Kanye should never write again

A few months ago I was shown a news article about Kanye West. In it Kanye stated that he does not read or respect books but he has written one that he would like people to buy. I’m not a big fan of his, but I could usually ignore his pretentious attitude towards the world and his arrogance. However, this time he chose to mess with something that I value, books.      I’ve been an avid reader since I was nine years old. Books have defined my great moments in life like road markers. Eighth grade graduation was not marked by the ceremony but by my hundredth re-reading of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” High school English nearly ruined John Grisham novels for me, but made up for it by introducing me to “The Great Gatsby” and “1984,” two books that have shaped my tastes in literature since then. I don’t think that my love of reading has hindered my way of living. It has taught me ways of coping with different problems and given me insight on finding solutions. I would not have become a writer if it wasn’t for my love of books. I know many people would say the same thing.      Sadly, Kanye West’s attitude toward reading is a common one in our schools. There are those who don’t understand what books can teach. He thinks that reading is not “living.” He is setting a bad example for those kids who actually think of him as a role model.      Kanye dedicated his book to his mother and says that she has always supported him in everything he does. West’s mother was a retired English professor who wrote a book herself about her son, which at 240 pages looks more interesting than Kanye’s 52-page, spiral-bound piece of work. I wonder what she would say about her son’s vicious hatred of books.      On his blog he has pages of his book to sample. My interest in reading this book, even for a laugh, dropped considerably. The way it was presented and the way it was written made each page look and sound like a bumper sticker. On his blog there are comments from his fans, almost all of them saying that they are buying this book, but none of them stated that they wanted the book. Although, one commenter went so far as to say that they “need this book.” I went over to Amazon’s site and the story completely changed. Reviewers were not pulling any punches with this book. One reviewer summed the book up nicely by stating it was the “infantile rambling philosophy of a man who should have left philosophy to people who actually have unique and clever ideas.” That just about says everything you could ever want to know about Kanye West himself.      In the article, West states that he is a proud non-reader and that he hates books. The saddest part is not that he thinks this way but that he said this so that it could be reported and printed. He stated something that many people are going to misconstrue and some are going to take seriously. The fact is, he understands what it is that he doesn’t like about books. He states, “Sometimes people write novels and they just be so wordy and so self-absorbed. I am not a fan of books. I would never want a book’s autograph.” I find it very amusing that he talks about books like they wrote themselves. It’s like he doesn’t seem to realize that a book always reflects the author. In his case this book is just another way to stroke his own ego.