My life in books* began as a young child, with my parents buying me the mainstays of childhood literature: Dr. Seuss, the Golden books (those golden spines, coupled with the convoy of characters bordering the covers, used to intrigue me), and the like. I could not officially read until I was in first grade. Thankfully, once I was taught, I quickly understood the role of phonics, vowels, consonants and spelling. I didn't start reading chapter books -- a rite of passage for young readers -- until I was in the second or third grade. Specifically, it was a selection from RL Stine's Goosebumps series, something about a phantom piano man. When I was nine and ten, I became obsessed with Star Wars and began reading (or tried to read) the novels that take place where the movies end. Although reading books was fun, I hadn't yet experienced the properties of genuine literature.
Before I go into my tale of "enlightenment" through the literary novel, I need to explain what I believe constitutes a genuine piece of literature vs. a good, but superficially-entertaining story. To me, I think a novel's literary merit can be reduced to authorial intent. You know the author's intent when you see the reoccurrence of themes, added with the presence of symbolism and patterns in the sentence or plot structure (these are just a few of the signs of literature!). Because of these literary devices, I am able to distinguish the intent of John Steinbeck (he uses these tools for the purpose of social commentary, religious exploration, or the like) from the messages found in John Grisham (he has good themes, but his prose lacks these elements that would classify his works as literature). This is not to put down any prolific novel writer, or their readers (I like to read some books for their entertainment value), for that matter, but I want to clarify what I believe distinguishes literature from ordinary novels. What I'm realizing is that almost anyone can come up with a good story, but it takes a true genius to craft literature.
I will soon return to my personal quest through literature.
* By the way, call me a nerd, but I love to read. So if you want to make fun of me, you will enjoy reading this blog. Although if you make it through all this, you might as well read an actual book.
