A friend of mine was comparing jury duty to Waiting for Godot. I've read Godot. I hated it. Some guy waiting for another idiot who never shows up. (which does sound a lot like jury selection.) What was the point? Yeah.. supposed to be a great work of literature. OK. Thanks for wasting my time.
I really don't get why something should be enjoyed or even considered good simply because it is a "classic". Another point would be Great Expectations. It fell far short of my expectations. I'd rather gouge out my eyes with a rusty spoon than read the Iliad or the Odyssey ever again.
Don't get me wrong, I do like some of the classics. Shakespeare, Poe, Yeats... love them... and others. I just feel obligated to enjoy anything labeled as a "classic", even if I don't really like it.
Now that I'm thinking about it, it really isn't limited to the classics. I tend to avoid anything that "everyone" seems to be reading and enjoying. I feel obligated to enjoy a book simply because it is a best seller, so I don't read it. I almost missed out on The Perfect Storm and the Harry Potter books for this reason. I am glad I didn't because they really were fantastic - far better than the movies. I still haven't read The Da Vinci Code. I need to get on that.
Give me Stephen King over Homer any day! Hmm.. guess I'm not a book snob.. oh well.. I like what I like.
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