One use of the word ‘evolution’ that I heartily agree with is to describe the process of personality growth. On a continuum we seem to metamorphize, changing from habit to habit, with the occasional cataclysmic shift, into the person we now find ourselves.
I was once an omnivorous voracious reader. I find that tastes and willingness to allot time have influenced my interest. I now often use my reading time to compensate for skills training – thus the never-ending stream of non-fiction books in the do-it-yourself category.
But some interests simply lie dormant waiting for a spark of intrigue to trigger them. A few new reads, reviewed in the local paper, pique my appetite.
One, always on the list of subjects, concerns friendship, truth, and beauty. The title, in fact, is “Truth & Beauty“. The other, also perenially fascinating, is linguistics and why language matters,
“Going Nucular: Language,Politics, and Culture in Confrontational Times“.
Books that promise to warm the cockles of my heart, or more accurately- fuel the synapses of my brain. Which sorely needs refueling of late. And what about these two particular books?
In “Truth & Beauty”, the idea that friendships have a category of the ‘tortoise and hare’ or ‘ant and grasshopper’ finding each other intrigues me. It makes me wonder whether friendships based upon such dynamics die off when one of the partners changes…. or evolves in personality? Do we scramble to find new adjustments to the climate of our relationships?
I’d like to read what author Ann Patchett has to say.
And then , that second book: what a title, eh? It is no little draw that the author is described as having clear focus once he “evokes Orwell” ( words of reviewer, Rich Elias). I still hold to thoughts formed early on from reading Orwell. Perhaps much of my picyune emphasis on the importance of word definition and use derives from Orwell’s prophetic illustrations.
Or maybe it just mixed well with where I was going as a person. The chicken or the egg… you know how it goes.
But sometimes that doesn’t matter so much as the mechanics of how it works. And sometimes that is the best use of science and our volumes of knowledge, and sometimes it is just the enjoyment of the journey.
Not very religious thoughts for this Sunday morning, I guess, but give me a little time and I bet I could draw in the strings. First though, I would love to lay hands on those books and see what they have to say.
And as for beetles? ‘With beetled brow, I range from thought to thought’, how’s that?