I am beginning to think I may have read too many books. I really have a lot of books, and I have read most of them, too! The picture above shows only one small part of the books I have shelved in my home office. The front room is dominated by a bookshelf that takes up the whole wall, floor to ceiling, and that extends into the entryway. The dining room is pretty much defined by the floor to ceiling bookshelf there. So is the bedroom. That bedroom is all books, floor to ceiling, on all the available walls! My wife is afraid of being buried by books, as she sleeps, when the next big earthquake hits. Well, we're all going to die one way or another. I have figured that one out, so I haven't been as sympathetic as I probably should be.
Plus, there are lots of other books, lying around.
Since I definitely believe that "thinking about it" is not a strategy, and with an ever greater appreciation of the limited time we actually have to do things, I am finding myself wondering: With so many things I ought to be doing, why have I spent so much time reading books?
By the way, as an indication that when I "read" a book I mutilate it, I am providing a picture (below) of a couple of pages of On Revolution, by Hannah Arendt. I donated a lot of paperwork to the UCSC library when I retired from the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors (220 linear feet and 165 cartons). The library was glad to get that stuff, too. But who is going to want any book that looks like the photo below? Probably no one. Put them out on the sidewalk, and see if anyone will take them!
Since July 4th, our national holiday, has been on my mind, I figure that it's time-appropriate to advertise On Revolution. I am thinking about how we ought to be doing something along those lines!
If I can figure something out, maybe I'll write a book!
Gary A. Patton Personal Photographs
You should make a goodreads.com account.
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