Category Archives: Books

The chief danger to freedom of thought

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“The chief danger to freedom of thought and speech at this moment is not the direct interference of … any official body. If publishers and editors exert themselves to keep certain topics out of print, it is not because they are frightened of prosecution but because they are frightened of public opinion. In this country intellectual cowardice is the worst enemy a writer or journalist has to face. … The sinister fact about literary censorship in England is that it is largely voluntary.”

— George Orwell (via Brain Pickings)

People who don’t read books

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I encounter far more people who rarely/never read a book, than those read regularly. The stats below seem to support my anecdotal findings.

  • 50% – U.S. adults who are unable to read an 8th grade level book
  • 33% – U.S. high school graduates who will never read a book after high school
  • 42% – College students who will never read another book after they graduate
  • 80% – U.S. families who did not buy a book this year
  • 70% – Adults that have not been in a book store in the past 5 years
  • 57% – Books started that aren’t read to completion

I found these at statisticbrain.com. The post gives the source for these stats as something called Read Faster, Reading Stats and and “Research Date: of April 28, 2013. I confess these are hard for me to believe so if anyone can call bullshit (with sources), please do. Now, here’s my nasty little secret:

I feel a little… superior… to people who don’t read books. I know I shouldn’t but an informed opinion just somehow seems more… valid?

Going Clear

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Going Clear grabbed and held (and disturbed) me as few (non-fiction) books have. “Couldn’t put it down” is usually a cliche, but…

Reading this incredible story is as close to being in a cult as I’m ever likely to be. For my money, Scientology is far more frightening (and dangerous) than the Taliban.

Tom Cruise figured prominently in the second half of the book so I had to go back and take one more look at this video.

Rebirth

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“You are lounging on a magnificent balcony open to the starry sky, divine music is playing with such exquisite perfection you can hardly stand it, when all of a sudden something terrible occurs: the magical sounds break up into an obscene cacophony. What is happening? Are you dying? You could put it that way. That awful noise is the first scream of an infant: you. You have been born into a human body hardwired with each and every transgression from the last time around, and now you must spend the next seventy years clawing your way back to the music. No wonder we cry.”

— Bangkok Tattoo by John Burdett

Who wants to die for a supermarket

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“The greatest weakness of the West is that it has nothing with which to inspire loyalty except wealth. But what is wealth? Another washing machine, a bigger car, a nicer house to live in? Not much to feed the spirit in all that. What is the West but a gigantic supermarket? And who really wants to die for a supermarket?”

— Bangkok Tattoo by John Burdett