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Friday, May 29, 2009

Book Smart?

Hi and welcome to Book Smart in DC! I wrote the following post when I was a little 18-year-old sophomore in college with too much time on my hands and not a whole lot to say.

At the time I had the dream of making a whole blog about book recommendations. But then I realized that:

1. I haven't read as many books as I thought I had. Plus reading a lot of books is hardly original.

2. People can get book recommendations from plenty of other sources besides me.

3. There are so many topics I would rather write about than book recommendations.

Now I read back on my original first post and I kinda cringe. I was just so young and trying way too hard. So I added this little disclaimer on top of it.

I'm still "book smart" in the sense that I'm kinda out of the loop. Somehow I always seem to be the last to find out about big news events, the latest technology or a new movie or TV show. But I don't think I would have picked this blog name if I were making this blog now. At this point, though, it's my url and I'm stickin' to it.

Welcome.

The original first post:

I love reading. I can analyze the central themes of any Shakesperean play and discuss the problem of justice in Plato's major works. I've read almost every Newbery Medal-winning book and I've taken the Journey of the Mind to God.

But I can't read a map.

I also can't dance without looking silly and I'm terrified whenever I meet new people. I'm book-smart, not street-smart. I'm trying to pick up more street smarts by stepping out of my comfort zone and trying new things, even when they scare me. I'll talk about some of those adventures in this blog. Mostly, though, this blog is about books.

I am madly in love with books. I love the way they feel, their cool spines against my hand and the way their pages rustle when you thumb through them. I love how they smell; sometimes fresh and full of promise, or sometimes the musty sureness of ancient wisdom. And as for what's inside of them- well.

If you have ever wept over a fictional character, if you have read books under your desk in school or meetings, if you have skipped meals and lost sleep just so you could finish a story, then I don't need to tell you that literature is the closest we can come to enchantment. That's what this blog is about. I am bewitched by books, by the infinite words on countless pages and the stories they tell.

I want to share the magic I feel so that you, dear reader, will find books you love and become bewitched as well.

1 comment:

  1. As a Fellow lover of books I appreciate your effort!

    ReplyDelete