So I have decided to go back and re-read (or read for the first time in some cases) the "classics." I like to listen to audiobooks on CD while driving. It allows me to get away for a short time and provides a nice escape when my mind is racing. I started this little quest with Animal Farm. I don't believe I had ever read that before, but it was super short and made for a nice, quick story. I am not huge into government, politics, or social cultures so I likely did not catch all of the references Orwell was making to society. Nevertheless, I have now read it. I next read To Kill A Mockingbird, which was great. I know I read it in high school, but did not remember much of it. You have to realize, in high school, I was one of those who read what was assigned because it was assigned, not because I enjoyed it. So, now that I am more mature and have found a means by which I enjoy reading, I decided to take another look at these assignments. I recently finished Brave New World, which was also great, as I remember from 12th grade. I love reading stories that have thick plots, unexpected surprises, a hint of fantasy, and adventure. These last two books were fun to read, but did not flip my excitement switch the way the Dan Brown books did. And nothing, so far has, been as mind-blowingly page-turning as the Twilight series...
So this brings me to the current book, which is 1984, also by George Orwell. I have only read the first 3 chapters, but am not very impressed thus far. It is a lot about government, politics, war, and policies. I am just really not all that interested in those things and, therefore, am finding this book uninteresting. I will go ahead and read the whole thing. I'm hoping the plot gets more interesting and that I will "get into" the book soon once things start happening.
When I was trying to figure out what it was about this book that was turning me off, it made me realize just how little I know about government, politics, war, and policies. I know I don't keep up with the news. I have never been one terribly interested in watching or reading it. I just am surprised I have made it this far in life with such a small understanding of how our country and the people in it work. If you asked me to describe differences between Republican and Democratic parties, I could probably name one or two things. If you asked me who is the donkey and who is the elephant, I would have to Google it. If you asked me which is left wing and which is right or what all of those in between levels are, I'd be clueless. I have next to no understanding of the financial issues in our country, besides the obvious: the economy sucks.
I think I'm so uniformed is because 1) I didn't have much interest when I was learning about it in school, 2) I have never been interested in watching the news, and 3) now that I'm older, I feel dumb asking questions about things most everyone knows about. I would like to have at least a basic understanding of all of these topics so I can follow the news, follow what presidential candidates are debating about, and just because I feel like it's my duty as a US citizen to understand how our country works. I just wish I was more interested in all that!
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