The "Bookends" page of the "New York
Times" Sunday Book Review section has become one of my favorite
reads. The format is always the same:
two guest contributors horse over a particular topic or question. On April 5,
it was "When it comes to reading, is pleasure suspect?"
Here we need to pause for a moment and consider the
question. Why might the concept of pleasure (happiness,
delight,
joy,
satisfaction,
gratification,
contentment,
amusement,
etc.) be considered suspect at all? What does this say about our society?