one of these cool readerly shirts from Wonder Book!
~ Optimism ~ Delusion ~ Illusion ~
"I thought I might do some writing along the way, perhaps essays, surely notes, certainly letters, I took paper, carbon, typewriter, pencils, notebooks, and not only those but dictionaries, a compact encyclopedia, and a dozen other reference books, heavy ones. I suppose our capacity for self-delusions is boundless. I knew very well that I rarely make notes, and if I do I either lose them or can't read them. . . . And in spirit of this self-knowledge I [packed] enough writing material to take care of ten volumes. I also laid in a hundred and fifty pounds of those books one hasn't got around to reading -- and of course those are the books one isn't ever going to get around to reading. . . . I judge now that I carried about four times too much of everything" (emphasis added).
by John Steinbeck (February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968)
27 February 2014 ~ GOOGLE DOODLE ~ for Steinbeck's 112th Birthday
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And this from Michael Lipsey:
"The greatest illusion is not religion —
it’s waking up in the morning imagining
how much you’re going to get done today."
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A little self - delusion?
Well, why not? Our minds depend upon it!
See also, "So Many Books, So Little Time"
P.S. My second favorite quote from Travels With Charley:
"Before I went to sleep I went over all the things I wished I had
said . . . and some of them were incredibly clever and cutting" (69).
[cf. L'esprit de l'escalier]
P.P.S. And this from Von's Books: “Of course anyone who truly loves books buys more of them than he or she can hope to read in one fleeting lifetime. A good book, resting unopened in its slot on a shelf, full of majestic potentiality, is the most comforting sort of intellectual wallpaper.”
