2008 Woodie Awards
How to judge a book by its cover
Kelly Jones '07
Issue date: 2/22/07 Section: Commentary
Pierre Baynard, a contemporary French intellectual, has recently redefined what it means to be an intellectual in this day and age.
His new book, entitled How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read, has not been read by this columnist, nor by Sarah Vine, of the Times Online, who recently reviewed the book not for its content but for its claim that it will teach the reader how to hold a conversation with anyone about any book "especially if that conversation happens to be taking place with someone else who also hasn't read it." Just think: If Baynard's book can get us through midterm essays and cocktail party discussions, could there really be any use for the Development of Western Civilization courses?
Baynard is a professor at Paris University and admits to frequently citing works in his lectures that he has never read or read so long ago he's forgotten their content. Somehow, Baynard believes that his opinion on books that he's never read is still valid: "It's possible to have a passionate conversation about a book that one has not read . . . The discourse on books that have not been read places us at the heart of a creative process which leads us to their origin." In other words, a discussion about a book neither party has read makes each person just as imaginative as the author of the neglected book.
Adam Sage's article on the subject lists the following as Baynard's "Top Tips:"
How to talk about a book you have never read:
Avoid precise details. Put aside rational thought. Let your sub-conscience express your personal relationship with the work.
How to review a book:
Put it in front of you, close your eyes and try to perceive what may interest you about it. Then write about yourself.
How to discuss a book with its author:
Stick to generalities, remain ambiguous, and say how much you like the work.
Sounds like a lot of hooey to me. I've spent the last 45 minutes pressing War and Peace to my forehead in an attempt to psychically gauge what could possibly be in there besides . . . well, war and peace.
His new book, entitled How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read, has not been read by this columnist, nor by Sarah Vine, of the Times Online, who recently reviewed the book not for its content but for its claim that it will teach the reader how to hold a conversation with anyone about any book "especially if that conversation happens to be taking place with someone else who also hasn't read it." Just think: If Baynard's book can get us through midterm essays and cocktail party discussions, could there really be any use for the Development of Western Civilization courses?
Baynard is a professor at Paris University and admits to frequently citing works in his lectures that he has never read or read so long ago he's forgotten their content. Somehow, Baynard believes that his opinion on books that he's never read is still valid: "It's possible to have a passionate conversation about a book that one has not read . . . The discourse on books that have not been read places us at the heart of a creative process which leads us to their origin." In other words, a discussion about a book neither party has read makes each person just as imaginative as the author of the neglected book.
Adam Sage's article on the subject lists the following as Baynard's "Top Tips:"
How to talk about a book you have never read:
Avoid precise details. Put aside rational thought. Let your sub-conscience express your personal relationship with the work.
How to review a book:
Put it in front of you, close your eyes and try to perceive what may interest you about it. Then write about yourself.
How to discuss a book with its author:
Stick to generalities, remain ambiguous, and say how much you like the work.
Sounds like a lot of hooey to me. I've spent the last 45 minutes pressing War and Peace to my forehead in an attempt to psychically gauge what could possibly be in there besides . . . well, war and peace.