I was in the book section of WHSmith today. Not my favourite book-buying place; the selection tends to stop at childrens' books and the latest Jamie Oliver cookbook, but I'd received a gift card from a friend for Christmas and wanted to spend it (I ended up buying notebooks I didn't actually need in the end, but that's another story). A man browsing the shelves was mumbling to himself in a cross-sounding manner, before approaching an assistant and asking her why all the books were cheaper online than in the store. The assistant didn't hesitate and told him that in the shop you're also paying for the conditions the books are being kept in, i.e. heat and light, staff wages etc. He seemed happy with this, but to me as the casual observer it just left me feeling a bit confused...surely when you buy a book online it's still being kept in a building using heat and light, and I assume it gets packed by someone who requires payment for their services. But I didn't add my unasked-for opinion to the mix; just carried on browsing the 'Self Help' section and wondering how many people buy 'How to be Really, Really Happy' and actually end up that way (there may be something in the theory that if you think it's going to help, it will. That's why self-help books never work for me. Although if one came out called 'Oh for God's Sake Will You Stop Over-Analysing Every Little Thing and Just Enjoy Life I'd at least pick it up and read the back cover out of curiosity).
About five minutes later the same man asked the assistant's opinion about the book he was about to buy; a James Paterson thriller. The assistant told him she hadn't read it, but that she'd be happy to give him a review of 'War and Peace', to which the man snorted and said "I wouldn't read that load of rubbish". The assistant laughed and said she was only joking, she hadn't read it either - who has the time?
Again, I found this a bit confusing...how would he know 'War and Peace' is rubbish if he hasn't read it, and as for the "who has time" theory, could you not say that about any book? If you're taking time out to read; does it matter what that is? I'm sure a 'Spot the Dog' book would seem long and laborious if you found the subject matter dull and uninteresting (I did, but then I did have to concede that I'm not in its' target age range).
But this little exchange is typical of the sort of reaction you get when talking about a book like 'War and Peace', which incidentally is one of my favourite books of all-time. I can never talk about it without sounding like a huge literary snob; without people assuming I think whatever they're reading is trashy rubbish and without sounding like a pretentious so-and-so who just read it so they can tell everybody about the very fact that they've read it.
'War and Peace' is actually a surprisingly easy read that absorbs you from the first page onwards. It's full of the most amazing insights into human character and behaviour, relevant to people today which is amazing given that it's set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars and that the characters are mainly members of the Russian aristocracy. Their thoughts; their fears and their obsessions are utterly human and utterly relatable. The book takes you on a journey and once I had read it, I knew I was never going to read anything else like it ever again. I would recommend it to anybody who enjoys really getting to the heart and soul of the characters they're reading about.
I considered saying all this to the man in WHSmith, but something about his demeanour told me he'd have still plumped for the Paterson; perhaps using it as a kind of shield as he backed carefully away from me. Which is fair enough, really.
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