By C.S. Lewis
"My own eyes are not enough for me, I will see through the eyes of others." C.S. Lewis
Determined to break out of the prison of himself, C.S. Lewis' preferred to devote seven to eight hours of reading per day. This discipline, coupled with his prolific pen, helped ensure Lewis would have many thoughts to share with fellow readers. Gratefully, David Downing and Michael Maudlin have collected and arranged them in The Reading Life: The Joy of Seeing New Worlds Through Other's Eyes.
This collection is a treat. It is easy to digest, but not simplistic! The book is divided into two parts. In Part One, we are treated to Lewis' thoughts "On The Art And Joy Of Reading." Part Two is a collection of essays, "Short Readings On Reading." There is so much to enjoy and so much to share.
"Why do we read?" Lewis writes:
"We want to see with other eyes, to imagine with other imaginations, to feel with other hearts, as well as with our own. . . . We demand windows. Literature as Logos is a series of windows, even of doors. One of the things we feel after reading a great work is 'I have got out'. Or from another point of view, 'I have got in'; pierced the shell of some other monad and discovered what it is like inside." 4
Reading takes us to new places. It broadens horizons, it makes and shapes us. About an unliterary friend, Lewis writes:
He may be full of goodness and good sense but he inhabits a tiny world. In it, we should be suffocated. The man who is contented to be only himself, and therefore less a self, is in prison. My own eyes are not enough for me. I will see through those of others. (italics the reviewer's). But in reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself. 8-9
Helpful thoughts on reading:
1. Mortimer Adler: "In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you." xii
2. On reading a work twice: "The majority never read anything twice. The sure mark of an unliterary man is that he considers 'I've read it already' to be a conclusive argument against reading a work." 11
3. On children's stories: "I am almost inclined to set it up as a canon that a children's sstory which is enjyed only by children is a bad children's story." 17
4. The true aim of literary studies: "The true aim of literary studies is to lift the student out of his provincialism by making him 'the spectator', if not of all, yet of much, 'time and existence'". Lewis, 29
5. On reading new books: "It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between." Lewis, 45
6. On the influence of George MacDonald: "I have never concealed the fact that I regarded [George MacDonald] as my master; indeed I fancy I have never written a book in which I did not quote from him." Lewis, 70
7. On writing: "I write on the chance that some others may feel the same and in the hope that I may help them to clarify their own sensations." Lewis, 76
8. On mapping and marking books: See page 158.
9. On the value of myth: "The value of the myth is that it takes all the things we know and restores them the rich significance which has been hidden by 'the veil of familiarity'." Lewis, 110
10. On being free to skip: "It is a very silly idea that in reading abook you must never 'skip'. All sensible people skip freely when they come to a chapter which they find is going to be no use to them." Lewis, 142
Lines worth remembering:
1. "When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." C.S. Lewis (in the context of reading fairy tales).
2. "There are two kinds of longing. The one is an askesis, a spiritual exercise, and the other is a disease." Lewis, 36
3. Many readers are like hobbits "who treat smoking as an art and like books which tell them what they already know." 100
4. "Clearly one must read every good book at least once every ten years." Lewis, 140
I heartily recommend The Reading Life: The Joy of Seeing New Worlds Through Other's Eyes.. Read it once, marking as you go, then journey again to revel in the insight and wisdom.