Shortcut to literature

I always find literature a chore. The novels are long and stories uninteresting. I wonder why they become classics and why all students have to read them. I confess I fail my literature in my GCE "O" level.

Last week at Borders, there was a "3 for 2" promotion i.e. buy 3 books and pay the price of 2 for Cliffs Notes. Slim volumes priced at S$8 per copy. Cliff Notes summarize the novel or poetry. It also gives the background of the author to give context to the story. Man, I wish I discover this 30 years ago. The story are all summarized with background, the gist of the story, the different characters, who they are and what they represent, the whole works! The book will take days if not weeks of full time reading can be completed in a couple of hours. Awesome! One can intelligently discuss the story and sound very competent in a few hours instead of toiling for days.

Frankly, I was aware of such notes when I was in school. The problem I had was ego. I view these notes to be shortcut and books should be read for pleasure. How naive and stupid I was! If I have invested in the notes, I would have at least pass my Literature exams. Hindsight is 20/20. I should have keep an open mind. No point crying over split milk now.

You can find out more about Cliff Notes at http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/