Whenever I felt down, I would pick up Living Biblically for a good laugh. Now I'm hoping Know-It-All will provide the same therapy.
The author is not an observing Jew, or even religious to any point, but his interest in religion intrigues me. Living Biblically was his quest to understand more about the Bible and Jewish traditions. Now I'm moving onto the Know-It-All book where he reads through the entire encyclopedia and writes about his experience.
These are two entries that made me chuckle :)
"Absalom
Absalom, a biblical character, has the oddest death so far in the encyclopedia. During a battle in the forest, Absalom got his flowing hair caught in the branches of an oak tree, which allowed his enemy, Joab, to catch him and slay him. This, I figure is exactly why the army requires crew cuts" (8)
"Alcott, Bronson
The father novelist Louisa May Alcott was famous in his own right. A radical reformer full of unorthodox ideas, he opened several schools for children. he schools had a particularly unusual discipline system: teacher received punishment at the hands of the offending pupil. The idea was that this would instill a sense of shame in the mind of the errant child. Now, this is a brilliant concept. I have a long list of teachers I wish I could have spanked, among them my fifth-grade instructor, Ms. Barker, who forced us to have a SUGAR-FREE bake sale, which earned us a humiliating $1.53" (11)
So while I should be working on my senior project, I can't help but want to read this book instead. And then, as I read, I want to share it with people. How problematic. In the end... I KNOW i will complete my senior project, and am trying not to stress it too much. This is my excuse :)
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