Classical Broccoli

This is going to be good for you.

                                                   Yes, that is us. Happy Halloween 2002

When I say I'm a nerd, and my friends are nerds, I am not tossing the word about carelessly.

* We have logistically calculated the cost to attend ComicCon...several times.
* We once drank Margheritas at 2am while talking about the Shakespearean themes in The Avengers. 
* We have dressed up as Lord of the Rings characters many, many times...once with pointy ears at a midnight showing.
* We are into stuff like the Romantic Poets, debate, ecclesiastical architecture, and dead languages, and have been known to disappear into used bookstores for days at a time.

Like I said, nerds.

Now, I certainly don't think everyone should have the same interests! In fact, my own family doesn't really know what to do with my friends and me sometimes. It's fine! However, I am of the opinion that a little geeky never hurt anyone. So, I'm going to talk about the Classics.

Yes, I mean Shakespeare. I mean Dickens, and Byron, and Homer, and Bunyan! I'm talking about stories like Beowulf, Les Miserables, The Great Gatsby (yes, that's considered a Classic).  Wait!! NO come back!!!!! You don't have to like it, but have you tried it? I know, I probably sound like your grandmother, but the Classics are like broccoli! You need to try them or you won't know if you like them.

Not all Classics will appeal to all people. I hate The Canterbury Tales. I do, and when I had to read Thucydides in high school, I literally cried from boredom. I almost threw my copy of Dr. Samuel Johnson against the wall. You don't have to love it all, friends, but try some of it!

Of course, there's nothing wrong with modern lit! There's some wonderful, thrilling, gorgeous stuff out there! Then there are the books that sit on the New York Times Bestseller List for twenty weeks and nobody can understand why...you know what I'm talking about. Read too much of that bland, cheesy, fast-food mush, and you'll get literary diabetes. Powerful stories that have stood against time and the threat of becoming irrelevant are not only challenging, they are like exercising your heart and mind. Don't believe me?

Here's a quick example. Below, two literary characters from two popular publications are talking about the same thing: their thoughts. Look at the difference!


Sometimes I wondered if I was seeing the same things through my eyes that the rest of the world was seeing through theirs. Maybe there was a glitch in my brain.

Bella Swan, Twilight, Chapter 1, p.11

Now, try this

I wasted time, and now doth time waste me; 
For now hath time made me his numbering clock: 
My thoughts are minutes; and with sighs they jar 
Their watches on unto mine eyes.      

King Richard, Richard II, Act 5.5

Which one took more time, more heart, more effort on the part of the author? Which moves you to think and feel beyond your immediate experiences? The glitchy girl, or the king being wasted by time as his thoughts tick away the minutes before his eyes? Pop Fiction can do many things, but how often can it be beautiful or gutting? 

 Anyway, it is easier to watch the Classics then read them if you are new to the whole thing. I prefer to read them, but if you aren't there yet, watch them, and this is the year for Classic remakes. All of these films are coming up this winter, and this nerd is excited!! Go ahead and click on the links for trailers.

Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald

The Hobbit by Tolkien

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (the story...he didn't write the musical)

For Byron, Shelly, Keats, start off with this: Bright Star

For Shakespeare: The Hollow Crown

Again, you don't have to like it, but you should try it...heck! I got my parents hooked on Elizabeth Gaskell and Tolkien, and if I can convert them, I may be able to convert you. Eat your broccoli!

LOVE