Winter Break

Posted December 30, 2017 by Josie Snow

A few weeks ago, before winter break began, I received an e-mail that filled me with trepidation. Enclosed with the message from the professor for my Realism class in the spring was a booklist. The professor suggested that students make sure they are familiar with the twenty books on the list, as they are touchstone books for the subject. Out of the twenty, I have only read three. I had thought I was pretty widely read, but this list revealed just how much I have neglected the realism genre, and made it clear that I had some catching up to do.

As a result, I spent my break trying to make sure that I was able to discuss at least some of the books. I was surprised to find the books very engaging and compelling, and as I read them, I was relieved to find that I had read similar things, so I hadn’t completely neglected the genre, I just missed some of the historically significant texts. To my surprise, I was truly enjoying myself.

I started my winter break expecting to be miserable, and forcing myself to read heavy, dense stories about difficult lives, and while many of the books did depict difficult lives I wasn’t forcing myself to read them. I truly wanted to finish them, and once they were completed, I wished that I could read more. I think I shall enjoy realism. I look forward to next semester.