Let it not be forgotten that it is the reader that makes the book and not the other way around. Books aren’t some sort of antidote to philistinism where one need simply to consume it daily for it to take its mecidinal effects. No, it is the reader who bring forth their experiences and interpretations and their own ability to read into the text that makes a book great. At the end of one’s life there will be no prize awarded for having read the complete collection of Charles Dickens- it really means nothing. The important thing is how much you youself understood it and how much you got out of it. Never feel compelled to like a book just because it is a ‘classic’ or ‘instant classic’ (whatever that means). Whether a book receives a good review or a bad review, while helpful, really means very little. For, how an individual reacts to a book is something so deeply private and personal that no other person can possibly have the same response. The champions of books often speak of how reading improves the mind, so go on and improve it by using it. Disagree with the author and disagree with those who enjoy the book if you must, but decide for youself what you like.
