A dog and a slog

I finished two books this week, which I'm marking as an accomplishment. I'm not the reader I once was.

A Dog's Purpose, by W. Bruce Cameron, and The Rebel, by Albert Camus. I understood all of one and very little of the other.

I'm trying to get rid of books I know I'll never read. Not an easy chore. A friend gave me A Dog's Purpose, and I just didn't think I was going to read it. As I was putting it in the donation pile, I started flipping through it. A very fast read about a very good dog. As I anticipated, it was overly sentimental for me, but I'm a sucker for dogs.

The Rebel was not fun. I've been carrying this darn book around for years. I started reading it in the summer, at the height of the protests. An Essay on Man in Revolt. I hoped it would help me understand what I hoped was a growing awareness that things need to change if we want justice and opportunity to apply equally to everyone.

Unfortunately, most of the book sailed right over my head. I'm surprised I stuck with it. Page after page reminding me that I'm not smart enough for that book. I'm glad I stuck with it, though. Every now and then I'd hit a paragraph that resonated. I'll go back through what I underlined before donating it. Sorry for the underlines next reader, especially since they're not always that straight.

I hope everyone had a restful, safe Thanksgiving. Mine was nice all things considered. I went for a short walk and then ducked into Whole Foods to hastily throw together something resembling a holiday meal. I ate way too many dinner rolls.

Hang in there everyone. I'm optimistic that things will start improving in a few months. Let's hope the COVID numbers don't spike after the holiday