This was pretty funny in a deeply sad sort of way.
At The Consumerist we find that someone found at a Target, in the books area a stack of Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. Nothing very interesting about that. After all, there is a new movie version out. Right? The fun begins when you see Tolstoy on the “Emerging Authors” shelf.
That “Jane Austen” book isn’t actually by Austen, in case you were wondering.
In 2010, I told my college students that their curriculum looked like my 9th grade year and their 9th grade year looked like my 4th grade year. Sad, but it probably does not matter as few read any more. Maybe it was a trick to sell some “old authors”.
That’s ALL we need — Zombie Leo Tolstoy!
I hope this Tolstoy guy’s agent got him the merchandising rights for the Happy Meal Toys.
STM, I am afraid it is simply a reflection of the ignorance which pervades our culture. It reminds me of an old friend who, many years ago, worked in a record store, and used to quit every so often. He’d just hit a limit, and go home for a week of peace. Each time, he was rehired, eagerly; it seemed that in his absence, no one could find anything. That was because he arranged all the stock, but to know how to find things, you had to understand music.
Perhaps we could say that Tolstoy is “emerging” from obscurity – at least for the broader culture.
Funny and sad at the same time. Perhaps this will inspire people to start reading the classics again.
I think there’s a movie coming out, so they bought copies of a book they wouldn’t ordinarily have at Target and put it in a visible location.
Well, Anton Chekov did do a “Meet the Author” event at a Barnes and Noble in NYC a few years ago: http://improveverywhere.com/2004/02/29/anton-chekov/
Every generation is a new people. We have to start all over with every new baby.
@wmeyer: …”had to understand music” This reminds me of a what a friend, who is a librarian at a college of music, once told me. She has no musical education herself, but is very smart. She said: ” I’m embarrassed to tell you this, but when I got this job, I thought, that a Piano trio included three pianos and wondered how on earth they were able to squeeze three pianos into one of those small practice rooms!”
Now there are students at that college, who ask her the same question…