If I wished to say in words all that I intended to express in the novel, I would have to write from the very beginning the same novel that I had already written. And if critics understand and can express in a newspaper article what I want to say, I must congratulate them.

With some books, the author’s message and intentions can be so blatant that they are distracting; it feels like the author cares more about preaching his personal agenda than he does about telling a good story. This Tolstoy quote is a refreshing reminder that other authors see the narrative elements of their work as essential to the meaning, not just as an unnecessary cloak that can just easily be removed.

About the same time I was starting Journey to the Sea (back in July), I rediscovered the library. I have since been to three nearby university libraries to research and make photocopies. I have friends and family that work at university libraries, and some have sent me photocopies of articles and pages from books. I have also received a few books through interlibrary loan, including the main source I used for my most recent article in issue three of Journey to the Sea, “The Disobedience of Iblis in Sufism”.

It took a small series of events for me to realize all this way available to me. Here’s how it happened. First, my mother got a job at a university library and started mentioning all the cool services they offer. Then a friend started praising Google Book Search, which I then started using somewhat regularly. One day I discovered the links throughout their site labeled “Find In A Library.” I followed those links to WorldCat where I was able to find that a particular book I wanted at a couple of nearby university libraries. I didn’t think they would let me in the library if I wasn’t a student, but I called and found out otherwise. I spent a few hours that night doing researching at the library. Later I talked with another friend about the experience, mentioning that I only wished I could get interlibrary loan for books the local libraries did not have. He informed me that I should be able to get books in this way through my local public library. Who knew?

• The Sky Is Falling: It appears that there is a serious threat that an object (asteroid or something similar) could strike the earth or even just explode in our atmosphere and cause serious damage. This article looks at the danger and what NASA is doing about it (hint: nothing).
• Two articles look at Barak Obama and the internet. The internet is changing the way we do pretty much everything, “raising campaign funds” and “running a country” included.
  • The Amazing Money Machine: “How Silicon Valley made Barack Obama this year’s hottest start-up.”
  • HisSpace: “How would Obama’s success in online campaigning translate into governing?”
• In the Basement of the Ivory Tower: College education is increasing as a requirement for jobs, promotions, etc. An adjunct English instructor at a community college discusses why a university education should not be for everyone and why making it so is destructive. He offers an interesting perspective on this issue.

Here’s how they work:

1. Mount the bracket on the wall.
2. Place on the bracket a book that can permanently act as the base, leaving the back cover hanging down.
3. Tuck the back cover underneath the bracket; it has an indentation at the back that holds the book cover in place.
4. Stack a few books on top to cover the full height of the bracket.

I chose as my base a hardback copy of The Odyssey. I have multiple copies of this classic, and I’ll never need this particular copy because I prefer a different version — the poetry translation by Richmond Lattimore.

I have just about finished C.S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces. It is a parallel novel, a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche from the perspective of Psyche’s older sister. Lewis explores many of the ideas from his non-fiction works — man’s proper response to God, the nature of myth and of history, the dynamics within human relationships — in the context of a fictitious barbarian kingdom on the fringes of ancient Greece.

I also just started Joseph Campbell’s book Primitive Mythology that examines the archaeological evidence for the earliest myths and rituals of primitive man. He looks at the two primary mythological perspectives that arose, the shamanism of hunting societies and the fertility rites of planting societies. (I have never looked at mythology from this angle and in this much depth before, and it is incredibly fascinating. This is the first book of a four-volume series, and I’m really looking forward to see how mythology developed through the centuries.) You can always find out what books I have finished and what’s next on the list by visiting the Books I’m Reading page.