bed time stories

Despite the inefficiency of reading in bed, I somehow managed to go through some intriguing books lately. When I come across a book that interests me, it feels like a conversation. Sometimes I wish I could write as well as the person talking to me from the pages. Sometimes I disagree with the ideas expressed. Every reading turns into a point of reference.
To Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point I got after hearing him interviewed on CBC Radio. He sounded like such a nice guy from nowhere as far as I could tell. Ah! I only turned on the radio after the interview had started. So he's a pretty well known New Yorker Magazine writer. Well, I liked the way he spoke. He says things in a pretty much similar way to what I think. Then I saw him lecturing through poptech. No, I once fantasized having hair like his. I had started balding when I was 19. I've been shaving my head almost ever since then. We're definitely not the same person.
The scope of information available in today's communications is also part of the intrigue. A quick research into your subject of interest makes it feel like you own it. Malcolm is a household friend. Jared (Diamond) is patiently waiting for me to read him after Anat hands him over to me when she's finished. Guns, Germs and Steel is a bit thicker than The World Without Us by Alan Weisman. It always wakes Anat for a few more lines of reading as she struggles through the paragraphs that gently fall on her nose as she drifts to sleep. One of the print industry's most useful accessories comes in handy on such occasions.
Only after browsing with Netscape for a few years did I realize where the expression Bookmark had come from. Having worked many years with Explorer now, the habit of reading books is still one of my Favourites.