Indulgence

open book, turn the page, read between the lines

from my Dad
Bertrand Russel, when asked if he would be willing to die for his beliefs, replied, "Of course not! I may be wrong."

Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart is a nice book; quite insightful of things African which I never really knew. It reminds me of wanting to go to South Africa to see a world so different from what I know. South Africa, just the very mention of the word inspires me to wonder and to think of something so exotic. The Dutch colonization has given the country its fair share of tall, white, blonde-blue eyed populace as well as the black race. They speak Afrikaans as their main language but they also cultivated English (from what I read). A mixture of European trade culture (very Danish) and the super-natural beliefs of the Africans. There are a lot of African beliefs in Things Fall Apart which is very interesting to me. I love stories that are strongly influenced by mythology.

I read a short story of Chinua Achebe when I was studying fiction under Connie Maraan. It was The Sacrificial Egg and it was very good. I ended up teaching it in World Literature and had a great discussion about it with my class.

I'm really glad to be back to reading again. I don't really get that much fun from going out nowadays. If I do, I really just want to be able to see my friends and actually have a chat. If the conversation starts to break down, I'd rather say "Well, it was great seeing again, let's do this again, okay?" and then excuse myself, go home and read a couple more chapters of the book I'm currently reading.

Though, last night, I found myself going crazy dancing to the Black Eyed Peas' Don't Phunk with my Heart and yeah, I have to admit, I miss losing control on the dance floor and just giving in to the music. But then; I don't find myself wanting to do it too often anymore. Which is a good thing, really, because I get to spend less. And I should really learn to spend less.

When I finish with Things Fall Apart, I'm hoping to start on His Dark Materials which is suppose to be an intriguing book. At least, in this way, I can see my immediate future ahead of me.

posted by wanggo @ 2:04 PM