It's A Mystery
I just re-discovered my Posterous account, and I wanted to make sure it worked. So, let this be a bit of extemporaneous practice.I've been reading a book from Neal Stephenson, his latest: Anathem. It's actually really, really good. However, I just realized I've been reading it literally for weeks. Long gaps of time go between putting the book down and picking it up again. I've actually felt a bit guilty about this, to be honest.. like any average book-reader, I should be able to finish a book, even one as big as this one, at least over a weekend.
But something has changed. Perhaps that something is my increased involvement with the internet and social media and blogging. Maybe reading hundreds of new blog posts, CNN news articles, and other online media all day has atrophied my ability to curl up and really get my head into a novel for any length of time. I find myself more and more, as I get older, reading a few pages before turning in for the night.
In a way, this saddens me. I don't want to lose the ability to really quaff deep from the wellspring of my favorite author's words. I've never been one to read a book in an afternoon (well maybe an easy book) but I would like to say, yes, the Internet has only made me more of a voracious reader. It has only strengthened my ability.
So this book, it's a challenge to me in more ways than just the fact that it is big, and involved, and fairly complex. It also is me telling myself that this type of medium is better than reading online, in some ways. It's more stimulating, mentally. And it feels good.
