I like to read. I read constantly. I wake up hours earlier than I need to every morning so I can read. I don't have cable so I can have more time to read. At night, I read to my wife in bed. After she's asleep, I grab my booklight and read some more. I really like to read.
And I will read nearly anything. It's not that it doesn't matter. It's more like there is so much to see and discover and I'm becoming more and more interested in all of it! The other night I learned some history of Java and Morocco! How often do you get to hear about that? This morning I was reading about what it was like to grow up Catholic in England in the late 1950's. Again, what a fascinating subject, but how often do you hear about something like that? So I read fiction, children's lit, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, poetry... I really love theology, biblical studies, and church books, but I try not to limit myself to blatantly Christian books (though I do read a fair amount of "heretical" stuff as well).
Of course, books aren't everything. I still enjoy my fair share of magazines, newspapers, and do not consider myself above reading a good comic book even.
So why do I read all of this craziness?
I feel a lot like Whitman, wanting to suck the marrow out of life. In Jared Diamond's book
Collapse he explains how societies who were on the verge of collapsing would break open the bones of the animals they ate so they could also consume the marrow inside the bones. This basically meant they were starving and needed every last bit of food possible. I think I'm starving for more as well. I want the "view from manywhere," to see the world both through my own eyes, but also through the eyes of as many people as possible. There is so much to be gained through the mad ramblings of Nietzsche, or the tedious scholarship of Jared Diamond, or the poetic visions of St John of the Cross. Why limit yourself to one subject and miss out on the musings of Clifford Geertz, the pessimistic optimism of Kurt Vonnegut, or the war ravaged mind of Tim O'Brien? I would love to slow down and savor every word of every one of my heroes, but there is to much to be gained for me to not currently choose bulk and obsession. I'm starving for more and am going for the marrow yet again.
Peace,
Matt
Currently Reading:
Father Joe by Tony Hendra,
Islam Observed by Clifford Geertz, and
Erring by Mark C. Taylor. In the last few days I also finished Nietzsche's
The Anti-Christ and
A Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut. Oh, and I read the newest issue of Mother Jones magazine, as well as three older editions of Rolling Stone (with some great interviews with Bob Dylan and Kurt Vonnegut, among others).
Last week I took part in a march right here in Bellingham celebrating the International Day of Peace. It was great to be a part of such a great group of people. I will say that it seemed a little more negative than last year's march, which involved more singing than chanting/yelling. It was still peaceful, but more in actions than words. Maybe all these years of Bush have had an even worse impact than I even realized, where the idealistic and hopeful are running out of both. Not that I'm very good at having either, but I like to borrow both from those who have them. May God give us hope, inspiration, and peace.
