Life as I know it: Mixing up my reading list with Russian classics and not-safe-for-work reads

Allison Batdorff, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·3 min read

Apr. 25—Did I tell anyone about the two books that I read last week?

I might have. They both were books famous in their own way, bestsellers, and the subject of endless discussions.

Then again, I might not have. When brought up for discussion, they each carry with them a sort of baggage which makes choosing who you discuss them with important.

Let me tell you why before you judge me. The two books were Fyodor Dostoevsky's "Crime And Punishment" and E.L. James' "Fifty Shades of Grey."

See what I mean? Your questions right now might be along the lines of "what?!" and/or "why?"

Well, let's start with the "what" of "Crime and Punishment."

I've known of this book all my adult life. The problem for me is that I have read books from that era by various authors and I find reading this genre to be work. The lists of greatest reads of all time include this book but 19th century Russian novels intimidate me and "Crime and Punishment" is no exception. Combine that style with the author's choice of names for his characters — many of whom had more than one name or variations of combinations of three names and I'll admit, I spent too much sifting back through previous pages to clarify just who was who. Maybe it is my simple mind at work, but I felt Mr. D made a great story into a more challenging read than he really needed to.

And I hesitate to say I read it because nothing sounds stuffier than stepping into a circle of conversation and announcing that you "just finished reading Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" — that's just how I feel.

Which leads me to that second book.

If "Crime and Punishment" got a reaction from your friends, what do we figure happens when you bring up just having read "Fifty Shades of Grey?"

If you've never read it or perhaps never heard of it, I tell you that it's a love story involving a couple of 20-something-year-olds. One is a beautiful young woman just out of college looking to start a career. The other character is a handsome, ultra wealthy, bachelor with "issues," primarily related to a troubled early childhood which led to him being sexually deviant. The NSFW version of boy meets girl.

And boy, does the author go to great lengths, and with great frequency, to explain the fine details of these two people's sexual relationship. I tell you that the book had enough plot to keep my interest, but I'm afraid that many would think, "yes, and you read Playboy for the articles ... "

Again, in a conversational setting, you better know your audience before you casually drop the fact that you "just finished 'Fifty Shades of Grey.'"

Now here comes the "why?"

Writing involves reading.

These 13 months of pandemic have been great for my reading habit. To keep my interest up then, I mix my list up. A classic, a biography, a thriller, a drama, and rarely two of the same consecutively. After I had labored through the poverty and bleakness of "Crime and Punishment," I took a breath and typed "great modern reads" into a search browser. Not the first book on the list, but not very far down either, came "Fifty Shades of Grey." I knew what it was about and figured it might serve to balance things out.

That's "what" that's "why" and for avid readers everywhere, the next question ought to be "what's next?"

Contact Rob Ford at robfordwrites@gmail.com.