Sunday, April 06, 2008

What are you reading?


I know I haven't been very good with my posts lately, but these days I`ve been a little tired, and in the evening I would always fall asleep in front of the PC even before checking my e-mails. Yep, getting old is really really really sad...

I was thinking of talking about birthday parties in the US, since it was Natalie`s birthday on Friday. However, I decided to bag it for today...I had enough of birthdays for now! :P
Instead, I decided to write about some articles I have been reading on the newspaper. As always, I haven`t been reading much on politics and what is happening in the world. Instead, I came across some "essays" on books and literature.
The first essay I read had actually a lot to do with something that happened to me last week end. I was on the phone with my friend Emmanuele (who so far has proven to be the only reader of my blog) when he told me he was reading "Manager: Carriere e Successi" on how to pursue a career and become a successful manager. To me, these books sound as "self-help", so, when I heard my friend telling me that, I was in shock. So much so that I made fun of him and his book for a long time. Later this week, I came across this article in the New York Times
: It’s Not You, It’s Your Books. The very good-humored journalist tells us how important books and literature can be in a relationship - specially for women, she adds. In her essays, she seems to defend the idea that sometimes not sharing a common literary background with your partner might cause a rupture in a relationship. According to the people that the journalist interviewed, it really seems that women do care a lot about books and writers, and, for them, a slip in the literary field could be enough to end a relationship. According to the essay, well-educated women with a good literary background would hardly establish a relationships with men that read only best sellers or that do not read at all. On the other hand, men don`t seem to be so strict about their partner's literary background and, according to the men interviewed, a literary slip would not cause the couple to split.

Personally, I do not agree with the essay. I do think I value my literary taste much more than I value other people's -wrong, wrong, wrong, I know! - but, still, most of the time I am open to other people`s suggestions and I like to have friends that do not really share the same literary taste. I also like to have my friends "try" my literary taste and see if they like it. However, even though I try to be open, I think I`m still not open enough to read a book on becoming successful managers. Still, I would never "break up" with a friend that reads and enjoys it.

I read also another essay about books, but I`m sharing it with you tomorrow. Now I am too tired to go on...

Ops! I forgot to answer my own question...I`m reading two books now: Jane Eyre and a book by the famous Brazilian Rubem Alves.



1 comment:

Lele said...

Ok,ok, so u don't believe to "self-help" books...well, me too! In fact the book was about the life of some top managers..reading it u can understand how they do all that road in their job...and the secret is only one: working hard! :p

About me, i don't think that the same taste on books can break a relationship...it could be the "goccia che fa traboccare il vaso" as we say in italian..try to imagine a fight between a couple:"u don't understand me!! not even my literary taste!!" :)

Well, just kidding...anyway, we have some books in common..isn't so? Montalbano..Harry Potter..the catcher in the rye..crime&punishment..Jack..and so on... ;) i'm safe! :P