Losing sensibility for literature, or...?

[aabbcc]

It would be a terrible overstatement to claim that I no longer enjoy reading literature; however, my recent and not so recent experiences with it show general tendency to go that way. To put it simple - the more time passes, the more older I get, the less I enjoy literature, and the greater seem to be my unwritten 'standards' to be able to. Hardly anything is curious enough for me, 'good' enough for me, or makes me want to read it at all.

The prevalent feeling whilst reading in the past, say, six months, was the feeling of genuine boredom, even if it came to the books I used to read and love in the past. It does not affect solely contemporary schund which I come across once in a while and generally do not even consume, but literature as such, in general. There are very few things left to be able to spark my interest and maintain it till the end of the book. At first I thought it was just a temporary phase, but then I figured it lasted a bit too long to be able to be classified as such.
Everything else in my life is perfect, so this cannot be due to distraction by some other problems or something of the kind. The problem is, however, that I intend to study literature in university to which I am off in September, and that I cannot picture myself studying literature in this state. Am I just "fed up" and need a break, or am I truly losing a sensibility for literature? Did anyone else on here go through something like that?:(

[PeterL]

You probably are reading the wrong things.

[Virgil]

It's hard to say Ana. At your age one goes through phases. (Hey, even at my age I go through phases :p ) I think at your age I got bored with things over time and needed variety, a switch. I remember your reading list was extensive. I couldn't maintain focus of one general subject with that kind of intensity. So perhaps you need to down scale your focus and add other things into your life, such as something athletic/physical or a type of craft or creative endeavor. That's one way at looking at your problem, too much of one thing. Another way could be that you're evolving. What seems like a natural fit of a career for a sixteen year old most often, probably almost often, is not what fits a 20 year old or then a 24 year old. My goodness, most people in the US who enter the University with a major in mind change during their stay. I think that is quite natural. I've always said that every five years one is a different person. At your age, with the acceleration of new experiences, the raging hormones going through your system, I bet one is a dfferent person almost annually. It's not a surprise that college students change majors. They get exposed to different things that they never completely comprehended before and all of sudden they find new interests and new fits to their personality. I'm told that the European model of higher education is less flexible than the American model. Changing majors around in a European Uni may be harder. I think that's a shame if true. Anyway, these are the two possible problems you may be expeeriencing. You can only know which one, and perhaps you might not be able either. Be conscious of them and I'm sure life will work itself out.

[Aiculík]

Maybe you just need "book diet".
I went trough the same thing few years ago - I opened the book, read first two lines, then decided it's boring and I don't want to read it anyway. Before that, I read one novel per day, and I read everything I could put my hands on - Dante, Moravia, Dumas, Cervantes, Pirandello, McEwan, and even some drama (I don't remember the author) that was called Shopping and F***ing.
But then, whatever I tried to read, if felt like "been there, done that" - it felt all the same, even the most shocking books were in fact just pale repetitions of books I read before. The mere look at book made me feel almost sick.
So I stoped reading. For over a year, I didn't read anything. Well, maybe Alan Ford. :D But nothing that could be considered "serious" literature. Then my friend recommended one book to me, and I tried, from pure polineness - and found out it was interesting. And it worked like appetizer after a long diet.
But I'm more careful now. I read more slowly. I enjoy my time reading the book, analysing it, thinking about it... I don't want digestion problems again. :D

[KyleBennett]

This problem is affecting me now as well, I am 20 and in my second year of university studying English. I am not, and have never been a massive literature reader, I couldn't even possibly think about reading more than two books a month. I just enjoy, actually I don't, I just can write about what I read. Basically I have no idea why I'm doing an English degree. I think i'd be most suited within a different field, but I haven't got a clue which!

Anyway my point is, university is a place to find yourself, go with the flow and do English at uni and if it doesn't suit your tastes in a couple of years you can change easily. Even if you've done the degree and don't want to follow up your passion of English, then at least you have a degree under your belt and from there you can go higher. :-)

Oh and the diet mentioned by Aiculik is a good idea by the way. Try something new, go for a walk and let nature in! Oh and read a poem by Wordsworth, The Tables Turned:

"Up! up! my friend and quit your books;
Or surely you'll grow double"

[Homyrrh]

Ditto, I guess. I was at boarding school for a year and ended up reading nearly 50 full-sized books; that's about one every week.

I got out in early November; haven't read the enitrety of a single novel since then, let alone something else. I think I'll likely end up going to an entire revamping of my literary choices...to be continued...

Blasted late night TV...

[johann cruyff]

So take a break.You may think you've already read everything falling in the category of good literature?No problem,just stop reading for a while,it'll probably come back for you quickly.

Or,take a really good book about spirituality,finding yourself in the world etc. and let it sink in.I say,read Siddhartha.(again,if you already have)

[manolia]

Hi Anastasija :)
Heh what you say rings some bells. I was an avid reader from childhood since i reached the 17th year of my life. Then i started reading in order to secure a place in the uni (i believe you know how things are here and how we enter the universities) and during my 5 year studies i didn't read any literature at all :blush: (well i read some books but mainly historical and political books, so you might say that i was going through a phase ;) ). After i graduated i started reading again with great "appetite" :)
But i am sure you will come round again very soon..after all you're going to study literature ;) and since you have chosen literature it seems to me that this is what you like most ;)
Just realax, have a break and everything is going to be fine :thumbs_up

[Kafka's Crow]

Time for a change, I suppose. Read a good biography, read some highly controversial secondary material, something like William Empson's Milton's God. Read books on books, read literary history, diversify into philosophy. Nothing is lost, this is just a phase you are going through. If nothing works, go Russian! Any book by Dostoevsky can cure this disease. Have you ever tried audio books? I can not always read so I listen to my books while driving. There are so many ways out of this mental fatigue. Heck, go out and fall in love. There are so many things a young, intelligent girl could do to kill the 'frail monster' named Ennui. I admire your intelligence and the depth of your knowledge but although you have read more than any teenager I have ever known still ars longa, vita brevis, occasio praeceps, experimentum periculosum, iudicium difficile. It takes a long time to be an expert. If you read just in order to be well-read then you will attain your aim within a few years but if you want to go the distance, if you want to be an expert, whole life is not enough. Try grappling with Shakespeare, you know, after God Shakespeare created most. I spent my life grappling with Samuel Beckett. Try and find yourself one writer or aspect of literature and focus your energies on that. Don't worry, you will be all right! Learn a new language! When this stage came on me a couple of years ago, I took the opportunity to teach myself French! There is so much one can do with his/her time that we end up doing nothing with it. This is what Walker Percy calls, "The locus of of pure possibility." Your job is to find one possibility in this plethora of possibilities and focus on it. You will be all right and this is not the last time it will happen to you. I admire your posts and will be interested in knowing how you are getting along.

[aabbcc]

Thank you everybody for your responses and your concern.
I suppose you are right, it is just a phase, not a chronic disease of not being able to enjoy literature any longer, and as the best way out is always through - I won't force it. I will spend more time with other activities or playing piano (interestingly enough, reading/playing seem to be inversely proportional in my life, as I was reading less I started playing a whole lot more).


Just realax, have a break and everything is going to be fine :thumbs_up
Will do. :)

[Ryduce]

I empathize with your position.My love for reading usually comes in seemingly irradic intervals.I can go for months without being able to get through a single chapter,I'll buy numerous books and end up never getting through any of them.Then all of a sudden I'll read 3 or 4 in the span of a few weeks.

The above posters do offer some good tips.Just find a different activity to participate in,eventually your desire to read will come back to you.Or perhaps just take a break and enjoy doing nothing and being lazy.

When I don't feel the desire to tackle difficult literature I usually pick up political books,not difficult ones like The Prince,but fun ones like Ann Coulter or Al Franken,reading people talk smack about each other is always fun to me.

[Tersely]

Funny...I'm going through the samething. It helps to switched between "older and scholarly" literature to my "fun stuff." I just read a Thomas Hardy novel. So I pretty much stretched my mental energies for awhile...and now I think I'll read something contemporary...where I don't have to put alot of thought into it. I find either that helps or just taking a break all together for awhile. I think at one point I was drawing and sewing.

[Oomoo]

Wow, novel per day? How is that possible?

[Etienne]

Few weeks ago Döblin's Berlin Alexanderplatz (incredible book) helped me wake up from a literature spleen (which I believe was originally caused by Broch's Virgil's death, which was crap).

[Tersely]

Wow, novel per day? How is that possible?

If you don't have a job. :D At least, I was almost at that rate. I was starting to read just to read, and not taking any enjoyment out of why I wanted to read it in the first place. I think thats also another reason why literature died so fast for me. Gotta take it slooow.

[Kafka's Crow]

That's why I am reading Proust so very slowly. My strategy of staying in touch by listening to what I have read so far is helping a lot. Yesterday I reached as far as I have read during my bed-time listening, now I have no choice but to read further as the audio version is 'abridged' although it covers 39 CDs spanning well over 50 hours of audio! I read by all means possible. I used to read a lot but now I read to retain and remember, not just to finish big books. I read more complex books and take longer to finish my books. Best time to read is during traveling. I like driving and enjoy audio books while driving. There are so many different ways of staying in touch with literature.

Years ago my teacher of Romantic Poetry told me that as we grow older, reading fiction, specially classics, becomes more and more difficult. I think he was right but what's the point of admiring someone for being right when you can not prove them wrong???