Pick Up An Old Book Now and Then

Books are often gifts. We usually look for something just published to give to someone. This post from 2+ years ago suggests you consider the classics as a gift to another, or for yourself. 

 

Those of us who are avid readers watch the reading sites, newspaper reviews, library notices and more seeking new titles. We thirst for new books to read because, as today's poster says, What an astonishing thing a book is.

As much as we enjoy new books by favorite authors, we should also consider delving back into earlier times and reading some of the classics. Read those you had to read in high school or college now and you might have a totally different perspective and appreciation.

I chose the book for my Book Club to read for the November discussion. We have a very lengthy list of books on our interlibrary loan system that we can get X number of copies gathered from several libraries across the state. It's difficult to select a book because all that is listed is title and author. Many are familiar titles but just as many are not. How helpful it would be to have even one sentence to give a glimmer of an idea as to what the book is about.

We need to choose 3 books and never know which one we will get until the day the book box is to be picked up. My eyes lit up when I found that I had enough copies of Selected Stories of O. Henry for the six in our group. Much bigger than I expected, it is in the 400+ pages range.

The first night I had time to read, I opened to the introduction which is a lengthy biography of O. Henry--a pseudonym. Did you know that? I didn't. His real name was William Sydney Porter. He was a master of the short story form but incapable, by his own admission, of writing a full-length book. He led a life that could have been featured in many a short story.

This revered author wrote prolifically in the short story genre with stories set in the early 20th century and in places where he'd lived and traveled. They ranged from New York City to the far West to Central America and back to New York again. He churned out a story per week for a periodical who hired him to do just that along with more for magazines. Think about it. A finished story per week, or more. Not easy as many writers spend weeks on perfecting only one.

His stories were popular because they were written with a dry, humorous style and nearly always contained a twist of some kind. They featured common people, the lower and middle class with only an occasional wealthy person. He writes so that the reader feels like he/she is sitting face to face with the author who is telling him/her the story.

His most famous story is probably The Gift of the Magi which tells the tale of a young married couple, impoverished but deeply in love. Christmas is near and she sells her hair to get the money to buy him a watch chain for a beloved family pocket watch. He sells his watch to buy her decorative combs for her long hair. A gem of a tale!

I am enjoying all the stories in this collection. Because they were written in the early 1900's, I  have noticed a difference in sentence structure and some quite outdated vocabulary. Even so, the story itself is there to savor. Had I been assigned this book to read in a classroom, I don't think I would have gotten nearly the joy in it that I am doing now.

I noticed that the writing allowed me to visualize what happens very easily; O. Henry pulls me into the scene. That is the sign of a good writer.

Take a break from reading those new titles and sail back to read some of the classics of old. I don't think you'll be sorry. You might find many an astonishing

December 23, 2020 Repost from October 2018