Well, this project, as anticipated, did not come close to meeting the objective. I guess the lesson learned in project 3 is do a little prep work before adding something enormous to the project list.
But failure aside, the objective of the academic goals are to make me a more well-read person. Mark Twain now climbs the charts of writers I love to rub elbows with Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Neil Gaiman, Christopher Hitchens, Kurt Vonnegut, Michael Marshall Smith, and others. This was the most enjoyable project yet. I really don't want to spoil anything, so I didn't really do fair reviews of the books. That said, I don't care, I was having too much fun reading Twain's stuff. I'll be trying to keep scheduling time for more of his stuff when I'm supposed to be concentrating on new projects.
I didn't finish Roughing It. I should clarify and say I haven't finished it yet. Twain's time in Salt Lake City is really amazing. One of the greatest writers of his age, he was walking around and observing and reporting on a new religion in its infancy. I find myself wishing I had his first hand assessments of the birth of the "Big Three" monotheisms. Mark Twain travels to England and meets Wells' time traveller, and incredibly well-penned hilarity ensues.
I find myself getting a tad bit tangential, so to recap:
- Due diligence in adding of projects to the list in order to attempt to do them justice
- Perhaps some sort of alerting to spoils in order to do more comprehensive reviews and prove I read what I've said I read
- Mark Twain is AWESOME.
Oh, Heckfire and Tarnation, scratch the first one. It's no fun to try easier projects. I might as well get all vice presidential and shoot at birds from the back seat of a car. It's no crime to try these things and fail. It would be pointless to not keep trying.
-Mike
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