Thursday, October 18, 2012

Between the Lines


I'm backdating again because I've been sick but DID go to work on Thursday and this is the shirt I wore. I just couldn't manage to write and post anything then. This is another one from Unshelved and it's one that caused some controversy with a library patron when I wore it to work. Her issue with it basically boiled down to an initial "I don't get it" reaction and when I tried to explain my interpretation of it, she decided it was a bad idea and, possibly, that I was a bad person for wearing the shirt. I shrugged and continued on with my day but the more I thought about it, the more ambiguous the statement seemed.

My reading of it is that reading is something we can do for ourselves and without reprisal. Getting to choose our reading material should be a free and obvious right in a civilised world. It's not the only interpretation though. So, feel free to re-interpret here and maybe Bill Barnes or Gene Ambaum can chime in with where they were going with it when they wrote the strip the shirt is based on.

I hope to be more interesting next week when this gorram, curst cold lets go of me. Until then, it's Buckley's and hot lemon & honey tinctures until I want to puke, I guess. Also, I'll be reading. Check my shelves on goodreads.com for details. Cheers!

2 comments:

  1. I've had more than a few people ask me about this T-shirt over the years. I always think it means something like "read things you aren't required to read." We're all responsible, professionally or otherwise, for reading journal articles, reviews, news, literary criticism, what have you. Make sure you read something else, too. Something you enjoy. (I think that's close to your interp, too. :) )
    -Gene A.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow! Thanks for commenting, Gene! Y'know, it didn't seem like such a controversial shirt when I ordered the shirt. I thought it was clever and an obvious sentiment. But yeah, our interpretations seem to mesh. Reading should be fun and irresponsible. We should have the right to choose to read absolute trash sometimes if that's what we feel like. :) One of my students on Thursday did notice the shirt and commented on how I always have neat things written on my shirts. She liked my "The Book Was Better" one too.

      Delete