Book Report or Do You Know Stuff...

I spent the last 9 years before retirement working in a nursing home. I thought often about what I would do if I became a resident. I decided I'd read all the books I never had time for. Then I thought, well what if I couldn't see? I guess there's always audio books but then I don't hear so well and I really never saw anyone using such a thing or very much reading by the residents anyway. With cuts underway at the Department of Education and much debate over funding of public schools there will probably be less reading in the future. When I read "The Crossing" and "Canticle for Lebowitz" it occurred to me that people have to know stuff to appreciate these stories. These days people who barely got out of high school think they know more than scientists but I don't think so. I wonder how they would fare reading these books?   

 "The Crossing" is a Cormac McCarthy book. I have probably read half a dozen of his novels and this is part of a trilogy that I have read now the first two. Taking place along the border with Mexico I'd call it a modern day western set in the not too distant past. Crossing borders is an element of the story and if you have read any McCarty the style can be unusual with beautiful wording, passing mention of distant past events and with quite a bit of dialogue in Spanish it helps to know stuff if you read this book. Although my favorite book of McCarthy's is "Sutree" I very much enjoyed this book. 

I had read "Canticle for Lebowitz" as a teen. It's old school post apocalyptical sci-fi and was first published in 1959. It's never been out of print and I figured it was due a re read. The story covers several thousand years. Civilization has been destroyed by nuclear war, there was a "Great Simplification" where learned people were martyred as they were associated with the causes of the war, books were burned and knowledge and memories of what came before were muddled. Through all this a Catholic Monastery manages to assemble fragments of science which they safe guard till mankind puts it all back together and destroys it's self again. Sort of sounds like it could happen anytime. When reading the book it helps if know (that old know stuff thing again) a bit of Latin and a bit about the Church. My mom studied Latin at Munford High School in the late 1930s and early 40s. She spoke it and read it. She was also good at Pig Latin. 

Though I do read the book reviews in the New Yorker magazine I rarely read current books and am content to read authors I already know, stay with subject matter I like and reread things I think I could get more out of. Both these books were thrift store finds and I wonder when the "Great Simplification" and book burning of our time comes will they think to check the thrift stores for contraband?  

As a last note "Canticle for Lebowitz" had a Central High School Stamp and sticker with the amount of reading points a student accumulated. Guess they won't be accumulating that anytime soon or didn't have the time.