I appreciate great literature more since my retirement. I suspect this is because I have more time to consciously read these works thereby creating a more immersive experience. There is nothing more satisfying to me than to curl up in my armchair in front of my wood burner on cold, damp days and simply drift away into my reading. Or to languish in my garden in the summer sun amid the sounds of garden birds and bees. Absolute bliss!
Reasons 2, 3, and 4 are intertwined, at least for me. Perhaps 4 is less related to 2 than 3 is, but I am so in love with words and how they are used to express a viewpoint or an observation ... it might be an observation I've read before and already "know," but the power of language can make you see a situation or character trait anew, as if you never knew it before, or to see it slightly differently, from a somewhat different angle. It's almost as if, through the words of various authors, we create a painting that at first is a black and white line drawing, then, as we continue our reading, that painting develops shading and color until it becomes a fuller picture.
Amazingly, despite taking years of Latin, I still haven't read The Odyssey. I read The Aeneid in the original Latin, but that was many many sleeps ago. This Substack has inspired me to read The Odyssey this coming year, along with War and Peace, and Tolkien (who, I am ashamed to admit, I have never read). Two years ago I dug into Byron and the romantic poets; last year was a re-read of several Dickens and Bronte works (including "Jane Eyre"); this year, hopefully, I'll have the pleasure of reading the aforementioned works. I loved "Anna Karenina" and look forward to beginning my year with "War and Peace."
Me and my husband have only one reason to read great literature. That reason is love. We absolutely love literature. It has shaped our lives and how we see the world.
I remember reading Jane Eyre when I was thirteen years old. It was the first book I stayed up all night to read. Children pick good literature if it’s available to them.
I appreciate your taking the time out these items into a post. It calls to mind aspects I haven’t considered while confirming some reasons why having a novel going is a true delight. Godspeed.
This is a magnificent manifesto. I was especially struck by your idea that literature is a “form of pleasure” that asks us for sustained attention—a slow, deliberate cultivation of the self.
I’m embracing that quest wholeheartedly this year. My own “Page 1” of 2026 includes diving into the “rich, mingled mess of life” with War and Peace and The Brothers Karamazov, while also seeking that sense of “solitude and focus” you described within the pages of In Search of Lost Time and Midnight’s Children.
What you wrote about poetry as “a force which calls new powers into being” truly resonates with me as I begin this new year. Thank you for encouraging us to tune out the “newspaper philosophers” and instead listen to the voices of those genuine souls who have outlasted empires.
Thank you for this excellent synopsis of why great literature matters. It's also a reminder that things keep repeating themselves across the centuries- society, politically and personally. Whilst literature might not offer direct solutions to dealing with such issues comfort is gained from learning that this too will pass ☺️👌
No book or work of literature is capable of providing pleasure to all readers, Jane Eyre included (though I admit I've never read it). Jorge Luis Borges had considerable disdain for the works of Shakespeare, for example. I couldn't stand Moby Dick (narrator was too in my face). Pronouncing that "nothing else compares" to Jane Eyre turns a work of art into a totem which does it a disservice; this is the work of a mortal, and an appreciative reading includes seeing both its flaws and where it succeeds.
It's also kind of meaningless. I could compare Jane Eyre with lots of things - Oliver Twist, Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice, Wide Sargasso Sea etc. Or is it "incomparable" in the sense of being the pinnacle of literary achievement? I mean it's very good from memory (having read it 40 years ago) but I read The Taming of the Shrew the same year and probably preferred that. I'm not really one for ranking books, and I doubt it would be the consensus vote among those who do.
How can an article about great literature employ the following sentence: “Books like Jane Eyre hit differently.” Reeks of AI. I stopped reading, sorry.
Thank you for enunciating some of the great reasons for literature. My favorite observation: literature addresses “Why do people do and say the things that they do?” And it does it does it well
I appreciate great literature more since my retirement. I suspect this is because I have more time to consciously read these works thereby creating a more immersive experience. There is nothing more satisfying to me than to curl up in my armchair in front of my wood burner on cold, damp days and simply drift away into my reading. Or to languish in my garden in the summer sun amid the sounds of garden birds and bees. Absolute bliss!
I find I appreciate great classic literature all the more by reading modern literature in between.
Reasons 2, 3, and 4 are intertwined, at least for me. Perhaps 4 is less related to 2 than 3 is, but I am so in love with words and how they are used to express a viewpoint or an observation ... it might be an observation I've read before and already "know," but the power of language can make you see a situation or character trait anew, as if you never knew it before, or to see it slightly differently, from a somewhat different angle. It's almost as if, through the words of various authors, we create a painting that at first is a black and white line drawing, then, as we continue our reading, that painting develops shading and color until it becomes a fuller picture.
Amazingly, despite taking years of Latin, I still haven't read The Odyssey. I read The Aeneid in the original Latin, but that was many many sleeps ago. This Substack has inspired me to read The Odyssey this coming year, along with War and Peace, and Tolkien (who, I am ashamed to admit, I have never read). Two years ago I dug into Byron and the romantic poets; last year was a re-read of several Dickens and Bronte works (including "Jane Eyre"); this year, hopefully, I'll have the pleasure of reading the aforementioned works. I loved "Anna Karenina" and look forward to beginning my year with "War and Peace."
Many thanks.
Me and my husband have only one reason to read great literature. That reason is love. We absolutely love literature. It has shaped our lives and how we see the world.
I remember reading Jane Eyre when I was thirteen years old. It was the first book I stayed up all night to read. Children pick good literature if it’s available to them.
I appreciate your taking the time out these items into a post. It calls to mind aspects I haven’t considered while confirming some reasons why having a novel going is a true delight. Godspeed.
This is a magnificent manifesto. I was especially struck by your idea that literature is a “form of pleasure” that asks us for sustained attention—a slow, deliberate cultivation of the self.
I’m embracing that quest wholeheartedly this year. My own “Page 1” of 2026 includes diving into the “rich, mingled mess of life” with War and Peace and The Brothers Karamazov, while also seeking that sense of “solitude and focus” you described within the pages of In Search of Lost Time and Midnight’s Children.
What you wrote about poetry as “a force which calls new powers into being” truly resonates with me as I begin this new year. Thank you for encouraging us to tune out the “newspaper philosophers” and instead listen to the voices of those genuine souls who have outlasted empires.
After Brothers Karanazov, add 'The Idiot.'
Thank you for this excellent synopsis of why great literature matters. It's also a reminder that things keep repeating themselves across the centuries- society, politically and personally. Whilst literature might not offer direct solutions to dealing with such issues comfort is gained from learning that this too will pass ☺️👌
As a literature teacher I couldn’t agree more! Would you be okay with me sharing your post with my students?
please do :)
Thank you!
3 and 10,..., all of them.
For me 2 and 3 are the most powerful.
A good idea to list Ten Reasons to Read Great Literature.
Happy New Year to you all.
Starting the new year with a slow read of “War & Peace” & “East of Eden”. Life is good!
Such a good commentary to start the year with. Thank you.
No book or work of literature is capable of providing pleasure to all readers, Jane Eyre included (though I admit I've never read it). Jorge Luis Borges had considerable disdain for the works of Shakespeare, for example. I couldn't stand Moby Dick (narrator was too in my face). Pronouncing that "nothing else compares" to Jane Eyre turns a work of art into a totem which does it a disservice; this is the work of a mortal, and an appreciative reading includes seeing both its flaws and where it succeeds.
It's also kind of meaningless. I could compare Jane Eyre with lots of things - Oliver Twist, Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice, Wide Sargasso Sea etc. Or is it "incomparable" in the sense of being the pinnacle of literary achievement? I mean it's very good from memory (having read it 40 years ago) but I read The Taming of the Shrew the same year and probably preferred that. I'm not really one for ranking books, and I doubt it would be the consensus vote among those who do.
How can an article about great literature employ the following sentence: “Books like Jane Eyre hit differently.” Reeks of AI. I stopped reading, sorry.
It reeks of the article it was quoting
A mere hint of irony would have had it hit differently.
Thank you for enunciating some of the great reasons for literature. My favorite observation: literature addresses “Why do people do and say the things that they do?” And it does it does it well