reading

It avails not, time and place -- distance avails not,
I am with you, you men and women of a generation,
or ever so many generations hence,
Just as you feel when you look on the river and the
sky, so I feel,
Just as any of you is one of a living crowd, I was one
of a crowd,
Just as you are refresh'd by the gladness of the river
and the bright flow, I was refresh'd,
Just as you stand and lean on the rail, yet hurry with
the swift current, I stood yet was hurried,
Just as you look on the numberless masts of the ships
and the thick-stemm'd pipes of steamboats, I looked.

-Walt Whitman,

from "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" 1856

Upon being banished to my room as a child after I
had misbehaved, I once asked my father if he was
going to take away my books while I was grounded.
He smiled in spite of being frustrated with me and
said no, he'd never do that. I knew even then that
reading was a first-class ticket out of my bedroom
and into the universe. I have always enjoyed a good
book... Okay, I admit it. I am a book whore. I'll read
anything. Magazines, newspapers, tabloids, the backs
of shampoo bottles... good, bad, mediocre, trivial... I
thirst for information, concepts, ideas, funny words,
facts, data. I'm an avid sesquipedalian and it shows in
the befuddled stares of my linguistic victims. (I even
piss myself off sometimes.) Mind you, I'm not using
big words on purpose, but they do find their way into
my vocabulary after reading them several times.
Believe me, I've been the victim plenty of times
myself. I try to temper this behavior as best I can.
My friend Carolyn says she can tell most all she
needs to know just by browsing at a person's
bookcase. Interesting. So here are:

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is my latest favorite. It
is a fiction mystery thriller based on 99% factual
information centering around the quest for the Holy Grail.
An easy and fun read that will open your eyes to some
lesser known facts about human religious history.

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson is a spooky classic.
Imagine if the whole world fell sick with an awful
"zombie" disease and YOU were the only person left
uninfected... Locked in your house fending off the beasts
who are after your blood. Matheson is referred to as the
"Hemingway of horror" by Publisher's Weekly.

Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins is a fine
book. Based on Robbin's long-running series of
motivational/inspirational audio tapes and cd's. Robbin's
uses Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), which is a
common technique in hypnotherapy, to help the reader
understand their own inhibiting or empowering thought
processes. Useful information.

The popular Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling is quite a
lot of fun. I really enjoy the whole general genre of
fantasy/fiction. As a young boy endowed with magical
abilities, Harry struggles with his powers and his inability
to communicate his true feelings. There's also some tasty
latin morsels to be found in the magic words wizards use
to cast spells.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey Into
the Heart of the American Dream by Hunter S.
Thompson is a modern classic. One glimpse at the
cover notes prepares you for a drug-ridden frenzy in
Sin City. Look past that. You'll find Thompson's deeply
insightful musings on the America that existed in the
waining years of the Vietnam War. Also, try to find an
earlier printing with the original cover art. The art
pictured here is from the film of the same name. Ralph
Steadman's art is an essential part of this experience.
R.I.P. Hunter!!!