Reading Books
Title
Reading Books
Creator
Jacob Schlitt
Description
"I recently wrote a piece that I called, 'My New Job.'"
Date
2014
Format
application/pdf
Type
text
Language
en
Identifier
READING_BOOKS
Text
READING BOOKS
I recently wrote a piece that I called, “My New Job.” I thought it was a clever title, because what I was saying was that I have worked all my life at different jobs, but when I retired, I took on a new job: reading. Of course, I have been reading all my life, but now, with no other distractions, I can devote myself to reading. I described how I now spend my time reading newspapers, reading “on line,” reading magazines, reading for classes I am taking, and I am reading whatever book my Boston Workmen’s Circle book group is reading
I had never been part of a book group before, though I have been reading books for a long time. As Carl Reiner said to Mel Brooks, The Two Thousand Year Old Man, “You were an avid reader.” Mel Brooks agreed, and said he read everything by Ovid. Ovid-avid—what’s the difference? I have to admit, I never read anything by Ovid, but David and I visited Constanta in Romania and learned that Ovid had been sent there as punishment by Rome. But I am getting off the track.
From the time I was eight or nine, and had gotten my library card, I read. First, children’s books; then, young adult books, then, as a teen-ager, I moved into the big time. I had my favorite authors at each stage, moving from Heyliger and Barber and Pease, to Dumas and Dickens, to Dos Passos and Joyce. (Name dropping?) However, by the time I was in my mid-twenties, my novel-reading began to ebb. I felt I had to “read in my field,” and started reading more non-fiction. When I was in the army, I always had a paper-back book with me. Great literature for 25 cents.
Back to my Workmen’s Circle book group: About four or five years ago, I was reading Michael Chabon’s “The Yiddish Policeman’s Union” and in the Workmen’s Circle Newsletter, I noticed that their book group was reading it as well. I thought it would be interesting to see what other people thought of it. I went, and have been a part of the book group ever since. I should mention that most of my fiction reading these past 20-30 years has concentrated on American Jewish writers: Philip Roth, Saul Bellow, Bernard Malamud, and to a lesser degree Cynthia Ozick and Howard Finkler. It is like reading in the family. I have been reading some Yiddish writers in translation. That really is mishpukhe.
After laying off Philip Roth for a while, Lewis gave me American Pastoral, which got me back to reading him. And it impressed me again, how great a writer he is. Carol gave me E. L. Doctorow’s “World’s Fair” for my birthday in 1985, and on the flyleaf, she wrote in capital letters, “IT’S YOU!” I was flattered, and I was delighted with her generosity. A hard-covered book. Most of the hard covered books that I buy for myself are remaindered. When I was given it, I thanked Carol profusely, flipped through the pages, and laid it aside to read later.
What is happening to me these days is that I enjoy reading, but where, in the past, I remembered and savored the novels I read, today, they fade from memory some time after I have read them. They are vivid enough in the weeks following, but then short-term memory loss kicks in. It is the same with movies and theatre.
I recently wrote a piece that I called, “My New Job.” I thought it was a clever title, because what I was saying was that I have worked all my life at different jobs, but when I retired, I took on a new job: reading. Of course, I have been reading all my life, but now, with no other distractions, I can devote myself to reading. I described how I now spend my time reading newspapers, reading “on line,” reading magazines, reading for classes I am taking, and I am reading whatever book my Boston Workmen’s Circle book group is reading
I had never been part of a book group before, though I have been reading books for a long time. As Carl Reiner said to Mel Brooks, The Two Thousand Year Old Man, “You were an avid reader.” Mel Brooks agreed, and said he read everything by Ovid. Ovid-avid—what’s the difference? I have to admit, I never read anything by Ovid, but David and I visited Constanta in Romania and learned that Ovid had been sent there as punishment by Rome. But I am getting off the track.
From the time I was eight or nine, and had gotten my library card, I read. First, children’s books; then, young adult books, then, as a teen-ager, I moved into the big time. I had my favorite authors at each stage, moving from Heyliger and Barber and Pease, to Dumas and Dickens, to Dos Passos and Joyce. (Name dropping?) However, by the time I was in my mid-twenties, my novel-reading began to ebb. I felt I had to “read in my field,” and started reading more non-fiction. When I was in the army, I always had a paper-back book with me. Great literature for 25 cents.
Back to my Workmen’s Circle book group: About four or five years ago, I was reading Michael Chabon’s “The Yiddish Policeman’s Union” and in the Workmen’s Circle Newsletter, I noticed that their book group was reading it as well. I thought it would be interesting to see what other people thought of it. I went, and have been a part of the book group ever since. I should mention that most of my fiction reading these past 20-30 years has concentrated on American Jewish writers: Philip Roth, Saul Bellow, Bernard Malamud, and to a lesser degree Cynthia Ozick and Howard Finkler. It is like reading in the family. I have been reading some Yiddish writers in translation. That really is mishpukhe.
After laying off Philip Roth for a while, Lewis gave me American Pastoral, which got me back to reading him. And it impressed me again, how great a writer he is. Carol gave me E. L. Doctorow’s “World’s Fair” for my birthday in 1985, and on the flyleaf, she wrote in capital letters, “IT’S YOU!” I was flattered, and I was delighted with her generosity. A hard-covered book. Most of the hard covered books that I buy for myself are remaindered. When I was given it, I thanked Carol profusely, flipped through the pages, and laid it aside to read later.
What is happening to me these days is that I enjoy reading, but where, in the past, I remembered and savored the novels I read, today, they fade from memory some time after I have read them. They are vivid enough in the weeks following, but then short-term memory loss kicks in. It is the same with movies and theatre.
Original Format
application/msword
Collection
Citation
Jacob Schlitt, “Reading Books,” Autobiographical stories & other writing by Jacob Schlitt, accessed May 3, 2024, https://tsirlson.omeka.net/items/show/225.