Susan Sontag's theory of lists

 I’ve been thinking about lists, so Susan Sontag came to mind.

In January 2019, Emily Temple offered a free self-improvement idea to start the year. Her idea: You could become Susan Sontag. Sontag’s lists were so exhaustive that you could basically read all the books she read, listen to all her music, see all the art she saw, think all her thoughts.

Sontag said that a list is a way of creating or perceiving value. It’s the same impulse we have when taking note (or making a note) of something. It’s the same impulse we have when we collect things. We leave a rock on the ground but pick up an arrowhead. When we show interest, we assert value.

Temple compiled “a list of the lists of a great thinker.” Sontag listed beliefs, things she enjoyed, faults, likes and dislikes, do’s and don’ts. Under her heading “Best Films,” she listed 228 titles. (I found that astonishing. My interest in films would barely generate a list of 10.)

But let’s not lose the main point: Making a list can be a kind of self-improvement. To me, a reading list might be the basic form of self-improvement.

• Source: Emily Temple, “How to Live Like Susan Sontag,” Literary Hub, Jan. 16, 2019