The Occasional Reader
This is the column I write for the College of Mohs Surgery–a group of very specialized skin cancer surgeons. (Yes, I am a member) Because you have to be a member to get the newsletter, I am reprinting the column here.
The Occasional Reader Vol. 5
This Summer Become a Pleasure Seeker: Of Reading, That is
Summer has finally arrived in my high mountain valley. June brings a predictable explosion of fluttering lime aspen leaves and pink wild roses; but like the dandelions that show up after three warm days, summer also brings a blossoming of book lists. Perhaps the book publishers know us too well; that with summer’s first warm breeze we concoct myths of long vacations, free time, and leisurely reading. These June lists, foisted upon us by every conceivable publication, enumerate the books writers or other famous people are taking to the “Cape” or on safari-usually the hippest recent publications. Although I admit to a certain voyeur-like pleasure when pursuing these book choices, bitter experience has taught me that following this kind of “expert” advice usually results in sleep and guilt–why can’t I stay awake when turning the pages of this “must read” book?
Because I have recently finished an English graduate degree, my friends and physician colleagues presume (falsely) that I now possess book selection expertise and have taken to asking, “Do you have suggestions for my vacation reading?” While graduate school did require reading an inordinate number of books, I have grown ambivalent about offering book suggestions. (I do recognize this is a somewhat ironic stance for a book column writer!) But it turns out that while suggesting a “best” book surely relates to our “tastes,” it is far more dependent on the “why” of our reading.
Like all physicians, I try to “keep up with the literature.” But after over thirty-five years of practicing this discipline it would be a lie of Bernie Madoff proportions to suggest that I derive anything remotely resembling pleasure from the experience. This technical reading bears no resemblance to the unrestrained joy that reading granted me during my growing up years. Then, I was captivated by the stories and adventures of the Three Musketeers, Beau Geste, and the English sea captains, Jack Aubrey and Horatio Hornblower. Growing older I lapped up novels by Dickens, Michener, Hemingway, and even Jane Austen. I am not certain when or where I lost the joy, the ability to lose myself in a story–perhaps it was guillotined somewhere between organic chemistry and gross anatomy. I have, only in my late middle age, realized this grievous error.
Alan Jacobs recently published a wonderful and instructive book, The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction. He points out that among the many objectives for which we engage books, whim is an important and often overlooked reason to read. By whim Jacobs means for us to read books for the sheer pleasure of it. Reading shouldn’t, as is too often the case in my overcommitted and multitasking world, the equivalent of eating greens, a session with your CPA, or a colonoscopy–the kind of reading C. S. Lewis referred to as “social and ethical hygiene.” For physicians with limited time, reading for whim means putting down the journals, turning off the cell phone’s email dinger, spurning “ought to” lists, and finding a book with an engaging story, a story told with such skill that you are carried away, reading past your bedtime, and becoming cranky when the last page arrives.
So here is my list of summer reading suggestions. These titles have stood the test of multiple readers. Most of them won’t be found on any list of the hundred books you ought to read in order to appear hip or the “smartest person in the room” at the next social function. Rather, these books share one characteristic–they are extraordinarily good stories, well told. These were books I couldn’t put down, often re-read, and couldn’t wait to pass on to my fellow bookie friends–in short, books that gave me a great deal of pleasure simply by reading them. These books derive from a wide diversity of types; I hope at least one of them catches your whimsy and carries you away. If even one of these books forces you to forget Facebook for at least thirty minutes, I will count this column a success. (Feel free, of course, to Facebook me your opinions and choices!)
1) Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
You may know Berry as an outspoken essayist and speaker but his greatest talents may reside in fiction. This story placed in Port William, Kentucky and told by the town barber combines an easy-going prose with a thought-provoking story. I find some of Berry’s essay work pedantic; but his fiction is seductive, even addictive.
2) Spies of Warsaw by Alan Furst
Readers of this column know my love of detective and historical thrillers. Alan Furst is, in my opinion, the master of the latter category. This is a recent (2008) offering and it does not disappoint.
3) The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
I realize the last Potter film is coming out shortly and a few critics feel Rowling’s books are for kids. Trust me, you will–if you allow yourself–enjoy reading this series–far more pleasure in the pages than on the screen. Two years ago my wife and I spent six weeks in Hawaii while I filled in for a colleague. We didn’t have a TV and knew few people in the Islands. We both read the series–start to finish. She started volume one on the plane over to Honolulu in order to stay one book ahead of me–marital discord arose when she wasn’t ready to give up her book. It was a wonderful experience. Hide your reading in a Kindle if you are embarrassed about carrying a “Harry tome” in public, but read Rowling’s masterful and wonderfully crafted story.
4) The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean
This novel, set in World War II during the German siege of Leningrad, combines a fascinating story of war, art, and memory. Although a first novel, this author does a masterful job of weaving the various stories together while writing with a lyrical prose.
5) Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Although I like to recommend books “off the beaten path,” meaning books you may not have heard of, this Pulitzer Prize winning novel continues to get the highest marks from those to whom I have made reading suggestions. The book explores big ideas and tells a great story with a graceful, even poetic, prose. But be forewarned, this is a book that should be read slowly, savored even.
Have a great summer and enjoy your reading for a change.
David P. Clark, MD