Der Kinder/Stream of Consciousness

I spent a bit of time in Germany last summer:

and I want to convince myself that I remember that "Der Kinder" in German is something like: "the children"...

I'm not totally sure why "Der Kinder" popped into my head when I received a semi-spam related email from Amazon today about their "Kindle" product - but I'll pull no punches and admit that "Der Kinder" did.

Cool slowmo of a Kindle being dropped from two and a half feet (oooh, that sounds so much lower than 30 whole inches!!!! ;-) ) :

The concept of reading intrigues me - I'm a conceptual kind of guy - and don't get me wrong - I absolutely love the written word, especially when there is thought behind it! Drivel like this blog (which isn't a great example of the written word!) serves multiple purposes for me, personally - in all honesty, I started doing this thing in order to force me to write. I need all the practice I can get!

Anyway, I like the concept of reading, and unfortunately, I have this 25 mile commute to where I work. So, I've found a way to add some "reading" into my day: I listen to audiobooks on the drive into work. I typically listen to non-fiction, but this past week, I purchased and listened to "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy (a recommendation from my Coach - not the one you're probaby thinking of - is that a bad thing, having multiple "coaches"??). This is the same author that wrote "No Country for Old Men" - saw that movie BTW, and thought it was pretty brutal, but totally dug it.

Having listened to the unabridged reading of "The Road", I can't wait to listen to the reading of his original prose in "No Country...". This guy has an unbelievable way with the written word.

I can't really describe it - it's just unreal. Seriously, I can remember driving into work and listening to his sensory laden descriptions of the post-apocalyptic American landscape and asking myself "did I just hear what I thought I heard" - unreal. And I learned some new words along the way - well, maybe didn't learn, but "heard" and became curious about some words. I even worked one or two into a conversation at work - amazing how I was able to work "sepulcher" in a business meeting at a golf company! ;-)

Anyway, great stuff by Mr. McCarthy - interesting plot, too - a real thinker/contemplater. If you are into superficial entertainment, though, this one might not be so good for you. At face value, it's a story about a father and a son who go for a walk to the ocean. Nothing more.

Anyway, the Kindle is intriguing to me, in that it solves a book storage problem for me. I've got a lot of books around here, and I'm running out of space in my double-wide:

;-)

peace,

kraig