300 Pages

A few months ago, I decided to dedicate more of my reading time to books of higher quality. Though I love junky page-turners, my list of recommendations had grown short. And I have found that if a junky page-turner turns out not to be much of a page-turner, all that is left is the junk. So I got a list of typical college reads from my local library, with the assumption that even if I didn't like the books, at least I'd have added some quality literature to my brain.

I started with Grapes of Wrath, recommended to me by my mom. We've tended to have similar tastes in books (page-turners and all), so I gave it a shot. This book was the best book I can remember reading. Not only did it leap back into my hands every spare moment, it was also wonderfully written. The sentences flowed. The words painted a picture. I felt part of the story and the time period. I also found myself comparing it to my own life and our current world and how we tend to always believe that things will eventually get better as the walls continue to tumble down. I thank all my high school and college teachers for exposing me to so many books other than this one, because, ten years ago, I know I wouldn't have appreciated this one.

Unfortunately, not all books, classics or not, do not read like Grapes of Wrath. My most recent read was Catch-22. I didn't know anything about the book other than that its title had become a catchphrase. The back cover claimed that it was a funny book, so I thought that was good enough. I put the book in my backpack for something to read during my bus rides to school. And there it stayed. The first couple of chapters did bring out some laughs, but not much more. I did not develop interest in the characters; there were too many for me to ever keep track of. The humorous writing eventually became tedious. The story kept repeating itself. I didn't understand the purpose of the book and wrote it off as a book that wouldn't live up to its reputation. For the first 300 pages worth of the book, the only enjoyment I really got out of it was when I took it out at school and caught the attention of my school psychologist, former literature major. "Are you carrying that around just to look smart or are you actually reading it?"

One hundred pages through, I had already decided that it was awful, but knew I had to finish it. I couldn't hold a valid case against the book until I had all the evidence. I had to push through 450 total pages. It took about two months. Craig and I discussed the book here and there, since he considered it to be a great book. At one point he mentioned how the book appears to be humorous at first, but it is actually quite grim.

Well, there you go! It was not meant to be a funny book, as the back cover claims. It was meant to be satirical. There is a significant difference between the two. The next time I picked up the book, I realized that this story was not meant to make me laugh, but make me cringe. And it did. But after 300 pages of pushing through page after page, bus ride after bus ride, Catch-22 turned into a book I couldn't put down. It finally got the opportunity to sneak out of my backpack and onto my nightstand. Three hundred pages required two months of reading (thank goodness the library has a reasonable renewal policy), while the final one hundred fifty pages took days.

Grapes of Wrath spoiled me. Catch-22 reminded me that good books are not meant to be easy and instantly engaging. But if you are willing to dedicate 300 pages of slow and tedious reading, you may find yourself 150 pages of page-turning.