Comments on: Not Everyone Who Seems Like a Serious Reader Is One, Teju Cole

By: Theses on the Art/Ethics Problem | John Pistelli

Theses on the Art/Ethics Problem | John Pistelli — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:15:55 +0000

[...] In response to Teju Cole and Helen Rittelmeyer. [...]

By: TXW

TXW — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 07:46:51 +0000

This is the first reference to Cole I have seen since I read his Open City. Like Dr. Rittlemeyer’s loathing after watching so much TV, I am still loathing after finishing that book. Speaking of bluffing, I erroneously thought there would develop some sort of point to the rambling prose, not just another James Joyce/Kerouac novelty. Throw in bytes of high cultural references, classical music references that were lost on my dim brain, and multicultural hobnobbing, and it appears to be an intelligent novel on the surface, but the book suffers from the same problems pointed out in Cole’s essay–it only seems smart. References without depth. Or as pgk wrote–look how cultured I am! Yes! But at mid point, the protagonist (if I could call him that without an interesting plot) has a one night stand. Later, he is accused of a remote sexual assault by someone else. Cathartic justice or mercy is absent, he doesn’t feel much of anything, he is just po-mo boredom personified. But highly cultured to the point of snoring. I will not click on the links to his essays above. I need to stay awake.

By: Andrew Stevens

Andrew Stevens — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 22:56:22 +0000

By sheer coincidence, I happened to listen today to film professor Drew Casper's commentary on the Hitchcock film Notorious. At the very end, he says, "And so to understand ourselves and the world around us, we must study [Hitchock's] work, which is a psychic mirror of our times, a psychic mirror of our lives." Dude. It's a great movie and Hitchcock's a great director. But it's just a movie and he's just a director. He has no special insight into the real world by virtue of being a great director. This sort of pretentiousness is fairly rare in film criticism, but nearly ubiquitous in literary criticism.

By: Andrew Stevens

Andrew Stevens — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 21:51:34 +0000

Just to clarify, there’s obviously nothing wrong with the appreciation of literature (and I certainly agree that the great works of literature are more than just bad philosophy). But those who have great appreciation for other arts – the visual arts, music, dance, theater, film, food, and so forth – don’t generally confuse such appreciation with intellectuality. Literary aficionados make this mistake all the time, probably because reading is also the primary way we learn, so they confuse the artistic with the intellectual.

By: Andrew Stevens

Andrew Stevens — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 18:31:16 +0000

Ah, thank you, pgk. I’ve been continually making that point for years now. Moreover, most literary literature is just bad philosophy and there’s plenty of that in the philosophical literature already, which at least attempts a certain amount of rigor.

You’re being a little unfair with Baby Rudin though, which I’m sure is way beyond Cole’s educational level. I would recommend Michael Spivak’s Calculus instead. A wonderful text and perfect for anybody who wants to discover (or rediscover) the beauty of mathematics.

By: James Kabala

James Kabala — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 16:58:52 +0000

I too am curious to know not only what the good reading style is but what the bad reading style was before it. Maybe I myself have been doing it wrong and don’t realize it!

By: pgk

pgk — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 00:13:26 +0000

It's also interesting to note that these type of "look how cultured I am" lists generally only include literature, and usually novels. Novels are stories. Yes, they may be magnificent works of art, but, in the end, you don't really have to be a supergenius to read a story. Listing good novels is only an indicator of taste, not of intelligence. I wonder if Cole has ever cracked open something like, say, Rudin's Principles of Mathematical Analysis?

By: Withywindle

Withywindle — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 01:54:24 +0000

The writer ravishes; the reader’s end
To know and hold the writer as her friend,
To comprehend her with a mind bespoke:
Who hints aught else is only blowing smoke.

By: Douglas Johnson

Douglas Johnson — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 22:55:02 +0000

Add my name to the folks wanting to hear about what skills you learned to become a “decent reader.”

By: Andrew Stevens

Andrew Stevens — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:01:52 +0000

“[B]efore bed on Air Force One” should have read “before bed or on Air Force One.” Left out a crucial word there.