I think if I had to narrow down my reasons for reading to just one single thing it would be people watching.<\/p>\n
I recently heard an idea that exposing a child to classic literature can bring them a wider range of experience than the actual human world can bring. As much as I was suffering through War and Peace<\/em> at school I think there\u2019s some truth in it. Still, I don\u2019t think every child can appreciate the chance to analyse human nature when there are more rewarding activities waiting outside the classroom. Now though, when the classroom is a couple of decades away, it\u2019s a different story for me.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t remember all events of The Forsyte Saga<\/em><\/a>, but Irene Heron will forever be my hero. If I ever return to these books, it will be for her.<\/p>\n The plot of Madame Bovary<\/em><\/a> is quite interesting, but Madame Bovary herself mesmerised me more than any storylines in the book, and I don’t mean to say the things that mesmerised me were noble or nice. I love watching all sorts of people, as long as I’m doing it from a safe distance of a book.<\/p>\n And what about Anna Karenina<\/a>? I said it before and I will say it again – it will forever be a mystery to me how Tolstoy managed to lock real people within the covers of the book. But he did. Those are not characters. Those are living beings. And I love watching them.<\/p>\n