I’m your intellectual superior!

Books are good on many levels. Some have pretty pictures. Some have stories that keep us amused for hours – this can be especially useful on say the four hour flight from Denver to Dulles. Some books can be used to kill bugs, although I personally prefer a good shot of Clorox Tub & Tile cleaner for that purpose. Then there are the intellectual books. These are the ones that you put on your bookshelf to impress your friends, or read while conspicuously occupying the corner table in your favorite coffee shop. These are the books that shout “Hey look at me, I’m your intellectual superior!” Okay technically I suppose I am the one doing the shouting, but I swear the book make me do it.

What prompted this penetrating look into the literary world you ask? Simple – I recently rediscovered the library. In a (mostly unsuccessful) attempt to get more work done I have been looking for places to work outside of my home, and this search led me to the library. Although I have indeed completed small quantities of work as a result, the bigger success lies in the fact that I have once again begun to check out books and music. Don’t get me wrong, I am a voracious reader and at any given time I am in the middle of several books - I just haven't been to the library in a long time. I have to say that the variety and convenience (i.e. the fact that books are free) of the library is um, good.

Now to tie this whole book thing together in relation to my blog. One of the things that I gleamed from the few blogs that I read is that any good blog has book reviews. Not just any book either, no Hardy Boys Case Files here. No, a good blog book review should be the online equivalent of sitting in a coffee shop with your intellect held high for the world to see. Yeah. So the thing is I dislike writing about theory. Hate it actually, always have. I have absolutely no interest in delving into a characters psyche. What’s this – the story is actually a retelling of a Christian fable with a modern day twist? That’s great, love the way the author did that thing where he wrote stuff. I just don’t want to write about it myself. So here is my condensed intellectual book review. Life of Pi – interesting read, loved the ending. Shopgirl - interesting look at relationships and um, shopping. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance – this one makes my head hurt, which means by definition it has to be amazing.

I think that satisfy the book review requirements for a while. I hope it does at least because I have once again reverted to pulp fiction/"airport reads", and those aren’t nearly intellectual enough to post on a blog. After all someone might read this thing.

“Hey look at me, I’m your intellectual superior!”