Day One Hundred and Seventeen
Waugh Abroad Page: 722
I marked my first book today. Page 584 of Waugh Abroad. In pencil. Highlighting the original of a passage in one of his novels. I feel slightly dirty and very exhilarated. I’m thrilled to think that I can thumb back through the book at any time and find that little paragraph noted; it’s reference to Waugh’s Scoop duly obvious. I hope to find myself annotating only when it is beneficial, commenting only when I truly have something worthwhile to remember and underlining only those things that are actually noteworthy. We’ll see how it goes.
My reading has changed over the years. Obviously, since I’ve been reading for 22+ years and many of those were as a child. But I think that some things shouldn’t change, at least not all that much. I was originally both omnivorous and uncritical. I consumed anything and everything and I did so innocently, openly, assuming that every author knew more than me and therefore was irrefutable. Imagine my consternation when they contradicted one another! I still believe that a childlike humility is appropriate when reading but that it should be mixed with what wisdom you have managed to gain. One attitude it is necessary to outgrow is the simple minded reading of only enjoyable books. Reading great books is the least expensive and most effective method of education for the literate. With a small budget or a library card and a modestly inquiring mind one can obtain all the learning available to humanity but the attitude that must be constantly combated is the idea of leisure time for entertainment. Tickled ears (or eyes) do not lead to wise minds.