When I received my copy of Everything is Miscellaneous I decided to dip into it here and there to enjoy the prose in little chunklets. What kind of a narrative would it be to have that title yet require a strictly linear reading? Later I turned over a new leaf as it were, and began to read the book from beginning to end. It’s disconcerting to run into favorite passages and have that deja vu, sometimes twice removed, because of course not only might I have read the passage a few days ago, but also these ideas have been brewing at JOHO for a few years so I might have read them there.
I made the mistake of reading some of the reviews. It’s a mistake because I plan to write one myself and now my range for originality has been limited. I saw Shelley’s disagreement and thought it natural that the loosely joined guy and the more — well — tightly wound woman wouldn’t see eye to eye. I saw Susan’s gracious encomium and wished that I myself had the charm to project such sweet sincerity.
A friend sent a note saying some of the discussion reminded her of Simon Winchester’s book about the madman and the OED. A few pages later (page 136 in fact) a reference to the fellow turned up. Everything is Serendiptitous.
My review is coming.
[tags]David Weinberger, Heidegger’s Hammer, Everythingismiscellaneous, everything is miscellaneous, computers are so literal minded they can’t see those last two tags are the same, yet, welcome to Pen Island[/tags]
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