Hey! I’ve spent the last years, and actually most of my life, reading rather short classics from known names that have a certain cultural impact. I knew what I was getting myself into. Some examples are The Plague, All Quiet on The Western Front, Lolita, Death in Venice. Mostly books I knew a lot about or books by authors I knew quite well.

Now I’m getting into 700 pages long (modern) novels and it’s like a new world. I really don’t know how to know what to expect because I’m so bad at interpreting all the signs! I’m lost.

There’s books with 200 pages that convey 700+ pages of thought and there’s books that are 700 pages long and that’s that. That’s fine, but that’s not I want! How do I tell apart something of great philosophical, cultural insight and meaning that will speak to me long after I’m done reading from something that has a nice flow and is a fun read while I’m at it? Both will have brilliant reviews that call them life changing and all that. Both will have 5 star reviews online. It’s just: from whose perspective?

I’m a film buff and in that scene I can a) interpret poster designs, b) know some names of actors, directors, producers. I know if it’s a c) big Hollywood production or a Hungarian independent film, I know d) certain studios that follow a certain dogma. I even know e) movements from eras and places. I can tell apart what’s artsy, what’s bland, what’s trash (but still good!), what’s status quo, what’s pseudo-sophisticated, what’s archaic and a drag, etc…

How do I do that with books? For example I’m about to read Life of Pi and it sounds so very profound, intelligently dissecting religions, but the cover design makes it look like Eat, Pray, Love (also maybe that’s a great novel. How would I know?).