Essay Reading Challenge 2009 - Completed

Challenge Summary

I joined this challenge to reconnect with my love for reading essays. I used to be a regular reader of contemporary essays but what I loved about this challenge is that I was introduced to essays that would be called classics. I read several from George Orwell, a couple from E.B. White and James Thurber. I traveled further back to read pieces by Virginia Woolf, Charles Dickens and Charles Lamb. I did mix in some current pieces by Christopher Hitchens, Julian Barnes and David Sedaris. There is only one I read that I wished I hadn't: In New England Everyone Calls You Dave by David Rykoff. I had several favorites: Bookshop Memories and Such, Such were the Joys by Orwell, How Should One Read a Book? and Hours in a Library by Virginia Woolf, and My Own Ten Rules for a Happy Marriage by Thurber. I was most pleasantly surprised by my readings of Woolf and know I will give her the second chance she deserves. My number one favorite is the one I saved for last...Good Dog. Stay. Thank you to Carrie at Books and Movies for hosting this great challenge.

Completed Essays

30. Good Dog. Stay. by Anna Quindlen - I first read this essay in 2007 and thought it so beautiful. A loving tribute to her black lab, Beau, Quindlen is able to put into words all that my dogs have meant to me over the years. The photographs of dogs interspersed throughout the text goes perfectly with the poignant writing.

29. Once More to the Lake by E.B. White (from Essays of E.B. White) - White returns to the lake where he spent his childhood summers. He is now the father who brings his son. The lines of time begin to blur...the place is so so unchanged, he feels that time has stood still in this magical place. There are small reminders that the march of time goes forward and in these reminders White glimpses death.

28. Five Days in Finland at the Age of Fifty-Five by John Updike (from Odd Jobs: Essays and Criticism) - Read in honor of the prolific author's passing. May he rest in peace.

27. Hours in a Library by Virginia Woolf (from the Collected Essays of Virginia Woolf, v.2) - Ok, I must have missed something when I read Woolf in my early twenties, or perhaps I was missing something like maturity and experience. I just didn't get Woolf then but reading her now...I am in awe of her beautiful writing. And these essays on reading, it is like finding a kindred spirit. So I will stop gushing long enough to describe this piece. She writes about the natural evolution of a reader. At first, I am defensive reading this...each journey of the reader is unique...and to a certain extent it is but then I see that I have followed this generalized path from my childhood magical reading to what Woolf describes as "the great season for reading" being between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four to where I am today experiencing all that I read through the prism of the "great books" I have read before and still return to today. Another wonderful essay by Woolf.

26. The St. Nicholas League by E.B. White (from Essays of E.B. White) - After reading The Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge, I tried to find out as much as I could about her on the internet. She was well-known for editing The St. Nicholas, a children's magazine. So when I came across this essay by White, I was fascinated to find that the magazine had a St. Nicholas League which children could become members of by submitting their creative works such as prose, poem, essays and photographs. White describes what it was like to be a member and its importance in his life. He then walks the reader through the issues that he kept and lists other soon-to-be-famous contibutors such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Ring Lardner and Vita Sackville-West. Reading this essay reminded me of the League equivalent I subscribed to growing up, Chart Your Course, a publication completely made up of children's art.

25. E.B.W. by James Thurber (from Thurber: Writings and Drawings) - Thurber wrote this touching tribute to his friend E.B. White. I haven't had the chance to read a biography on White (and at this point I don't even know if one exists) but find this essay to speak volumes about the author. He was a bit of a recluse bordering on anti-social. His talent was so obvious that the New Yorker sought him out instead of the other way around. This piece combined with Death of a Pig and my undying love for Charlotte's Web makes me want to know everything about this man and read everything he has written....another literary crush.

24. Death of a Pig by E.B. White (from Essays of E.B. White) - I chose this essay thinking it might reveal the inspiration behind White's classic children's book Charlotte's Web. I soon forgot my ulterior motive as I was drawn into the account of White losing the pig he had been fattening up for his family's consumption. White says this pig was not the inspiration for Charlotte's Web but the event must have had some bearing on the story of Wilbur because the feelings both pieces evoke from the reader are so similar. I did some research on this essay and found that there is an annotated version of Charlotte's Web. Perhaps that is where I can find a better understanding of the story behind the story and leave this essay to stand on its own beautiful merit.

23. Damned Spot by Michelle Latiolais (from Woof: Writers on Dogs, ed. Lee Montgomery) - I am intimidated by the author of this essay. She and her husband name their English bull terrier Damned Spot for mean-spirited reasons. The first is to get a good laugh at people who do not feel comfortable using curse words (even ones as tame as damn). The second to generate a feeling of superiority when they must condescend to explain the reference to Shakespeare's Macbeth. She dedicates quite a bit of time convincing the reader they should never own an English bull terrier. The breed is stupid, insolent, stubborn, untrainable. Her protestations remind me of silly teenagers who want to claim their's is the only true loyalty to whatever rock band is the flavor of the moment. I could picture her saying, "I loved bull terriers before they sold out and went mainstream." The intimidation steps in when she reveals that her husband committed suicide. She is able at this point to show candid affection towards her dog and a vulnerability that is at odds with the hardness of her earlier writing. At this point, I don't know what to make of the author or her essay, and I always find this kind of dissonance in reading to be intimidating.

22. Pillow Books by Clifton Fadiman (from A Passion for Books, ed. by Harold Rabinowitz and Rob Kaplan) - Fadiman argues that the ideal reading before going to bed should neither act as a stimulant nor as a sleeping agent. The reading we do before sleeping should act as a bridge between the reality of daily life and our nocturnal dream state. While he suggests Trollope as the perfect before bed author, he acknowledges that the final decision lays with the individual reader. My choice? Whatever I am currently reading which often does get me into trouble. As Fadiman would advise against, the majority of books I read act as a stimulus because I put off going to sleep, no matter how exhausted, in order to read one more chapter.

21. How Should One Read a Book? by Virginia Woolf (from the Collected Essays of Virginia Woolf v.2) - A couple of years ago, I became obsessed with reading about food and cooking. Naturally I became acquianted with several French terms and phrases. One of them was mille-feuille...a thousand leaves or layers (in reference to a popular type of pastry). This came to mind when I read this essay...a thousand gorgeous layers of words and ideas and beliefs and truths and on and on and on. How should one read a book or how should one read in general? How should one approach reading and writing and thinking and reviewing? Woolf writes "to take no advice, to follow your own instincts, to use your own reason, to come to your own conclusions". In other words, the reading journey is a private one that is unique to each individual and should be determined only by that individual. I cannot even begin to do justice to this essay. I can only implore others to read it. Of course, in light of what I wrote above, that is entirely up to you.

20. Literature and Life by Arthur Christopher Benson (from Escape and other Essays) - This essay contains interesting sketches on great writers such as Dickens, Tennyson, Keats and Browning. Benson uses these sketches to show the contrast between honest artistry and that of "men who would be great if they knew how" who create an illusion of superiority and exclude those who have a geniune interest in and love for art. The author then moves on to questioning the methods we use as a society to evaluate the value of a man. He concludes with a thought-provoking quote from Dr. Johnson, "A book should show one either how to enjoy life or how to endure it." Food for thought in my never-ending debate on the purpose and meaning of reading and writing.

19. Thoughts on People by Charles Dickens (from Sketches by Boz) - "They furnished food for our amusement" is the perfect phrase penned by Dickens to describe his observations made while people watching. We get to meet a few of the characters you might encounter in 18th century London as well as some of the ways in which life was lived. Dickens also plays the game of wondering what life is really like for the various people who cross his path (one I have played myself while waiting for a plane or sitting in a mall).

18. Postcards to Myself by Peter Terzian (from Only Child: Writers on the Singular Joys and Solitary Sorrows of Growing Up Solo) - I don't remember when I realized there was a whole world beyond my little universe of family, friends and home but Terzian knows early and wanderlust is born. The common thread throughout this essay is the postcards he obsessively collects and cares for. The author comes to understand the importance of friendship especially in the life of an only child and basically teaches himself how to be social outside of his home and family.

17. In New England Everyone Calls You Dave by David Rykoff (from Fraud) - Rykoff based this piece on an assignment he was given to climb up a mountain with a man who has made the same climb every day for the past five years. The essay would have been vastly more interesting if he had actually written about this man and his motive, the mountain and the experience of climbing. He attempts but fails to be funny. The last two paragraphs of self-analysis and admonishment feel convenient and lack autheticity.

16. My Jane by Peter Ho Davies (from Only Child: Writers on the Singular Joys and Solitary Sorrows of Growing Up Solo) - For the longest time, my husband and I thought we were going to have only one child. The decision to have children, let alone how many, is a private matter between husband and wife. I can't stand when people think they have a right to comment on that decision and I found that a lot of people felt free to criticize us. One woman in particular I will always remember...she begged me not to do that my daughter and it was horrible if I did. I was curious then, as I am now, if it really is so horrible which is why I picked up this book of essays. Davies analyzes his desire for a sibling and discusses how literature helped him to deal with that desire and fill the role of the missing sibling. He now faces what it means to parent an only child himself.

15. On Cats and Dogs by Jerome K. Jerome (from The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow) - In the beginning this essay was on cats and dogs but moved on to rats and pied pipers and death and the yearning to be young again. The writing was not focused and became a sort of rambling from one topic to the next. I did appreciate the bit on dog's upsetting anything from tables to drinks to guests but this is not enough to recommend the essay.

14. This Dog's Life by Ann Patchett (from Dog is My Co-Pilot: Great Writers on the World's Oldest Friendship) - Patchett and her boyfriend adopt a rescued puppy. The way in which she cares for the dog leads those around her to suspect that she didn't really want a dog but wanted a baby. The essay is a defense against this assumption as well as a sweet tribute to Rose the Pondego puppy.

13. Confessions of a Book Reviewer by George Orwell (from In Front of Your Nose v.4 Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters) This was an interesting portrait of the book reviewer in the 1940s. Orwell discusses the average number of books a reviewer may read and critique, what percentage of books he actually enjoyed, the reality that not all books are read due to lack of time, and at times the reviewer possesses no background expertise when some would be required. It would be interesting to find an essay in the same vein written recently and compare the two portraits.

12. Books v. Cigarettes by George Orwell (from In Front of Your Nose v.4 Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters) - If you ever think you can't afford a book, this essay will help you find a solution. Orwell took it upon himself to find out the cost of reading after a friend had been told by readers of his newspaper that they couldn't afford to read the books discussed in the literary section. He estimated as closely as he could the cost of the library he had built over 15 years and averaged it into a figure that expressed his cost of reading per hour. Considering the essay was written in 1946, I am not sure what that cost would translate into today's money, but whatever amount it is doesn't compare to the amount of money spent on things like cigarettes, alcohol, a night on the town or at the movies, or, in our day and age, a trip to Starbucks. Orwell also states the fact that books can be bought second-hand or borrowed from the library. Orwell's conclusion...people should be honest about the reasons they don't read which rarely have to do with the cost and more to do with people thinking books are dull. How wrong they are.

11. Thinking Ourselves into Trouble by James Thurber (from Collecting Himself: James Thurber on Writing and Writers, Humor and Himself) - Thurber pokes fun at how far humans think they have come and their mistaken position of superiority over other species. He argues that art and its many forms are the only worthwhile results of man's time on earth. This essay is good for a laugh but one I took as written tongue in cheek.

10. Funny, But Not Vulgar by George Orwell (from As I Please v.3 Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters - In this essay, Orwell returns to the political and the assumption that his view of the world is the right view. He talks of the decline of 'funny' because it has ceased to be vulgar (not always meaning obscene but also 'offensive or frightening'). Orwell believes "every joke is a tiny revolution" and something is not truly funny unless it is subversive. To me, the purpose of humor is to provide the comic relief needed to withstand life's challenges. I tend not to laugh at jokes that are politically 'subversive' and am uncomfortable when faced with the obscene. Is this the revolution Orwell wishes for? The one in which their is no sense of propriety or morality. We experienced that revolution in the 60's. Has a better world been realized?

9. Bookshop Memories by George Orwell (from An Age Like This v.1 Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters) - So I think I am developing a love/hate relationship with Orwell. Loved Down and Out in Paris and London, hated 1984. Loved Such Were the Joys, hated Why I Write. Love him again with this essay. He writes about his time working in a bookshop where he comes to hate books (not reading) because he is surrounded by them. Thankfully, I did not have the same reaction after my employment at a bookstore. I also learned where all the dust in my house comes from..."And books give off more and nastier dust than any other class of objects yet invented(...)" Good to know.

8. Why I Write by George Orwell (from An Age Like This v.1 Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters) - Orwell knew as a youth that he wanted to be a writer. He gives a short literary history and then outlines what he believes to be the four major motives of writers. The fourth is political and it seems the motive he regards as the highest. To understand Orwell's main inspiration makes me wary of future readings. He falls into the trap of thinking he lives in the worst of times and must work through his writings to bring a new world order. Each age has its own challenges and Orwell's vision of the perfect world may not be another's.

7. On Not Knowing the Half of It: My Jewish Self by Christopher Hitchens (from The Book of 20th Century Essays) - I am completely intriqued by Hitchens. Whenever I see him or hear him being interviewed or in debates or on panels, I always wonder what makes the cool-as-a-cucumber yet grumpy English-born American tick. Most of his writings reveal nothing to me...I don't understand 'the half of it'. But I understood this personal essay and it ticked me off to no end. He is an atheist but in this open narrative he reveals what may be a supressed desire for the existence of God. Why else does he begin to question what it means to find out he is Jewish? He states that he has no interest in his lineage unless there is a title or inheritance for bestowal so it shouldn't mean anything to him. His mother for reasons unknown denied her Jewishness and he makes a living denying the existence of God. So is it a hidden desire to believe in a God or is his readiness to claim his Jewish heritage exploitation to further his socialist political philosophy?

6. Mrs. Thatcher Remembers by Julian Barnes (from The Book of 20th Century Essays) - This was a strange essay. I couldn't find a unifying theme which resulted in a critique of the PM's governing years that was all over the place. One moment he is listing writers who adore the Iron Lady, the next seeming to pick a fight in the style of 'I know you are but what am I' because Thatcher referred to certain writers and artists as 'vain intellectuals'. Well...just as heads of state are fallible, some writers and artists are vain people singularly obsessed with ideas. I am open to well-thought out arguments made regarding a political leader's performance but once Barnes implied Thatcher is a fraud because she cleaned up a conversation that contained an expletive, I realized the theme of this essay was payback for a perceived insult.

5. My Own Ten Rules for a Happy Marriage by James Thurber (from The Oxford Book of Essays) - I knew that Thurber was a cartoonist for the New Yorker but how did I miss the fact that he was a writer...and a darn good one at that. This essay was funny probably because of its truths about the constant balancing act that goes into making a marriage work. I am now on the hunt for more Thurber.

4. To Make a Friend, Be a Friend by David Sedaris (from The Best American Non-Required Reading 2002) - I chose this essay because more often than not I like what Sedaris writes and to honor my good friend's upcoming birthday. This essay isn't really about friendship (unless you count ones based on delusion) and I will not be adding it to the list of Sedaris's work I like. I do believe that if someone threw a rock at my face resulting in the need for a root canal, I would not want to be his friend (no matter how popular) and I would not find myself hoping to run into him decades later. In the end, Sedaris's father seemed the only rational person in the situation.

3. Such, Such Were the Joys... by George Orwell (from The Art of The Personal Essay) - If I used a rating system, I would give this essay 5 out of 5 stars, A+, thumbs-up. Orwell writes about his days spent at Crossgates boarding school which are rarely touched by happiness. Orwell does so in a way that does not beg self-pity but does remind the reader what it is like to be a child in a world that is difficult to know and understand.

2. Unpacking My Library by Walter Benjamin (from The Art of the Personal Essay) - The title is what attracted me but I think those who collect rare books will appreciate the content more. I did appreciate the love of books conveyed by the author which all of us bibliophiles understand.

1. New Year's Eve by Charles Lamb (from The Art of the Personal Essay anthology) - Lamb expresses that he is not one who happily greets the new year. He loves this life and all that living entails, so each year that passes brings him closer to the day when he will no longer be a part of life. Perhaps that is why new years seems bittersweet...we have the passing of another year that we cannot get back and the hope that comes with a new year to be lived.