Time loops Archives - Bob on Books

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One Hundred Pages a Day

I found myself chuckling while reading Matthew Walther’s “The Hundred Page Strategy.” Partly to keep up with my review schedule on the blog, I read more than that. Every day. I say that not as a point of pride. There was a time when I would not have thought Walther’s goal possible. Now I can say that it is and he offers good suggestions for those of us who want to read more.

Some are simple, like put the smartphone in a drawer. Some are sensible–don’t try to read nothing but heavy, dense books. He reads at times when other people are either sleeping or otherwise engaged. And he carries a book wherever he goes.

There’s nothing special about one hundred pages. His adherence to this goal felt a bit slavish to me. But his recognition of the ways to make space for reading, for doing something one wants to do more of, is laudable. And a stretch goal does help one become ruthless in eliminating what I would call “voluntary distractions” –the ones we choose that fritter away time.

For some, a goal of reading 30-40 pages a day might be more reasonable. You can finish most average size books in about a week. If you’ve wondered how some people read a book a week, this is how.

But the real deal is not how many pages or books we get through but what gets through to us from them. Maybe it is engaging a diverting plot. Or it could be a piece of social analysis of an issue that matters to you. And Walther’s tips can be helpful, no matter how many pages you read and no matter how consistent you are. Read on, friends!

Five Articles Worth Reading

Since I’ve piqued your interest, here’s Matt Walther’s “The Hundred Page Strategy.”

Nikki Giovanni died this week, at age 81. Veronica writes an appraisal of her work for The New York Times, exploring in “When Nikki Giovanni Was Young, Brilliant and Unafraid” how she maintained her vitality and focus over sixty years.

Rhian Sasseen reviews a new series by Solvej Balle that explores the concept of time through a character caught in a time loop in which she wakes up to November 18 every morning after going to bed on November 18 every night. Sassen’s review, “A Novel That Disrupts a Fundamental Law of the Universe,” appears online at The Atlantic.

“Sci-Fi Writer Arthur C. Clarke Predicted the Rise of Artificial Intelligence & the Existential Questions We Would Need to Answer (1978)” reprises a 1978 NOVA special including interviews with Clark and other luminaries in the history of AI. And yes, the questions we are asking now were being asked over 45 years ago.

in “American Literature and the Liberal Way of Life,” Scott M. Reznick proposes that American literature, particularly from the nineteenth century, is an important resource as we engage our politically fraught landscape.

Quote of the Week

Gustave Flaubert, born December 12, 1821, made this succinct statement for all who pursue success to consider:

“Success is a consequence and must not be a goal.”

Miscellaneous Musings

I’m totally going science geek on William Panek’s Pillars of Creation on the Webb telescope. It’s changing our understanding of the universe (and even our own solar system) as it allows us to see further back in time.

I spent one of the most wonderful hours of my life interviewing Matthew Levering a few years ago. He is a Catholic theologian at Mundelein Seminary, and my one overpowering impression was of sitting with a man who deeply loves the Triune God. It was a conversation where I felt I was beholding wonder and beauty. I just began reading his new, Why I Am Roman Catholic and felt like I was back in that interview. I posted an edited transcript of the interview in two parts: One and Two.

I’ve been reading Maigret and the Wine Merchant by Georges Simenon. The wine merchant, who is the murder victim, is a despicable man, a misogynistic womanizer who used his sexual prowess and business power to humiliate men as well as use women. Yet for Maigret, a human life has been taken, a fundamental rent in the fabric of society. I’m deeply disturbed at the valorization of the alleged killer of United Health Care’s CEO. I’m troubled by UHC’s business practices and believe them unjust. But they do not warrant this vigilante justice. And if we valorize it, there will be more such incidents, and over far more petty grievances. And where will it stop?