"Read
books are far less valuable than unread ones," quoted Nassim Nicholas Taleb of
Umberto Ecos antilibrary:
“You will accumulate more knowledge and more
books as you
grow older,
and
the growing number of unread books on the shelves will look at you menacingly.
Indeed, the more you know, the larger the rows of unread books. Let us call
this
collection of unread books an antilibrary.”
"Father” wrote Faulkner in The Sound
and the Fury “said it used to be a
gentleman was
known by his books; nowadays he is known by the ones he hasn’t
returned."
A
passing reference to Samuel Smiles, Scottish author and reformer, who in
Self-Help
(1859) wrote "A man may usually be known by the books he reads
as well as by the
company he keeps; for there is a companionship of books as
well as of men; and one
should always live in the best company, whether it be
of books or men."
So
where in these jugglings am I supposed to find the makings of the man I want to
be
A
Read or Unread man
his
voice trailed off as he turned the page
then
then
-- Time for bed son
-- Really
Youre
really gonna leave me with those soundbites rattling around in my head
when
Im supposed to be going to sleep
hed
laid the book down spreadeagle letting gravity holds its place for them
he enjoyed getting
something for nothing betraying the old
adage
There aint no such thing as a free lunch
and unless
an earthshake quakes it free
itd be laying there tomorrow evening so they
could pick up where they left off
exactly where he intended to leave his son
this evening
exactly when he left his daughters
after horrifying bouts with Stephen Kings short stories
then
leaving their closet door swung wide open
like
an unsatisfied maw
Really they said
-- Yeah really son
Itll
keep till tomorrow
-- Gee dad
Im
wired
-- Cut the wires or dance in them for a bit before the
puppetmaster comes and cuts yours
Silent
percolating is good for the antisoul
his
old man couldnt help himself whatever
was pitched at him he tossed back its anti
Too
many people he argued glommed onto the uPside of things without paying
a little attention or none to its Downside
the fine fine print in font too small to read fashioned
instigated
to cause eyestrain exhaustion just by thinking
about reading it through glass
and
therein lay its Truth and Promise
so
he ran the opposite tact an immediate
lavish and indecently vulgar skepticism
which he argued was also the closest thing to religion any adult
should genuflect before
but
no bowing ones head
it
left the neck too exposed to a concealed headsman
Cut
the wires or dance in them for a bit before the puppetmaster comes and cuts
your strings
Wait
for it
-- Good night son
I
love you
-- Gnight dad
I
love you too
he
supposed there was a lesson in there somewhere for him to ferret out and tuck
away
for later in his life when he “blew this popstand!”
his dad was always blowing it
he
was rarely rash
rarely
did anything kneejerk
when
he asked him what kneejerk meant his dad told him to sit down on a kitchen
chair
and hed be right back
-- Where ya going dad
-- Im going to fetch my ball and peen hammer
-- For what
at
a distance his voice receding pedaling
downstairs into the basement
-- To slam your knee with
my
knee
-- My knee!
he
heard something replied an inchoate
mumble
-- MY KNEE!!!
-- GOT IT!!
-- MY KNEE!!!
-- GOT IT!!
YEAH!!
YOUR
KNEE!
-- WHAT ABOUT MY KNEE!!!
-- What are you yelling about
What
about your knee
-- Are you gonna hit my knee with a ball and peen
hammer
-- Yup
I
think youll learn better if I show you
entering
the kitchen
Whered
you go
all
that remained in the kitchen chair was a slight tremble
Hes
got it
Thats a kneejerk reaction
1555,
Friday, 28 11. 14
