active reading

i've started reading swann's way by marcel proust by making the mistake of reserving it as a bedtime read. when i'm working on a project, my day averages at 12 hours a day, leaving little time during the week for any leisure activity that requires intellectual effort. really, at the end of a work day, i just want to veg in front of the tv for about an hour and get my bills paid so i don't have to do it on the weekends. when the weekend rolls around, social engagements and mere exhaustion from the week leaves me little time and energy to motivate myself to attend to any intellectual pursuits.

yeah, these are all just excuses. maybe. but one sunday, i grabbed swann's way with me to read at a quiet college campus. it was that day, that i realize how much i had been missing out reading that book in a half-conscious state. to be able to focus on the book with minimal distraction, i remembered the pleasure of reading.

reading before going to bed is a must for me, even if it's just a page or two. otherwise, i don't think i would read very much. with most books, reading at this pace is not much of a problem, especially if they are plot driven. proust is just a little more difficult since it's a bit more in the style of stream of consciousness.

so in an effort be more of an active reader and stop squandering those precious moments with a book in bed, glazing over the words without extracting meaning from them, i'm devoting this blog to just random thoughts and quotes from my current nighttime read, like a shoebox of random notes. it's a commitment to pay attention.

anyway, here goes...