Americans!

To those of you who read books, and there is proof that some of you havet tried it once, I have a modest proposal. And I especially congratulate the above linked to readers on choosing Thomas Mann or Thomas Pynchon over Dan Brown.

It is with not so great pleasure that I see you voicing your opinion about things, that you felt entitled to speak of in the case of Thomas Mann and Thomas Pynchon though. For these books cannot be read without prerequisites. To be able to understand them you need experience in the world of literature. Some of you read them as if they were movies, that you can just take or leave. 'Enjoy the ride', one reviewer writes of 'Against the day' by Thomas Pynchon. Reading a book is very different to taking an enjoyable ride, it is a deliberate effort, in other words, it is work. Reading is hard work sometimes,and you need a talent for it just like you need a talent for writing. A reader of T. Mann or Pynchon is not a casual reader. He has his nose inside the pages, he breaks out in cold sweat, he swears, he cries, he throws the book against the wall, he laughs, he begins to understand. He will not make up his mind after the first read but will struggle with the subject, wanting to wrestle the author down in a fierce fight. He will not be able to write about the book in a productive way for a long time. As reading commences, your inclination to write amazon reviews will get weaker.