Reading Rainbow

I've always been a voracious reader. As far back as elementary school, I've always had one novel or another sitting on my bedstand. In recent years, however, my reading evolved and became not only a source of pleasure, but also a professional requirement. These days, I usually have three different books going at once. One book is a novel, one is academic non-fiction, and another is my workout book that I read on the days I use the eliptical machine. Here's what I'm reading presently.

Novel. I just finished The Cestus Deception and started Jedi Trial. These are Clone Wars novels that occur between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. I'm gearing up for the final installment of the SW franchise!

Academic. I'm a couple chapters into Norms of Rhetorical Culture and it's not all that engaging. Farrell is making the claim that "Aristotle offers the first, and perhaps only, philosophical justification for what rhetoric must be if it is to be a fully realized, artistically significant human practice" (p. 62). He continues, "I will attempt to show how rhetoric moves from being an ethically significant form of activity to a practice: an activity with internal standards of excellence that, if achieved, yield conduct that is ethical" (p. 62). If I can't slog my way through the next chapter, I'll probably pick up Civility: Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy.

Workout. While clearning out some of the boxes stored in my office closet, I stumbled across a long lost copy of Where's Harry: Steve Stone Remembers His Years with Harry Caray. I think I've had the damn thing since it was published but never got around to reading it. What a fun read! Reading the various anecdotes takes me back to the burgeoning years of my Cubs fanaticism. I really miss Harry.