Archive for 'Reading' Category
that Dark
I don’t read a ton of poetry. I’ve got a nice-looking volume of selected Emily Dickinson poems, just sitting there. I thought I should start opening it up occasionally . . . and today I found a thought-provoking poem:
The feet of people walking home
With gayer sandals go -
The crocus – till she rises -
The vassal [...]
The Glee of a Porpoise Then
I’m rereading The Sword in the Stone, T.H. White’s magical fantasy about the young King Arthur. Here’s a wonderful quotation from Chapter Five. (The Wart is King Arthur’s childhood nickname.)
The Wart did not know what Merlyn was talking about, but he liked him to talk. He did not like the grown-ups who talked down to [...]
Epiphany About Writing Poetry
I’ve been reading The Pattern on the Stone for a couple days, and it’s a fascinating read. Written by W. Daniel Hillis, it explains the basic concepts behind computing. One point Hillis made is that although we describe the values of a bit as 1 and 0, these are actually arbitrary designations. Hillis says, “These [...]
Plastic Star Wars X-wing Fighter
I came across this intriguing paragraph in the third chapter of The Zenith Angle by Bruce Sterling. I’m not sure why I’m intrigued. The chapter is about a computer expert who is driving across America with his wife and young son in the days after 9/11. He is making the trip in order to do [...]
Moping About What Comes Next
I’m reading Eastern Standard Tribe by Cory Doctorow. It’s this satisfyingly weird book about economic warfare waged among time zone tribes. It talks a lot about sleep deprivation, social networking and chat rooms, so it’s a great read for someone from my generation. Here’s a quotation that resonated with me:
I was too smart [...]
There Are Sardines About Somewhere In The Neighbourhood
In Chapter Five of Wind in the Willows, Rat says to Mole:
‘Why, only just now I saw a sardine-opener on the kitchen dresser, quite distinctly; and everybody knows that means there are sardines about somewhere in the neighbourhood.’
That’s my kind of logic. Or illogic. Whatever.
Rat really shines in this chapter, both as a good friend [...]
Mole On Escapism
In Chapter Four of Wind in the Willows, Mole admires Badger’s underground home:
. . . he took the opportunity to tell Badger how comfortable and home-like it all felt to him. ‘Once well underground,’ he said, ‘you know exactly where you are. Nothing can happen to you, and nothing can get at you. You’re entirely [...]
It Would Take Too Long
Another quotation from Wind in the Willows, this one from Chapter Four. This is after Mole got lost in the dreaded Wild Wood, and was found by Rat. Now Mole and Rat are safe at Badger’s underground home, eating and talking:
. . . it was that regrettable sort of conversation that results from talking with [...]
Ratty and the Unimpressed Ducks
In Chapter Two of Wind in the Willows, Ratty makes up a silly song about some ducks he is watching. I like how the ducks respond:
Why can’t fellows be allowed to do what they like when they like and as they like, instead of other fellows sitting on banks and watching them all the time [...]
Mixed Up With Beauty
I just opened up a cheap paperback copy of The Wind in the Willows to find an introduction written by A. A. Milne, the guy who wrote the Winnie the Pooh books! The introduction’s first paragraph was so cool/funny that I just had to post it here:
To the moderately well-read person Kenneth Grahame is known [...]