200 Books

Democracy in America by Alexis De Tocqueville Page: 107

Fairy Tales by The Brothers Grimm Page: 314

I just started De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America today and within the first few pages I was struck by how oddly dated it felt after reading the incomparably older Confessions. Certainly the contemporary references enhance the political study in a way that similar references would disrupt a religious work but still I find it striking that a 1600 year-old work seems more youthful than a less than 200 year-old work. (I know that the Everyman’s The Confessions is a recent translation and thus the English used is contemporary while the Everyman’s Democracy is based on an 1800′s translation but to someone who grew up on the language of the Authorized Version of the Bible and has been reading the literature of the 1800′s since she could read I don’t think this is the source of the impression.) Anyway, I think that Democracy in America goes down as the first book I’ve disliked. Herodotus was slow going and a bit dry while the short stories of Roald Dahl were weird and disconcerting to read in the middle of the night. But as I’ve mentioned before I don’t care about politics and this is a book on a particular political system and it’s a panegyric to America in the 1800′s and I just don’t care. It’s not too hard to read, fortunately, but I’m not enjoying it and I don’t think I’m going to.

As I was finishing The Confessions yesterday I started thinking about the enjoyment I’m getting from this project. First of all I’m very glad that I’m doing this. If I didn’t have the sense of accomplishment that comes from each day’s completed blog post and each finished book I don’t know how I’d endure the endless round of laundry, dirty diapers, dishes and the twice daily task of loading both kids and all their and my, crap into and out of the Element. But part of me feels like the pleasure I’m getting out of the reading has almost as much to do with the satisfaction of finishing a book as it does with the actual reading of the text. And as purist I should only care for the joy of perusing the written word. Reading has always been a pleasure in and of itself for me, I love the act of reading apart from the information or entertainment taken in. The content of the text can add to or detract from the joy but I’ve never felt so keenly the joy of accomplishment taking over from the simple act of reading. I think I’m ok with it just because everyday pleasures are pretty rare in my daily life. I have to take them when and where they come. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not whining about my life but…I do have a lot of work and no time off other than when I’m actually sleeping and that is constantly interrupted. My average day looks something like this: I go to bed around 11, usually Jared or Quinn feeds Luc at midnight in which case I get to sleep until 3 or 3:30, when I get up to feed Luc (sometimes I read unless I’m so bleary I can’t) then I sleep till 6 or 6:30 when Luc wakes up again (often Jared takes this feeding unless it’s late enough that he has to get ready for work). Luc usually stays awake off and on until 7:30 and then Alex wakes up around 8 or so (sometimes I get an extra half-hour sleep in there). Then I try to time my shower so that Alex is still relaxed enough to drink his bottle and not move while I can’t chase him and Luc is asleep enough that he won’t cry the whole time. Then I feed Luc around 9, dress myself and Alex, try to remember to put on mascara (the only make-up I wear) and earrings and get my purse, any deposits for Veritas, the diaper bag including changes of clothes for both boys, my books and food for all four of us ready to go. Then I start Element, get Luc into his seat, and start loading the bags then Alex and then Luc in. Then we drive to Veritas stopping at the bank, Cash & Carry, or Great Harvest as necessary. Then I pull in and unload starting with the bags and ending with Alex and then I carry everyone/thing upstairs. Then I play with Alex awhile, check email, update any online book orders I’ve received, package said orders, send in our daily order to Le Cafe, answer the phone and try to drink a latte. Alex usually goes down for a nap around 11:30 and then Luc is ready to eat again at noon. I often get to read between Alex sleeping and Luc eating and then between Luc eating and Alex waking up. When Alex gets up he eats lunch, usually downstairs because Jared arrives between 12:30 and 1 so I want to visit and Alex loves to play with him. The afternoon can go any of a dozen ways, sometimes Luc is wakeful and fussy, sometimes wakeful and content, Alex is often needing attention but sometimes content to play by himself until he naps again around 4. Luc eats at 3 and sometimes I trade with Jared and he plays with the boys and watches the bookstore while I read and watch the coffeehouse. Of course the foot traffic through the bookstore changes everything too. I usually get plenty of reading in during the afternoon/evening and don’t head home until Alex is really tired around 7:30 or 8. Then the whole loading/unloading thing happens again, except that I have Jared’s help loading. When I get home I try to work on my blog post which I may have started drafting during the day, but I’m always interrupted by Alex, Luc, laundry, dishes and housework that won’t stop calling my name (just tonight I’ve picked Alex up a dozen times, told him no for touching the keyboard, chased him up the stairs, put up the gate, started a load of laundry, etc…). At 9 Luc eats by which time I like to have Alex in his pajamas and bathed (every other night) then Alex goes to bed around 9:30 right after Jared gets home and hugs him. If Luc falls back to sleep after his 9 o’clock feeding then we might go to bed early but usually he stays awake so we sit up together and read or watch a Scrubs episode on DVD. Every once in awhile we uncork a bottle of red wine and have it with some chocolate or we dip into the ice cream but usually it’s just a snack for Jared and then to bed around 11 unless I stay up with Luc.

WOW! I didn’t mean to type all that out but once I got started I didn’t find a good stopping place. Oh well, now you can see why I’m not punishing myself for enjoying the sense of accomplishment that comes with completing a book. Gotta go feed Luc…

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 30th, 2008 at 9:00 pm and is filed under Alexander Douglas, Books as Objects, Home, Lucius Colby, Philosophy, History and Religion, Veritas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.