Rememberall

(No, this is not a post about a certain beloved wizard. It is about books and remembering and remembering books.)

I have read many books in my life. Some were assigned, and some were for leisure. I have always been a bookworm. Recently, I read a book called, How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read by Pierre Bayard. In this book, Bayard describes various levels of reading which may result in a person having read a book and not actually remembering anything about said book.

This got me thinking. Could I have an intellectual discussion about any of the books I have read? I can't even remember who wrote The Scarlet Letter so a discussion on that one is out. Was Pride and Prejudice the one about the sisters and the weddings? Yeah? That's all I got. I have read these books. Really, I have.

How is that I can't remember something I spent so much time with? How will I ever successfully read classic novels and actually remember them? Can I be a good English major when I can't even remember the basic plot of The Great Gatsby? Or does everyone forget these classics and just pretend to have read and enjoy them?

Is it worse to have read and forgotten these books than to have never read them at all?