Let A Master Storyteller Work His Elegant Magic On You

Reading, sadly in danger of becoming a lost art, is a low-tech skill that manages to offer lots of advantages and conveniences over the more spectacular media we enjoy today.

First, reading costs little. Classic paperbacks are bargains. The library costs even less.

Second, unlike books on tape, you can read at your own pace. If you want to flip back and savor an earlier chapter, it’s easier than hitting a rewind key. (Recordings are, of course, a superb pathway for sight-impaired people.)

Third, you can take a book with you to the beach or the park, or to a waiting line in a restaurant. And it requires no setup, batteries or earphones. At night, just close the book before you drift off to sleep.

So, why not make this the summer when you read one of those epic novels you’ve been neglecting since high school?

Summertime, with its ample daylight and emphasis on leisure time, is a perfect season to tackle one of those classics that fine minds have respected for decades, but that often intimidate wary readers who flash back on quizzes and homework. Any book is more fun when it isn’t assigned.

Books that have withstood the test of time have done so because they’re readable, entertaining, instructive and inspirational. The authors are master storytellers.

There was a time when educated people were expected to read the masterpieces and to make lifelong friendships with them. We have lost by drifting away from these companions.

In school I tended to resist the titles that were trumpeted as “classics.” They were long, wordy, and there was always something more interesting to do.

The books haven’t changed, but I have. Now I love to wade through one of those arm-busters. Just give me a dictionary for the occasional rare word, and I’m ready.

Ours is a fast time. Novels, television shows and movies start with explosions and work up from there. The leisurely pace at which a big book unfolds is something we don’t sample often enough. When we do, we find that despite the differences in time and technology the issues that drive us to distraction today are not new.

Many contemporary authors publish lengthy novels, but with too few exceptions these books lack the staying power and universality of the classics.

Reading an enormous book isn’t so intimidating when you do it a paragraph at a time. Soon the pages turn into chapters and you’re hooked. The major characters are more real to you than your friends.

Some possible titles to consider:

Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” is a virtual encyclopedia of human behavior. It contains almost every human emotion and experience, from opulent parties to blood-drenched battlefields, from the joy of birth and awakening love to the brutal tragedy of unexpected death.

“Bleak House,” one of Charles Dickens’ largest and most memorable novels, starts with a humorous description of a legal system as bogged down as our own. Peopled with zany and colorful characters, it draws you into a web of deceit and treachery, devotion and loyalty, as innocents get enmeshed in a nightmare lawsuit.

“Don Quixote” by Miguel de Cervantes is known to almost all of us, though few have chosen to tackle the book. This great novel beats with a knowing heart, as the author draws us into the dreams and fantasies of a man who seeks a better world.

Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserables” is a breathtaking story of crime, pursuit, mercy, revolution and redemption. It has been turned into what we are told is the world’s most popular musical, but the musical gives only the barest hint of the riches the story contains.

If you want a great American novel, try Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick,” a mystic and mythic story of obsession and quest, a book that moves like an onrushing tide but has depths as dark as the very ocean on which it takes place.

This brief hint omits dozens of other classic novels. Wander around one of the area’s many fine bookstores, and whet your appetite. You need no guide but curiosity.

Summer’s almost here. Pick your book and start your journey.

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