Why blog?

There are probably a lot of blogs out there about reading, so why add another one? I guess I like the idea of a semi-public forum in which to express my thoughts about what I am reading. While it is probable that no one will read this, there is the off chance that someone will, which adds a certain anxiety to the process. Effective writing can't occur in vacuum, so anxiety is important, like baking soda or yeast when baking, it adds a certain frisson. That's one reason to blog. I'm not sure why others blog. Another reason is a favorite quote of mine by Francis Bacon, "Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man and writing an exact man." If you think of reading as a vocation, then it seems important to have the discipline to write about what you are reading, to process it, and not just consume one book after another. Life has to be more than appetite.

So, to jump right in, here is what I am currently reading:

The Proud Tower, by Barbara Tuchman
Herzog, by Saul Bellow
The New New Journalism, by Robert S. Boynton
A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson

Books on list to read next are:

Harry Potter VI, by J. K. Rowling
My Name is Asher Lev, by Chaim Potok
The new Nevada Barr mystery (Hard Truth?)

I am listening to a book on tape as well, Truman, by David McCullough