Much earlier in this year, a serious of blogs were discussing the idea of how impossible it is to be "well read" in this day and age, as well as what it means to be "well read".
First Roger Ebert's journal
Second an NPR article by Linda Holmes
Third a blog entry by Signal Watch
Fourth a blog entry by Horus Kemwer
They all have useful and interesting things to say regarding the matter. However, none of them actually touch upon the topic of the purpose of defining someone as "well read." They are all so obsessed with "how to be 'well read'," that they never stop to think about whether it is actually a good thing or not.
I'm sure you're immediate response is "of course it's good to be 'well read.' It means you are in touch with the culture. That you are educated." The Free Dictionary.com defines "well read" as "knowledgeable through having read extensively."
But what you may be ignoring is its qualitative implication. The phrase "well read" is a term used by pretentious elitists to define themselves as more intelligent than others. If you are not 'well read' than your opinion is less valuable than someone who is. Because you have not read these important influential books, you are not educated, not intelligent, not 'worldly'.
The authors listed above are writing about the impossibilty of being 'well read' in an environment where books flood the market like tidal waves; where books from all countries through all ages are accessible with but a few mere clicks of a mouse; where distinguished authors change like seasons in a year. These authors appear to be intelligent rational people, which is probably why they missed the fact that it is not about an accomplishable task, but about a defining of status.
Don't believe me? Let's examine where the phrase originates:
Shakespeare! (surprise.) In his play Henry IV Part 1, Percy Hotspur and Edmund Mortimer are discussing Mortimer's father, Glendower, who has just exited. Hotspur doesn't like Glendower and voices his dislike through a speech about Glendower's tedious references to all sorts of things. He complains of Glendower's constant ramblings of facts and knowledge, so mundane that they are boring beyond patience. He sums up with:
I had rather live
With cheese and garlic in a windmill , far,
Than feed on cates and have him talk to me
In any summer-house in Christendom.
To which Mortimer replies:
In faith, he is a worthy gentleman,
Exceedingly well read, and profited
In strange concealments, valiant as a lion
And as wondrous affable and as bountiful
As mines of India.
hmmm
When first I read this I was unsure of the purpose of the phrase...I needed context.
Once I had read Hotspur's previous comments, I felt certain that Mortimer was giving a back-handed compliment. "Exceedingly well read" If "well read" means to have knowledge from reading extensively, isn't the phrase "exceedingly well read" a little redundant.
But since Glendower, the person they are referring to, is Mortimer's father, it became clear that it was highly unlikely Mortimer would be insulting his father so blatantly. Instead it seems more likely that Mortimer was attempting to excuse his father's behavior by admitting Glendower's faults in a concilatory way.
I still think it supports the idea that being "well read" should not be a badge of honor but a fault to be wary of. Glendower is described, by Hotspur, as talking and talking and talking, about inconsequential topics ("a dragon and a finless fish,").
And to describe oneself as "well read" seems to be an arrogance of self-importance. Because it implies that anything you (the arrogant self-important prick) haven't read isn't worth reading, it discounts the importance of experience. One person might read Moby Dick and find it extremely telling of the human condition; while someone else who read Moby Dick, might see it as boring tripe. What makes a book good and worth remembering is the impact it has on you. However we are all so different and are continuously changing that to make a definitive list of 'must-read' books ignores the purpose of reading....pleasure. In essence the concept of "well read" is meaningless....except as a superficial method of establishing status.
Hmph. I'll tell you this, if you come at me with, "I am 'well read'," you've lost my interest. I am done with you. You are too arrogant to offer any intelligent discourse.
i Look Foward to the End of that.
