World Book Day

Today is World Book Day! And it’s Openly Secular Day, too.

It’s also Copyright Day, which I don’t think I need to celebrate, as I celebrated Public Domain Day in January. And Talk Like Shakespeare Day, but alas I have not the time not wit to render proper verse this late eve.

Last (if only because I can’t be bothered to list all the days this is) but not least (least would be Cherry Cheesecake Day) this is the International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day, named after the disparaging remark about people who post things on the internet for free. Naturally the idea is to post things for free, because screw that guy.

So, how about an Openly Secular Book, which I comment on for free? That seems like it would do the trick.

Today I was reading Daniel Dennett’s “Breaking the Spell”. This isn’t a book review, more of a meandering monologue, because I haven’t finished the book yet. But I digress.

Today I was reading “Breaking the Spell”. I’m a fan of some Dennett’s earlier works, “Consciousness Explained” and “Darwin’s Dangerous Idea”. I read them in the 1990s, but it was “Breaking the Spell” that really put him on the map, and I somehow never got to it.

I started reading it in 2013, shortly before meeting Dennett. Told him (truthfully) that I really liked the first few chapters but hadn’t finished. Unfortunately our conversation took a detour and I never did get the chance to tell him that I’d actually finished his other books, and I'm afraid I probably came of pretty badly. And in the intervening years I didn’t get around to picking it up again.

That's Dennett on the right. I'm kind of ignoring him for Taslima Nasreen. That was a good day.

Well, I’ve had some free time to hike for a couple days so I bought the audiobook and finally started listening to it. It’s kind of cheating, I know, but with a real book I wouldn’t have been able to get up here.

Spion Kop Summit, Lake Country, BC

I guess should have stolen the audiobook, but I didn’t know it was Copyright Day at the time. Forgive me.

I made it about halfway through so far, and at least passed the point I reached before, though not by much. It’s fascinating stuff… I’m hoping to finish it tomorrow or Saturday so I can review it. But like I said earlier, this is a pointless ramble rather than a review.

Anyway, I forgot where I was going with this. I guess just look at the pretty pictures. Truly this sloppy ending is worthy of a Pixel-Stained Technopeasant. And if this shadow of a blog post has offended, think but this and all is mended...