Reading list: I'm a hippie
"Peace of mind isn't at all superficial, really," I expound. "It's the whole thing. That which produces it is good maintenance; that which disturbs it is poor maintenance. What we call workability of the machine is just an objectification of this peace of mind. The ultimate test's always your own serenity. If you don't have this when you start and maintain it while you're working you're likely to build your personal problems right into the machine itself." - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An inquiry into values
This summer I'm reading Robert Persig's "Motorcycle Maintenance," David James Duncan's "The River Why" and Ray Bradbury's "Dandelion Wine." I expect a bunch of Richard Brautigan will be interspersed throughout.
I've read all of them who knows how many times; I think I've read "Dandelion Wine" every other year or so since I was 12, the same age as the main character, Doug. I especially like to read it at the turn of summer into fall, when the book is mostly set.
If you find me entertaining, you may want to pick up one of those. And yes, my taste in books is really that fucking lyrical. If that makes you want to draw a line connecting that with my own sincere-bordering-on-callow habits, well gee, aren't you smart. If it makes you feel better, my other favorites include darker stuff like "Catch-22" (Joseph Heller, yo!) and Lynda Barry's unbelievably good novel "Cruddy," but those don't really fit into the lyrical/philosophical theme.
PS When I wasn't looking, they made a movie out of "The River Why" and there's a $30 benefit screening in SF next Wednesday. If movies about fly-fishing and the search for God aren't really your thing, you should still go, because those aren't my thing either and "The River Why" is hands-down one of my favorite books, ever. Plus the revenue goes to a couple of "save the fish" and "save the trees" organizations.
This summer I'm reading Robert Persig's "Motorcycle Maintenance," David James Duncan's "The River Why" and Ray Bradbury's "Dandelion Wine." I expect a bunch of Richard Brautigan will be interspersed throughout.
I've read all of them who knows how many times; I think I've read "Dandelion Wine" every other year or so since I was 12, the same age as the main character, Doug. I especially like to read it at the turn of summer into fall, when the book is mostly set.
If you find me entertaining, you may want to pick up one of those. And yes, my taste in books is really that fucking lyrical. If that makes you want to draw a line connecting that with my own sincere-bordering-on-callow habits, well gee, aren't you smart. If it makes you feel better, my other favorites include darker stuff like "Catch-22" (Joseph Heller, yo!) and Lynda Barry's unbelievably good novel "Cruddy," but those don't really fit into the lyrical/philosophical theme.
PS When I wasn't looking, they made a movie out of "The River Why" and there's a $30 benefit screening in SF next Wednesday. If movies about fly-fishing and the search for God aren't really your thing, you should still go, because those aren't my thing either and "The River Why" is hands-down one of my favorite books, ever. Plus the revenue goes to a couple of "save the fish" and "save the trees" organizations.