Too many books is what I’m reading now. It’s starting to get to me. And I don’t think it would be so bad if it weren’t for the fact that I’m still reading Moby Dick. Yep, I’m one of those people now, slogging his way through the middle of it. Will I give up? I don’t think so. I hope not. It’s still really, really good. So it’s not the quality that’s got me slogging. Like I said, it’s the other stuff.
Taking books out of the library has done it, I think. In the past two weeks I’ve read five web design and programming books. Three of them really excellent. It has me looking at the internet in a deeper way – more concerned about it’s future (and the future of what I write) – than I ever thought I would be. Plus, it’s giving me something else to be nerdy about. Who knew there was a Web Standards sized hole in my heart? Check my code for this post, even. I’ve lovingly wrapped your book in cite tags, Mr. Melville. The machines know it’s a book now, rest easy.
I’m also reading Andrew Lang’s Blue Fairy Book to my son. One of those books I missed reading as kid. It showed up on my radar when I was reading a lot of Chesterton and Lewis. I can’t remember which of those fine fellows pointed Lang’s color books out to me but here’s a nice quote from Chesterton on fairy stories:
Fairy Tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.
By the way, read Chesterton. You don’t necessarily have to read Lewis (Gasp! Heretic!) but Chesterton is a must.
I’m off. I’ve got a lot of not reading Moby Dick and feeling guilty about it to do. Wish me luck!
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