The new year has begun and if I had great plans for being efficient, together, working hard and not sloughing off important tasks I would have failed. Fortunately no such resolutions were made, although I do intend to spend a little more time on the exercise bike, accompanied by books of course.
In fact reading seems to be the main accomplishment of the year so far. I sneak off to a quiet corner whenever possible to lose myself in someone’s prose and it is a quite enjoyable habit, one I have never managed to quite outgrow.
I have finished:
Musicophilia which was interesting and entertaining. Like most of Sacks’ books, it revolves around numerous case studies, each illuminating different points, pathologies, or aspects of how the human mind approaches and understands, or fails to understand music. In that sense it was a quick read because it was easily picked up on a whim and just as easily abandoned.
Do not think this is a criticism of the book. I enjoyed it and it has made me reconsider many of my thoughts and preconceived notions about how we as humans process and approach our sensory input. Sacks has a way of giving us just enough information to lead us to reflect on what we have read, pointing us in a particular direction perhaps, but leaving the reader to ponder implications not previously considered.
In fact the book has reminded me of my own discomfort at criticism — such a subjective analysis and prone to so many biases. I am reminded how my own judgment of a book or a musical performance can be highly influenced by my own expectations as well as my emotional or mental state. As humans are we ever so purely intellectual and neutral that we can make a purely rational judgment on facts alone? I aspire more to the summary view, something along the lines of "I read x and it made me think about y". As usual, for good or ill, well-written or total hack-job, I remain uninterested in anything that does not lead me on to ponder something, good or ill, complex or mundane.
I also read Phoebe Damrosch’s Service Included which was interesting because most of the books I have read about the restaurant world are written from the point of view of the chef and this is the first book I have read from the view of someone working in the front of the house. I found it interesting and entertaining. I would think anyone who likes to eat out and occasionally go out to high-end restaurants would find it interesting.
The person who passed it on to me expected it to be more of a titillating read, expecting more celebrity gossip and tales of the misbehaviors of the rich and famous. I frankly found the lack of the titillation factor to be a good point and as I said I enjoyed reading the book. It is not something that I will treasure for ages, I don’t suppose it is meant to be. But it was fun, entertaining, at times enlightening; at times it made me laugh and at other times I laughed at human foibles. I didn’t find it as gripping as the NY Times review seemed to intimate it might be, but I found to to be fun. And although I have never eaten Per Se, I have wanted to do so since it opened. Reading the book has only added spice to the dream, not dampened the anticipation.