Dealing with a Difficult Text
Dealing with a Difficult Text
At some point, we all run into things that are hard to read
Welcome to Extra Muros, where you will find ideas and inspiration of value to self-direct learners. If you consider yourself an autodidact, or would like to become one, you have come to the right place.
The wider you cast your net over different climes, times, and subjects, the greater the chances that you will encounter a bit of text that you find hard to read. Lest this sap your willingness to embark on bookish adventures, I offer a number of thoughts about such events.
Everyone, no matter how clever or well-read, will sometimes encounter something he finds hard to read.
Most of the things that you would like to read, whether books, articles, or posts on Substack, were not written with you in mind. Indeed, the older the work in question, the greater the distance between you and the reader the author had in mind as he wrought his paragraphs. Likewise, if the work is written in a language other than your mother tongue, you will always encounter lots of words, phrases, and terms-of-art that are new to you.
Different works demand different degrees of attention. Thus, a piece that makes perfect sense to you when you are well-rested, well-fed, and free from distractions, may resemble a jumble of Hittite hieroglyphs when you are tired, hungry, or distraught.
Different works presume different degrees of preparation. Thus, it may well be that you are not yet ready for the book or article in question. This is alright, for printed things are perfectly happy to sit on a shelf until you are ready for them.
Some authors take pains to make their writing as accessible as possible. Others delight in obscurity. Thus, if you are having trouble with a text, it’s quite possible that you have stumbled upon the work of a writer of the latter sort. (And yes, Ernst Jünger, I’m looking at you.)
With few very exceptions, most of the things that you will want to read about have been covered by more than one author. Thus, in most cases you can easily replace the book that is giving you grief with another. (The better book, moreover, may even be sharing a shelf with the volume that failed to meet your needs.)
Listen to the work before you read it. (If the work is a classic, you may be able to find the corresponding audio book on Librivox.)
It’s the arcane references to ancient history and Hellenistic mythology in older tomes that gets to me.
Sigmund Freud's Interpretation of Dreams was the only book in recent years that I could not finish. I actually found myself falling asleep within 10 minutes of trying to read him, like clockwork. Counter that with a legendary reputation like Dostoevsky or Dumas, and I can devour 900 pages in a little over a week. Even Locke's 17th century style was easier to read than Freud.