Reading Russian Literature during these trying times...

I hope that this does not come across as rude nor offend anyone. It is something that I am struggling with and could really use some sound advice on. I have always loved Russian literature and have several reading goals I planned to reach this year concerning it. For that matter, lots of Russian things; Icons, chanting monks, ballet, lacquer boxes, nesting dolls, Russian fairytales, folklore, the movie Dr. Zhivago, etc,, are a part of my daily life. I am surrounded by Russian things. I am also surrounded by Ukrainian artwork and have friends in the Kyiv area. This has been a personally stressful time for me with many a sleepless night and my ulcers kicking up.

I was in the middle of reading Dead Souls when the war broke out. I put the book aside and have not picked it up, nor started any other Russian literature since. I have tons I want to read, but right now, just not feeling it. What do I do? I am not into cancel culture or book banning. I certainly will not be getting rid of my Russian literature. But I need to find a way to make peace with it so I can read again.

Is anyone else struggling with this? Is it normal to feel this way when a war breaks out? To not want to read literature from that country? For some I would imagine this is a time to do the exact opposite. For me, it has become so hard that I am at a standstill with finishing my book, and moved on to other things. Maybe a part of me wants to know what side would these classic authors be on. Pro or Con. Any sound advice, preferably with kindness, would be highly appreciated.

You're overthinking it. Most of those works predate this conflict by a long time. You're not supporting Russia's current regime by reading your old books. Just enjoy the art for what it is.

I’m afraid I can’t relate to that at all.

It’s a shame current events are affecting your enjoyment of the reading, but I really can’t see a rational reason why it should.

If it were current authors who supported the current regime I’d understand more, but the writers you mention died decades or more before it.

I appreciate I also might have a different attitude if I was living in Ukraine.

It is hard to understand how just unacceptable Russia's behaviour is at present.

But consider their history in the past 150 years. Think of the backward economy and society under the Tsars in the lead up to 1914. Russia's experience in WWI was appalling with massive losses of men and widespread destruction. The Russian Empire broke up. The German imposed a Carthaginian Peace. Lenin and his comrades took power with widespread blood-letting during the Revolution. The Communist Party's economic policies made a chaotic economy worse. Stalin emerges with an iron grip on the country and goes on to become the second largest mass murderer in History. The collectivisation of land leads to famine. The German invasion and occupation from 1941 onwards was truly horrific. The WWII losses of Soviet solders and civilians are well in excess of 20 million. The post-war experience after Stalin dies has been disappointing. Democracy and civil liberties have never taken root. There has never been a real free press and Russian Democracy soon failed. Putin takes over and Russia seems to be going back to the Dark Ages.

There are probably some more terrible times ahead before Russian society emerges with the chance of gaining the usual civil liberties and democratic government that most of us take for granted.

No easy answer but here is some food for thought, hopefully anti-ulcer...

>1 Lady19thC: What do I do? I am not into cancel culture or book banning.

Perhaps you must ponder more deeply on whether you want to blame a person, a country or an ethnic group for the current situation. If the question of a revolution to effect regime change arises, do not forget that 'state-run' countries have the manpower and resources to force their way and silence the opposition. Unless faced with an imminent threat to survival, most people will not forfeit their way of life. Consider the 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition protests or the 2020 Belarus election protests versus the 2020 India farm-law protests. Who won? What happens when an event fades away from the limelight?

>1 Lady19thC: Maybe a part of me wants to know what side would these classic authors be on.

Similar questions have been discussed. This thread goes into details but one post sums it for me: https://www.librarything.com/topic/265020#6226591 (substitute abuse with offence of your choice).

Kipling, Lovecraft, Eric Gill and so many others would be considered racist bigots or abusers of one kind or the other by contemporary social standards. Should this affect our appreciation for their art form? If yes, then you have made your choice.

PS: If you wish to understand the Ukraine conflict more profoundly, I suggest John Mearsheimer's lectures on the subject - easily found on YouTube.

>1 Lady19thC: If alive today, Tolstoy, Dostoevksy, Solzhenitsyn, Bulgakov et al. would certainly be in the forefront of opposition to the current mindless militaristic fascism of Vladimir Putin. There's no reason whatsoever not to fully engage with them all right now :)

I can understand how you feel, whether it's 'rational' or not. Personally, I'd keep my distance from Russian literature for the time being if you feel uncomfortable with it. I think it's likely that you will be able to get into it again when the situation has (hopefully!) improved. I'm sure you know as well as the other posters here that the authors you've been reading had nothing to do with what's happening right now, but that's not what this is about. I've had problems with certain types of literature in difficult times, too. (With me it wasn't about countries but a certain tone / issues.) It doesn't do one's mental and emotional state any good to force oneself through it anyway. I'd say, just take a break for now, and with some distance I hope you will be able to enjoy it again.

>6 cronshaw: Hmm, what makes you believe that?

It's just a genuine question. I have very little knowledge about those things.

>6 cronshaw: I agree with this perspective.

I’ve chosen not to read certain books due to finding the author or subject matter disgusting (misogynistic, books about serial killers/sexual predators) so I can relate. I wouldn’t buy a book that supported the regime. And I get it about reading a book that, even if from another time, reminds you of something painful.

Sorry for your stress. I hope people’s response here help bring a little.

>1 Lady19thC:

For my part I have the same emotional response as you whether or not it is reasonable. Thankfully there is a world of literature and when the situation changes I'm sure I will be able to go back.

I've always found Russian literature interesting. It’s the Cyrillic script that I have been intrigued by as a language student (I also find the Arabic script beautiful as well) and I think it’s my general curiosity about language and culture that drives me forward to learn and read. Current political status should not deter you to read great literature or authors of the past.

It’s very upsetting what’s happening now in Ukraine. The invasion is the responsibility of the decision makers, not the people. We don’t agree with our politicians be it Labour or Conservatives in the UK but through our democracy we are able to invoke change.

What’s happening in Ukraine is monstrous but this too shall pass. Evil will never and must never endure. Good will always triumph in the end.

>1 Lady19thC: I find that a historical view on nationalism can provide a useful perspective in situations like these.

Many nations (as distinctly identifiable polities or states) are far more recent than common current lay beliefs hold. (This is not a coincidence, as one important way that nation states establish legitimacy is to draw selectively on traditions and mythology.)

In the European context, there was widespread intermarriage for political reasons up through the 19th century. State lines often only loosely reflected cultural nationhood. For example, relevant to the current topic, French was widely spoken by Russian aristocracy. Dostoevsky wrote the Idiot while in Italy (though he did live much of his life in Russia). Turgenev, however, lived most of his professional life in other cosmopolitan European cities. From Brittanica's online page:

The Franco-German War of 1870–71 forced the Viardots to leave Baden-Baden, and Turgenev followed them, first to London and then to Paris. ... He was elected vice president of the Paris international literary congress in 1878, and in 1879 he was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Oxford.

Etc.

My experience has actually been opposite in that reading War and Peace with my book club has had the effect of being more satisfying with Tolstoy’s narrative of the ineptness and failures of the Russian military as they are beat down by Napoleon’s army. As I read the news each morning I transpose the reality of 1812 with the reality of 2022 and it makes this great book more relevant.
>8 Kainzow: ; >6 cronshaw: In Book 4, Part 3 Tolstoy actually presents a mathematical formula to evaluate the strength of an army which nails the contemporary situation. “The Spirit of an army is the factor which multiplied by the mass gives the resulting force.” Putin appears to have neglected to read his Tolstoy!

I had begun Tolstoy's War and Peace shortly before Putin started his war, and I didn't abandon it. I'll finish it in the next few days. I try to focus any efforts I make in such circumstances on things that will make a difference even if small, and I don't see a boycott of 150-year-old Russian novels as making a difference. That said, if reading Russian literature is causing anguish I would advise reading something else until that feeling passes.

I find such a blanket approach more than a little strange. I can perhaps understand wanting to avoid historical writers who espoused Russian imperialist, expansionist or repressive views. But isn't this an ideal moment to tackle those Russian writers who were against the authoritarian regimes of their day, whether Tsarist or Soviet, and often at great personal cost. Solzhenitsyn, one of the most famous Soviet dissidents, lost his citizenship and was exiled; Bulgakov (who incidentally was born and spent much of his life in Kyiv) had many works banned with his masterpiece being published only posthumously; Dostoevsky (to quote wikipedia) was 'arrested in 1849 for belonging to a literary group that discussed banned books critical of Tsarist Russia, he was sentenced to death but the sentence was commuted at the last moment. He spent four years in a Siberian prison camp, followed by six years of compulsory military service in exile.' Tolstoy espoused a doctrine of pacifism and non-violence, believed that the aristocracy (read oligarchs today) was a burden on the poor and wrote (to quote but one example) 'The truth is that the State is a conspiracy designed not only to exploit, but above all to corrupt its citizens ... Henceforth, I shall never serve any government anywhere.'

To avoid writers such as these at this moment seems to me akin to concluding that Harriet Beecher Stowe and Solomon Northup should be avoided simply because they lived and wrote in the US at a time when slavery was legal and acceptable.

Thank you, everyone, for your input and thoughtful, insightful responses. I really do appreciate it and it has been very helpful. I never meant to express that I was "boycotting" Russian literature, but rather, that I, personally, was having trouble enjoying it due to the present and horrific situation, so set it aside and wondered how to get back into enjoying it. I think I felt like I was betraying my Ukrainian friends by doing so, if that makes any sense. While I love Russian literature, I am also new to it, and know very little about the authors, though I know more about Tolstoy than the others, mostly due to documentaries and movies. I've never read a bio on any of them. And I don't know a lot about Russian politics either, or rather their history of repetitive crimes. I am very thankful for this group to express their opinion and views on this odd topic. Much appreciated!

Would I be correct in saying Dr Zhivago was banned in Soviet Russia because he was a free-thinker and held his own stance against the revolution? That there was a lot of him in the character of Yuri?

....
To quote Woland (Master and Margharita),
"We speak different languages, as usual, but this does not change the things we speak about."

I don’t see a reason to abandon the great Russian writers, and Ukrainians like Gogol, in light of current events. Judging from the humanity and moral perspicuity displayed in so many of their works, I’m sure these artists would have opposed the obscenities and atrocities of the current regime with body and soul.

Using the current politics of the leaders of a country as an indication of the history and culture of the said country is never a good idea. Or judging the culture by the actions of the current political elite.

I speak (well, mostly read these days) Russian because it was mandatory to learn it when I was in elementary school. The world changed, it became unfashionable to know the language and some people forgot they ever had any classes in it. I still consider knowing it a good thing - it opened the doors to world literature my small national language would never allowed me to find.

It never crossed my mind to worry that a certain author of fiction happens to be from a certain country or to change my mind about them simply because their country is doing something stupid and/or dangerous. I am rarely influenced even by the views the authors themselves had (considering some of the common views of times gone by, that would stop me from reading a lot of literature older than a few decades).

If the books make you uneasy, don’t read them - people’s minds and hearts can be weird things and if something feels wrong, pushing it may end up with you hating the thing in the long run.

But if your unhappiness comes from some misplaced feeling of solidarity with an attacked country and nation, look at it from the other side as well - canceling (as much as I dislike that word, it applies here) and ignoring a centuries old culture because of the actions of someone who has power now (or at the time when the book was written or at any time at the history of the country) does not really make any rational sense. Not reading the Russian authors won’t help Ukraine. Neither it will in any way influence the politics of the Kremlin.

>8 Kainzow: I think >15 Levin40: has expressed why as succinctly as anyone could!

I would be very careful labeling authors. For example, Solzhenitsyn stunned many who had assumed that they "knew" his politics through his books when he praised Putin. I'm not saying he would approve of this war and other awful things, but it isn't simple.

On the other hand, I would continue to read your books allowing your feelings to add to how you react to the writing.

>21 Powderfinger69: I agree it's not simple but he praised Putin over a decade ago and before then 20 years ago mostly in contrast to Russia's previous rulers. He also criticized the Putin regime as well and before a lot of transgressions and current practices occurred.

If one looks deeply at any author it's easy to find something controversial, some more than others. Like every human we're all deeply flawed and singling out authors from countries because of current or past political actions it'd be quite hard to find anyone to read. The atrocities committed by the US and Europe currently and over the past centuries are endless and abhorrent making it hard at times to point fingers.

Having gotten a ton of advice on how to readjust your thinking to keep reading, separating artist from the work, the past from the present, I'd just like to say it's fine to be put off reading something for whatever reason. Everyone here has a TBR stack a mile high. You can try to talk yourself out of bad associations but it's also pretty easy to just grab something else until you get the mood to get back to it.

Reading's supposed to be fun, right?

Today's article by in TLS takes a hard stance on this - not for the faint-hearted.

>24 bacchus.:

An article in rather than "by" the TLS, representing one Ukrainian writer's perspective rather than that of the periodical.

With some reluctance in the present climate of relentless propaganda, I'll confess my own view is that most of the blame for the crisis in Ukraine rests with NATO, so eschewing Russian literature hasn't entered my mind.

>25 terebinth: An article in rather than "by" the TLS
I quite agree. I picked my words carefully but one cannot be too careful.

>1 Lady19thC: Perfectly normal. It's Russia now, before that there were someone else, some other empire, some other superpower meassuring strenght (not to go into that). We get to have the war into our livingroom seen likely as never before and this is only the top. Russians are humans too, some you like, some you don't. Just as with other individuals. And we know many of these Russian soldiers are uneducated. Read good books, see good art, just don't send a deliberate check to the man in Kreml. I can understand Ukrainians and more are hating everything russian at the moment, but we know deep within it's not that black and white. But I perfectly get your point. Read what you want, when you feel too.I doubt this is Tolstoy's fault. As a norwegian I have never read a swedish or danish book. That last bit was a joke. Humour is important. The man in Kreml don't like it and that's why it's important.

>25 terebinth: NATO hasn’t massacred civilians, bombed hospitals, kids, animal sanctuaries and a nuclear power plant in this conflict.

Blame “propaganda”, but I have a deep deep contempt for any Putin apologist.

And as for “by” or “in”. We all get the meaning. Hair splitting is something I also have contempt for.

No one but Putin and his regime is to blame for Russia’s criminal aggression in Ukraine. Any rationalization of this state sponsored terrorism (à la NATO is to blame) is propaganda.

>29 DanielOC:

Agreed. But even if you were wrong and Russia was "forced" into war, the disgusting war crimes being committed would make this thread relevant anyway.

>31 Jobasha: Yes and no. Every country has committed war crimes and if they aren't currently they have in the past and likely will do so in the future. Europe is responsible for centuries upon centuries of the most horrific atrocities known to mankind, along with the US, Russia, Japan, China, and all humankind for that matter. I'm in no way pardoning Russia for their current atrocities but since history started being recorded humanity hasn't changed all that much, unfortunately. I'm always shocked that we've lasted this long. I just try to enjoy the small things in life and am so grateful for what I have and where I was born, it's all dumb luck really.

For the next one who feels like posting please read the title first and consider how relevant is what you are about to say to this thread.

I’m genuinely curious why only the comments pointing out what Russia has committed in Ukraine have been flagged, which actions seem to be the entire raison d’etre for this thread? What has been pointed out is completely factual, unless one is watching RT, in which case there is no war at all. Putin and his diplomats were saying there would be no invasion until the day it happened, remember. No justification for what-aboutery either.
Reading Russian lit would, I would have thought, opened windows into some Russian views on thought, societal control, whether the ends justify the means (vid Chechnya and Syria, inter alia), or understanding the nuance of different Russian and Ukrainian histories and philosophies within the countries themselves and how they contribute to the present situation and also sign post ways out of it. Therefore, reading Russian lit now is more pertinent than just a few years ago, and offers a counter to the broad cancellation of people and things Russian that have happened in ballet, music, fine arts and sport. While these punitive situations are designed to put pressure on Putin by making ordinary Russians aware of how the world perceives its governments actions, particularly given the stranglehold on Russian media, reading Russian lit or history bypasses these potential problems. Of course, if one reads for escapism, that’s a different situation entirely.
I don’t have access to the TLS article, unfortunately.

>29 DanielOC: I absolutely agree. As a sovereign independent nation, Ukraine has no less a right to defend itself than Russia does. The idea that Russia, with more nuclear warheads in the world than any other nation (including the U.S.A.) feels 'threatened' and therefore has a right to invade its neighbours is risible. Putin is a revanchist imperialist, one who has only been able to remain in power himself by ruthlessly suppressing freedom of the press and having political opponents jailed or 'disappear'. I'm sincerely shocked that intelligent people will perform such somersaults of reasoning as to excuse him in his current war. I'm not shocked that Tucker Carlson, Marine le Pen, Nigel Farage et al. parrot Kremlin propaganda.

However, I oppose the blanket cancelling of cultures (certainly of literature) or of individuals on the basis of their nationality, as is the current fad, unless of course a particular writer, performer, or sportsperson etc. supports such egregious, unwarranted acts of aggression and murder. We do not choose our place of birth, unfortunately.

>33 bacchus.: Thank you! What was meant to be an innocent question about my feelings towards reading Russian literature at this time has turned into yet another venue for ugly political arguments. Everyone has strayed far from the subject. If there is a moderator, perhaps they can lock or even remove the subject. I already found my answer. Thank you.

Keep reading Dead Souls
Gogol is Ukrainian and so is Bulgakov

>34 cwl:
From reading these boards through the years, the side of tolerance is non-existence. Strangely, the snowflakes are those screaming snowflake and the fascists are the ones yelling fascist. If you want tolerant conversation, better find a group of real people and leave internet boards for materialistic discussion.

And sometimes a fraught, overtly political topic like “Reading Russian Literature during these trying times... “ can’t help but produce some sharp responses on this otherwise (imho) remarkably civil site

>1 Lady19thC: Here are some thoughts on this question from a professor of Russian literature at the University of Kansas:

https://theconversation.com/how-should-dostoevsky-and-tolstoy-be-read-during-rus...

>40 Cjbgran: Thank you! Thank you, so much, for this.

>4 English-bookseller:
This is so true, sadly. Russia and the former USSR have never experienced a true democratic period that lasted for more than a decade or so. The history of Russia is just one black period from the beginning to the present. This has, of course, trickled down into the literature of the territory.
With regard to the OP: I can therefore well imagine that at the moment you no longer like reading any more literature from a country ravaged by wars or dictators.

Between my 20s and 30s I read a lot of Russian literature, the classical writers but also modern ones. I was not overjoyed about it - they were good reads but they made me somehow sad. Now that I'm 60, I've decided to stop reading books with negative content and/or bad endings.

I'm afraid things will never get better in Eastern Europe. Just read the history of the last few hundred years. However I don't recommend this if you want a good night's sleep......

>42 islandbooks:

"I have not forgotten your admirable Russian novel 'Alexey Poldorovna lived on a hill. He cried a great deal.'"
(C.S. Lewis letter to his brother Warnie, Christmas 1931)

I find value in reading contemporary Russian (Moscow based) author, Victor Pelevin. Good place to start is Buddha's Little Finger then try out SNUFF. Pelevin seems to capture the contemporary Russian spirit and internal conflicts masterfully. Enjoyable and insightful reading. I just ordered two more Pelevin titles to read now for any additional insights that may be discovered, Empire and Omon Ra. For a good laugh concerning our digital age, Homo Zapiens is wonderful!

I wrote most of this response a few days ago, but then got sick and busy at the same time and didn't post it. Since then >37 Macumbeira: pointed out the fact I brought up, but I think I'll post what I wrote anyway as it has some extra content that might possibly be relevant. Here it is:

>1 Lady19thC: I was in the middle of reading Dead Souls when the war broke out... I felt like I was betraying my Ukrainian friends by doing so

I'd like to point out an important detail that I think you're missing: Gogol was actually Ukrainian. So trying to express your solidarity with Ukrainians... you're boycotting a Ukrainian writer. His early work that made him famous in Ukraine and all of the Russian Empire, the short story collection Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka, although written in Russian, is set in Ukraine and is packed with Ukrainian spirit, culture, customs, legends, etc.

Now, coming to ethnically Russian writers, or writers in Russian language, I don't think reading them would be a betrayal of your Ukrainian friends in the slightest either. Boycotting writers of the past because of Putin is akin to boycotting Mozart because Hitler was an Austrian too. But I'd also advice against viewing living authors (or artists, musicians, etc.) strictly based on their nationality. People are different. I think you'd agree that it might not be a good idea to give the same treatment to people like Zakhar Prilepin, a writer who spent a couple of years fighting in Donbass, supported the current invasion, and thinks all of Ukraine should be annexed into Russia, and someone like Dmitry Bykov, who's always been opposing Putin in general and all his Ukraine-related shenanigans in particular, was likely poisoned by FSB in 2019, had to leave Russia after the start of the invasion because with this war Putin pretty much killed off freedom of speech in the country and made speaking out against the war (or even calling the war 'war') illegal, and is still speaking out against the war through his and other youtube channels.

Another point on language, or ostracizing the language because of the current events: it might come as a surprise, but a very significant percentage of Ukrainian soldiers fighting and dying for their country right now actually speak Russian as their first and preferred language. Some of the cities you've been likely hearing about in the news, those being pummeled by Putin's rockets such as Mariupol and Kharkiv, are actually predominantly Russian-speaking. So things are not that simple.

But I understand that we, humans, are complex and interesting beings. Feelings are feelings. I'm not going to encourage you to jump back at the Russians straight away*. What I think is getting back to Gogol, considered national treasure by both Russians and Ukrainians, could serve as a nice bridge, particularly his Ukrainian Dikanka stories. Btw, I think you like to read appropriate stories for holidays? The Night Before Christmas, part of the Dikanka collection, is a fun Christmas classic (it could even be purchased as a stand-alone book in the following and other formats:
https://www.amazon.com/Night-Before-Christmas-Penguin-Classics/dp/0143122487/ref....

* Here I was going to give some examples of Russian writings that would be relevant currently and more than apropos to jump at straight away, but I think I'll add that later - I already need to apologize for writing a novel, but I hope my thoughts were relevant and on topic.

>37 Macumbeira: Gogol - definitely yes, but I wouldn't call Bulgakov a Ukrainian despite him being born and raised in Kiev. Ukraine didn't exist as a country back then, Bulgakov wasn't a Ukrainian ethnically (both of his parents were Russians from ethnically Russian parts of the Russian Empire), he spoke Russian, he was taught in Russian in schools, he wrote in Russian exclusively, he wasn't fond of Ukrainian nationalist movements, etc.

>40 Cjbgran: This is truly excellent, thank you. I have to admit I sometimes need guidance and context when reading great authors, and this provides it…

Writing is Art.
Borders are not.

I already am back reading Dead Souls and about halfway through. Relax. lol

I concur with Elladan suggestion of Gogol's night before Christmas. Enjoyable read. It is even available in a nice Folio edition illustrated by Peter Stuart

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/theatreblog/2008/dec/11/mikhail-bulgakov-ukrai...

I wonder if you feel the same way about reading literature hailing from Israel? Or China? Or Saudi Arabia? Or if you abandoned American and British literature due to the war against Afghanistan? Or if you are even comfortable picking up books hailing from either of these countries today, given their continued military presence in a number of countries across the ME?

If you have no aversion to consuming literature from any other country currently involved in devastating wars/human rights violations, why are you uncomfortable with reading Russian literature?

Sorry if this is coming across harsh, but the double standards in how we respond to wars perpetuated by particular countries is really getting to me. I wish the collective response to every single war was the same as it has been (thus far) for Russia/Ukraine.

>52 Manderly22: ROTFLMAO

>52 Manderly22: By that standard, we must also scrutinize Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám and it's long term effects on global affairs and the Arabian... ahem.. Persian Gulf :)

>52 Manderly22: I think the answer is simply that we’re human. It’s also a double-standard to buy luxuries (e.g. nice books) when our money would be better spent helping children dying of starvation, but we still do it. Of course we should hold ourselves to high standards and shouldn’t stop trying to become better people but we are also human and embody the inconsistency that comes with that.
I think it’s been an interesting and very human discussion and worth having. As a side note I did go off American literature for quite a while after the invasion of Iraq, not rational of course, just me following my emotions, so there you go…

^52Manderly22
Well written. Unfortunately if somebody likes to read, doesn't mean he or she is capable of thinking rationally. West is censoring not only anything coming from Russia but most of the news, opinions that doesn't support the desired proukrainian narrative. Most people don't make the slightest effort to find out the history of this conflict and see what the other side has to say. It's prohibited to say anything negative about coloured people, immigrants, jews etc... But now this so called civilised world got at last something they can hate, no sorry, they must hate. Russians , a whole people and their culture, past and present. It shows how thin is this cultured layer at most of the people who considers itself as intellectuals. During communist times in Romania the censorship and propaganda was quite amateurish compared to this as I remember. It reminds me more of Maos time in China. But truth will always come out sooner or later.

Unfortunately if somebody likes to read, doesn't mean he or she is capable of thinking rationally

My irony meter has just exploded.

An interesting read on this topic:

https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/gogol-or-hohol