This is an excellent overview (published in The Times Online) of Pierre Bayard’s essay “How to Discuss Books One Hasn’t Read.” He mentions the stigma attached to “skimming” or “speed-reading” in supposed “academic” circles:

For example, “it would be almost unthinkable for professors of literature to admit – what is after all true for most of them – that they have merely skimmed Proust’s work”.

I would like, in the interest of full disclosure, to admit that I skimmed Proust in college. Load off my chest. Anyway, if anyone can track down a translated copy of “Paradoxe” (or could translate the French; anyone speak French?) I would love to read the full text.

The final quotation in the overview is the reason I bring it to your attention:

“in order to . . . talk without shame about books we haven’t read, we should rid ourselves of the oppressive image of a flawless cultural grounding, transmitted and imposed [on us] by the family and by educational institutions, an image which we try all our lives in vain to match up to. For truth in the eyes of others matters less than being true to ourselves, and this truth is only accessible to those who liberate themselves from the constraining need to appear cultured, which both tyrannizes us and prevents us from being ourselves.”

This is important to remember. If you are forever forced to read things that you don’t want to read, discuss topics that you have no interest in, these pastimes can become a chore. I have littered the reading list for this class with words like “suggested” and “possible” because I want you to read things that are interesting to you. The discussions will be richer, and the class will be better if you bring in things you are currently reading. That being said, if I do say, “Hey guys, take a look at this,” keep an open mind. Maybe the reading will become a new interest. We never know.

This hilarious article from the Washington Post gives a possible explanation of our compulsion to exclaim “five second rule!” before eating any dropped food. Don’t look at me like that. You know you do it too.

http://www.wikipedia.org/ Do not use this as a source for your papers in this class or any other. You can, however, wiki a topic and then follow the “References” or “External” links at the bottom of the page for more accurate sources. As always, be skeptical of anything you find on the internet. For example: http://www.ufocasebook.com/. (If I have offended any of you by claiming that aliens have never contacted Earth, please let me know. If you can convince me that anyone, anywhere has made contact with a sentient, extra-terrestrial being, I will make a public apology.)

www.aldaily.com This is an excellent source for news articles, essays, and book reviews. Search “Trashing Teens” to get started.

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/ Has pop-ups. Sorry. Check out some of Kennedy’s speeches; they have pictures. Neat.

http://www.nytimes.com/ I suggest becoming a member of this site. The cartoons are excellent, and membership is free.

http://starbucksgossip.typepad.com/ “Monitoring America’s Favorite Drug Dealer”

www.theonion.com “America’s Favorite [Satirical] News Source”

www.npr.org Everyone’s favorite yuppy radio station, now searchable

www.slate.com Great news source; this is my homepage. They have a weekly (or so) slideshow about an artist or art movement.

www.cagle.com Amazing collection of political cartoons. I think this is a sister site to Slate.

http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html This is a collection of “Common Errors in English.” I do not expect anyone to remember them all, but I find it helpful when I can’t remember the difference between two phrases (E.g. “compare to” and “compare with”).

http://englishplus.com/grammar/contents.htm A smaller list of errors, but with a handy layout for finding what you need.

http://www.tulsalibrary.org/ Go there. They have free books. It’s like stealing books, but you have to eventually return them, but your mom doesn’t make you apologize. But then they let you get some more. Actually, it isn’t like stealing at all. Stealing is bad; books are good. Therefore, stealing books is neutral, morally. [See "syllogistic fallacy" in next link.]

http://www.fallacyfiles.org/ We will be doing a unit on fallacious arguments later in the year. Even though “Because I’m your parent” is not strictly a logical argument (this would be an ethical one), be nice to your parent. He or she is a person too. One who knows you better than anyone (really) and still loves you. This is rare.

http://www.refdesk.com/ This is a very ugly site, but extremely helpful.

http://www.soyouwanna.com/ Information on how to become a vegan, how to give a wedding speech, and how to eat soup, among other things. Cool if you’re bored but want to rationalize wasting time by learning random things.

http://www.instructables.com/ This site is like YouTube without lonelygirl15. This is a positive thing. Again, good time-waster, but you can learn how to build a bookshelf or make a cd case. Good times.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/ Keep up on the latest slang, written by those with an Internet connection and too much free time. Wiki warnings apply.

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php Because sometimes you just need to know.

http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/ Use for quotations from classic novels. Don’t read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn on the computer. Bad for the heart. Really.

http://www.allmusic.com/ For all your music questions. It even lists album moods! Amazing.

1. Blankets by Craig Thompson
2. Slaughterhouse Five because he was the greatest American author ever. Ever.
3. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
4. Strunk & White (I had a copy of this for two years in college before I opened it.)
5. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers because it is, and I hate the author a little bit for it.
6. The Brothers Karamazov because it is incredible. Really. Get the Volokhonsky trans.
7. Oryx and Crake and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
8. Man Gone Down by Michael Thomas
9. The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to New York City We used the Frommer’s New York City from $90 a Day, but it doesn’t have cool stuff like Madison Ave. trash pickup dates and times.
10. A Moleskine notebook. Okay, doesn’t count as a book, but this is a must have, especially for people with phony majors like I had. You never know when you’ll be inspired to write something about a book you are reading, an interaction you just witnessed, a song you just heard. Plus, there’s a pocket in the back! I never use the pocket unless I want to lose something. Hey! There they are! I knew I bought stamps the other day…

These are bare necessities. This is not a list of my favorite books, because why would anyone want to know that? Besides, maybe a book I’ve never read is my favorite. Then my list would be incorrect. There are strict regulations that state, “Nothing innaccurate or incorrect should ever appear on a website.” Really. I heard about it.

I am watching The Last King of Scotland, and it has me thinking. First, the adaptation of “Me and Bobby McGee” kind of freaked me out. More than that, though, I had the following conversation with myself while dishing ice cream (chocolate chip, thanks for asking):

Me: “I can’t believe how easily both the president and his physician are corrupted by power.”
Me 2: “But the president was raised by the British military. This life is all he knows, and the British are not known for their diplomacy regarding other races.”
Me: “What does that have to do with the president’s actions? Can he not see that his brutality is wrong? How is it that the Scottish doctor is able to slough off the advances of the British official’s words of imperialism and control?
Me 2: “The Scottish dislike the British. Great Britain ruled Scotland for many years. Haven’t you seen Braveheart?”
[I didn't actually say that, but the sentiment was there.]

Me: “But what about free will? Is it impossible to think that the president would see the wrongs of his actions?”

Me 2: “This has nothing to do with free will. People don’t spontaneously decide to change their actions. It is not about ‘doing what’s right,’ but about following the associations one has made in light of previous occurrences. This is the root of all human actions. In reality, no one would walk away from Omelas.”

Me: “What?”

Me 2: “I dunno. Something we read in college. My point is that people act as they have been raised to act. That does not mean that they cannot change, and that some influences don’t weigh heavier on a person’s decisions than others. It just means that a person does not spontaneously do anything. It is all in light of previous actions and interactions with others.”

Me: “There is nothing new under the sun.”

Me 2: “Possibly, but what is cool about this is the fact that novel actions come from the synthesis of associations.”
[Note: I have paused the movie, so I'm not sure how it is going to end, but I assume things are not going to go well for the king erm, president who "knows when he will die." That never works out to one's benefit.]

Me: “This is a massive bowl of ice cream. How long have we been scooping? Why not just eat from the tub?”

Me 2: “Nevermind. My point is that if the president is ever going to be able to help his people it will be through the impact of the Scottish doctor. As a Scot he has heard of oppression, if not felt it (being wealthy, I believe). This could affect the president, but his training and such with the British military will not just roll over during one conversation. This is his life. It is all he knows. Unless his faith in the Scot is very powerful, he will not change. Both men believe they are doing the morally right thing, despite the fact that the king isn’t thinking too hard about it.”

Me: “I see. Wanna finish the movie?”

Me 2: “Better.”