading and connecting with other readers. Money plays a part, either in the transaction to purchase a book or the financial underpinning of public libraries, but monetary value is not reading. A first edition of The Hobbit is still just an edition of The Hobbit if it is untouched.

Notes
1 - The title had originally been a quote from a book about reading.
2 - Starting early with the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy quotes, this one from the very first radio episode from the 1970s.
3 - Super Furry Animals, The International Language of Screaming, 1997
4 - Reading And Writing In The Digital Age being the first, or third, if this were a list.
5 - It all started after a comment piece in the London Times, that home of free press behind a pay wall online.
6 - Is this the triumph of print? The Bookseller, 26/09/2015 
7 - Hub is not a bad word, and it is a useful way of describing those places were communities gather.
8 - Both Paradise Lost and Fifty Shades Of Grey were mentioned during Furedi's talk, one 'good' and one 'bad' example of books.