#27 The case for literature

On developing a habit to be curious, and finding your 'why' to read more.

Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash

It’s only in the past couple of years that I started to be more involved in the literary world, following literature awards, attending talks with novelists, and knowing who’s dominating the book sales charts. (It’s not difficult to keep up, Richard Osman has taken care to be number-one for over a year now!)

Contemporary literature is a big hit-or-miss. More often than not, I find myself buying books because they have a pretty cover (a weakness I’m not necessarily looking to fix) or a wonderful marketing campaign aka great blurbs and a decent Twitter presence. In the end, I get midly disappointed by how average the reading experience turns out to be. (That’s not to say that if I were to read a classic I’d automatically like it, but there’s a reason for literary canons.) A friend of mine told me numerous times – and every time in a more nuanced way – that she cannot understand how I choose to put myself through the process of reading “bad books.” Full disclosure: she knows my ratings on Goodreads hardly ever go above three stars (my definition of a good, solid work), so she thinks I’m only reading garbage. I refuse to comment.

I read commercial literature too, although in many ways, I could be considered a literary snob (yikes!). There’s one deceivingly simple explanation for what I choose to read: I am curious.

I am curious to know how contemporary authors respond to what’s going on around the world, how they incorporate – and to what extent – the trending cultural, social, political phenomena in their writing, and why certain books have such a massive public appeal (I’m looking at you, Osman). The interest in the self-help genre has grown; the peril of being too ‘opinionated’ leads to being cancelled; poetry was given another chance because of ‘Instagram poets’; a revolution in the publishing industry is due to happen as we begin to recognise the necessity of representation; and, oh, the myriad ways literature is connected to human life.

Literature is more fun when you contextualise it, when you adapt that content to your life and needs, and you find your ‘why’. I keep saying that I turn to books when I have to make a decision or I want to find an answer. Of course, I read for pleasure, but I also read to learn. I’ve come to internalise my anger when I hear people – especially young people – that they hardly ever open a book apart from what is mandatory in school, and even those books are not properly read. I don’t blame them; I am just sad that there is no one to inspire them to think and act differently.

When I used to volunteer at a literacy centre in Hackney, I was surprised by how staff workers were encouraging children to read: They would prompt them to a library room with hundreds of books organised based on their age and they would let each of them select the book they found interesting. I know, this sounds ridiculously normal, but to me it felt revolutionary. I grew up reading what was on the curriculum (stories written by long-time dead, boring white men with endless descriptions and difficult language to understand) and needless to say, I wasn’t impressed.

It’s significantly more difficult to start (getting into) reading once you’re an adult – mainly because of the ‘lack of time’ excuse – but far from impossible. There are excellent resources out there: booktubers, apps that summarise books, articles on how to read ‘more efficiently’, audiobooks, e-books (although, to me, this is a crime) and what not. I won’t judge what you read (okay, I will actually, but why would you care? – see, what have I told you about being snobbish?!) as long as you start reading.

At the moment, I am focused on contemporary literature, and although I’m not 100% happy about postponing my ever-growing TBR of classics, the fact that I am reading is enough for me. Another ‘why’ factor is that I get to go to events and meet authors in person and take in a jolt of endorphins from these experiences.

On this note, this weekend I’ll be at Cheltenham Literature Festival! I’m right there as you read this, getting all hyped up. And with no illusions of grandeur, but if you happen to be around and you see a pink head, that’s probably me, so come and say hi.

I don’t know what all this rambling was about. I had no intention to write about this but I couldn’t stop and then decided to go with the flow… In the end, there’s always a great time to celebrate literature, especially this week which has been quite prolific!

Read more about the Nobel Prize laureate, National Poetry Day, and the Goldsmiths Prize shortlists, among other news. Also, you don’t want to miss stuff I consumed this week on Jodie Comer, Winnie the Pooh, and a 2,700-year-old toilet!

Adios, amigos … see you next Friday! Until then…

Happy reading, happy learning,

Teodora x

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🥁 📚 The latest in the literary world

• Abdulrazak Gurnah is the new laureate of the Nobel Prize in literature 2021! The novelist, originally from Zanzibar but left for England at age 18, was awarded for his “uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents.” 👏Gurnah has published ten novels, and if you haven’t read any of his work, “Paradise” might be a good starting point given it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and Whitbread Award. Interesting fact: Gurnah is the first black writer to win since Toni Morrison in 1993. 🎉 In case you ever wondered what you have to do to get a Nobel Prize in Literature, here’s an interview with Ellen Mattson, member of the Swedish Academy and Nobel Committee, explaining how the prize process works. 🤔 Also, in this interview with Nobel Committee Chair Anders Olsson, you can read about how the scope of the prize itself has broadened, what the Swedish Academy has done to overcome the scandal that suspended the Nobel Prize in literature in 2017, and a new system that will be introduced in 2022. 💡

• Goldsmiths Prize 2021 shortlist is here! 🙌 The £10,000 award celebrates fiction that “breaks the mould and extends the possibilities of the novel form”. The book choices vary from magical realism to experimental fiction and a novel of “in-between places,” so definitely worth adding them to your TBR. 👀 The winner of the prize will be announced at an online ceremony on 10 November.

• On National Poetry Day (7 October), let me treat you with a poem from Ocean Vuong’s forthcoming new collection, “Time is a Mother.” ✨ Careful, your finger might slip on the pre-order button. Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you. 🤭

• We celebrate poetry, we award the most extraordinary works of fiction, we recognise the importance of literature in our lives, but oftentimes we forget libraries, these magical sanctuaries of knowledge. 🥺 Between the 4th and 10th of October, there is Libraries Week across the UK. Libraries play a central role in communities and this is a fantastic initiative to demonstrate how libraries can change lives. When in doubt, go to the library. Einstein thinks so too: “The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.” 📚

• The handwritten manuscript of John Steinbeck’s most famous novel, “The Grapes of Wrath,” was published for the first time by SP Books. (The manuscript itself is kept in the University of Virginia’s archives.) You can purchase a copy for £190 💸 and live a different reading experience, especially when it comes to the end of the novel and its famous final line: “She looked up and across the barn and her lips came together and smiled mysteriously.” 🥺

• David Walliams’s story about Brian, the Chinese boy, will be removed from his book “The World’s Worst Children” after criticism that it contains “harmful stereotypes.” 😬 The character is described as wearing glasses, looking like a nerd and having small eyes. This reminds me of Kate Clanchy’s Orwell Prize-winning book, “Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me,” which has also been heavily criticised due to her portrayal of Black and autistic young people. Why do (white) authors always get it wrong in misrepresenting people of colour and different ethnicities? Are they getting it wrong or is this another ‘cancel culture’ attempt from the ‘woke’ ones? Hmm. There’s a lot to unpack here, but this tweet makes a valid point:

  Maria Supplisson Silmy @maria_splsn

  white writers always compare brown skin to food but will only use words like ivory or porcelain for white characters... I'm going to start writing "this boy with plain flour skin" see how you like it

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🎧 📰 👀 My media diet this week

• This interview with Jodie Comer in TimeOut. 🤩 Why read it? Comer is everywhere right now…and rightly so! After her smashing interpretation of Villanelle in Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s hit “Killing Eve,” and the more recent role in “Free Guy” next to Ryan Reynolds, Comer speaks about her progression as an actress, awkward audition experiences, and the time she got her mum’s roast delivered to a film set. A fun and light weekend read. 🕯️

• This podcast episode with Walter Isaacson, the writer behind the bestselling biographies on Jobs, da Vinci, Franklin and Albert Einstein, as well as the former CEO of the Aspen Institute, chair of CNN, and editor of Time. Why listen to it? Isaacson talks to Shane Parrish about curiosity as the main fuel for creativity; he shares Steve Jobs’ obsessions, explains da Vinci’s ability to develop a brilliant mind, and clarifies Ada Lovelace’s fascination for maths. 💭 Complimentary read: issue no #21 on how greatness takes root in trauma, based on Matthew Parris’s book “Fracture: Trauma, Success and the Origins of Greatness.” 💡

• You might not have heard of Sebastian Siemiatkowski, but it’s likely to know Klarna, the “buy now and pay later” service. 🛍️ 💰 In this podcast episode of “The Diary of a CEO,” Siemiatkowski shares his journey from the 23-year-old university dropout to leading one of the highest valued tech companies in Europe. Why listen to it? In case you didn’t get enough motivation from Mrs Evaristo today, this is to emphasise that you can’t give up on your dream. 😉

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📌 Random news in brief

• Israeli archaeologists have found a toilet in Jerusalem dating back more than 2,700 years when they were considered a luxury. In those times, “only the rich could afford toilets.” Imagine. Or maybe, actually, don’t. 🚽 🚽

• Poohsticks Bridge, the original bridge which inspired A A Milne’s Winnie the Pooh stories, has sold at auction for more than £131k. I am picturing the buyer going home to his wife/partner: “Honey, today I bought a bridge. It was a bargain. Couldn’t resist.” Mad. 💸 🤷

• Amazon is bringing its “4-star” physical store concept to the UK after its original launch in New York in 2018. 🛒 It is the first Amazon non-food retail shop, selling everything from books to pet toys and electronics. All products on shelves have been rated four stars or above by customers online. ⭐ ⭐⭐⭐

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