Maybe.
Of course we all know the Pope has never heard of me or my books. But when I first heard that he released a letter encouraging everyone to read more literature, I thought it could be fun to write something pretending* the Bishop of Rome indirectly endorsed my work. Studying his letter made me want to define some terms.
Fiction – Anything that is made up. You know that disclaimer at the beginning of a book that tells you it’s the “product of the author’s imagination?” That means it’s fiction.
Novel – A work of fiction long enough that it cannot or should not** be finished in one sitting and that is written for the primary purpose of entertainment.
Literature – A written work someone reads because he or she feels it is important. Examples of good reasons to deem something important include wanting a good grade, to learn about a foreign or past culture, to exercise spiritual growth, and to understand how to rewire something without electrocuting oneself. Examples of bad reasons to deem something important include wanting to feel superior to those who haven’t read it, when people you don’t know or respect have said it’s important, and wanting to laugh at how someone else is putting something together without actually helping that person do it correctly.
Reading – Enjoying a work of fiction or literature; they are not mutually exclusive.
Reading – Processing the words of fiction or literature. There is a difference between reading for pleasure and reading for knowledge. We should really call the latter studying. You study a work when you approach it as important literature, which could end up having a positive or negative effect. People regularly sit down to read something they end up studying or otherwise not enjoying. Conversely, people can end up reading something they intended to simply study. This is an example of unexpected joy.
The Pope’s letter confused me by using the first three and last two terms interchangeably. A line from his letter states, “There is nothing more counterproductive than reading something out of a sense of duty, making considerable effort simply because others have said it is essential.” There are good reasons to make the effort to read (as in study) a work, but entertainment is the only reason to read. He also says that, “Literature is often considered merely a form of entertainment…”
And now I need to add a few more definitions.
Entertainment – Rest for the brain, an essential part of a healthy physical, mental, and spiritual life. There is nothing merely about it.
This Post – What happens when I try to write something entertaining when I’m cranky.
Cranky – A state of being brought on by other people not thinking exactly the super weird way you think.
Super Weird – Actually totally normal now that I’ve explained it.
Entertainment is important.
Therefore, a novel is literature to anyone who finds it
entertaining. But if you read one of my
books only because the Pope said to read literature, then that will be
counterproductive to entertainment.
Unless it becomes an example of an unexpected joy, and that is something
we should all try to find. Now who’s
cranky?***
* Because I write novels, not literature.
** Because people need to eat and sleep, and if you read 300
pages in two hours you’ve probably missed something, like the point of slowing
down to read.
*** No one. We’re all
super weird together.