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Go Dog Go: A compelling and disturbing look at the canine psyche

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One of my favorite childhood books was Go, Dog. Go! by P. D. Eastman. My dad read it to me often—I loved the ending, even though I knew what was coming every time—and, published in the early sixties, it was one of his childhood favorites as well.

So when I first saw South Park‘s illiterate cop Officer Barbrady do this book report on Go, Dog. Go!, it had me rolling. The rest of the book-centered episode is just as good, with Barbrady successfully learning to read but giving it up altogether upon completing Atlas Shrugged. But that’s a post for another day.

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She Dwelt among the Untrodden Ways

by William Wordsworth

She dwelt among the untrodden ways
Beside the springs of Dove.
A Maid whom there were none to praise
And very few to love;

A violet by a mossy stone
Half hidden from the eye!
—Fair as a star, when only one
Is shining in the sky.

She lived unknown, and few could know
When Lucy ceased to be;
But she is in her grave, and, oh,
The difference to me!

Why I underline and highlight in my books

Why I underline and highlight in my books

by Anne ♥ 2 Comments

I used to think that writing in books was sacrilege.

Then, freshman year of college, I was reading a copy of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson I had borrowed from my cousin when I came across a highlighted paragraph. “Why would you do that?” I asked her, scandalized.

“Because I might not read that book again, and this way I can remember the parts I liked,” she answered. I hadn’t thought of it like that, as a way to preserve your love of a book, rather than a sign of careless treatment of it. I changed my mind in about .02 seconds and I’ve been marking up my books ever since. (Never the library’s or any I borrow; I’m not an animal.)

It’s nice to grab a book from the shelf sometimes and page through, reading passages I’ve marked. It’s how I source a lot of the quotes for this blog. And even if I start by reading a few highlighted lines, I may get pulled in and wind up reading an entire page or two—or just decide to start over and read the whole book.

So, funnily enough, my intent in underlining and calling out passages to keep love of books and stories alive without having to read them again, often results in my reading them again.

I’ve played myself, but also not.

Happy underlining, folks.