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Ending the Book Diet
November 13, 2013
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Bar Book
bar food
bar
festive friend
I have restricted my reading of books for the last year to three, Sacred Contracts by Carolyn Myss, How to Think Like Leonardo DaVinci by Michael Gelb, and Impact Equation by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith. This experiment was proposed by Brother Brogan about the time that he published Impact Equation. I went for the idea because I have always read voraciously but applied the information with much less vigor. I also have enrolled in a course to study the Sacred Contracts material which I find fascinating and endlessly useful. I read constantly this year, and did not really read the three books much at all after the first three or four months. By then all the other participants including Brother Brogan had all quit the program. I stuck it out because it served me. I found out there is such a thing as reading too many books. There is more to life than reading.
I have put more practical application and reflection into what I have read this year. I do not hurry or skip through anything that I read now, which is new. I have been a speed reader for 40 years, having studied at the public library where I went for lessons by Dick Cavett on video. Life is change. If I have spent all this untold time reading it seems I should be able to write. I should also be able to read contemplatively, a skill I have yet to acquire. As I allow myself to buy and read books once more I have a new perspective. I have discovered the U of A Poetry Center and my ancestor poet in it. I have been to a few poetry readings during this diet, which I liken to being driven by a chauffeur. The experience of a poetry reading includes everything about the ambiance and company. I plan to return to the Poetry Center for both the readings and to read in that amazing ambiance. I also plan to write poetry as a meditative practice. Most of all I plan to be strategic and particular about all my reading from now on. I think if there is a librarian at the pearly gates we will be asked to do book reports to show comprehension, not prove that we have been on a life long book binge.
Rather than yo-yo dieting, allowing myself to totally pig out at the library right out of the gate, I have purchased three practical and useful books beyond the poetry books I will read will super mindfulness. My recent purchase, The American Bar by Charles Shumann, is a huge hit, although I have not finished reading it. It was center stage last night when I created a signature cocktail for one of my guests. Now that I have a fresh start I do not plan to read every book in the library before I mix my first cocktail. Reading how-to books without doing any of the things about which one reads is probably pointless. I think the remedy was well timed and perfect for me. My name is Pamela Morse and I am a book-a holic. As a recovering reading addict I will allow myself to go to libraries, but no used book stores for now. I need to know that I can stay in control. So far, so good.
Library in the Sky and the 3BD
November 10, 2012
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Library St Gallen
When I recently visited a friend in New York who uses the internet, but not social media, I explained to her why I am a fan of both. I told her that I always liked physically hanging out in libraries, and now there is no need to go anywhere to do so. During the 3 years that I have done research on my family tree ancestry.com has constantly improved, providing a never-ending adventure into history with more data than anyone can handle. I am in tribes with many fun food bloggers who replace my cookbook habit with exciting new ideas. It is easier to find a zillion recipes by Google than it is to hunt in a physical library. The first of November I began a library fast that will last for a year. At first I freaked out and felt very attached to the liberal use of my public library as a primary need in my life. After a while I heard my own words come back to me as I encouraged my friend to experiment …”Now the library is all around us.”
The three book diet is the most ingenious of diets proposed by Chris Brogan to all within the sound of his voice ( digital power sphere). Such a clever little minx, he released a book and at the same time started a group dedicated to reading no more that three books all year. The idea is to saturate oneself and reflect on the content of the books rather than speed read and move to the next conquest. I already own all the books I have chosen, Chris’ Impact Equation having been zapped into the Kindle on the iPad the day it was released. I also have How to think Like Leonardo da Vinci on the ibooks in the iPad. The Sacred Contracts book came in the form of an audio CD, but I have since bought the hardback because it is useful for reference all the time. On my long drive next week I will listen to the Sacred Contract book again, just to be immersed. I think I shall also buy the Impact and Leonardo books on audio. I believe that hearing things is a different form of learning than reading, and hits the mind in a different way each time. I used to listen to the same Deepak Chopra book every time I worked out on the Pilates reformer. I have portions memorized to the point that they will never leave my brain. The audio version of Impact Equation will be out in a few weeks, and I will buy it to back up the written one.
I have met a few other participants on the twitter feed #3bd, the most interesting of whom is actually a librarian. I picture her in the middle of it all, and sticking to her diet. I may plan to go to the library in St Gallen, or some other fabulous old library at the end of my restriction year. I once went to see the one in St Gall, but found it closed for restoration when I visited. Who knows what kind of rebound this may cause. It looks like I am collecting my own little library by owning every format of my three books to start. This will be an interesting voyage. I can see the merits.
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