Turn Off the TV

Power of the Press

Centuries ago Johann Gutenberg devised a printing method which allowed for the mass production of written material. Humans became increasingly literate and expanded their knowledge and understanding of their world. A few centuries later, the 1st Baron Lytton would opine “The pen is mightier than the sword.” I believe.
There is nothing like the printed word to inspire or infuriate one. While scenes in movies or television may be replayed, there is nothing like having that well turned phrase in front of you, in your hand, to re-read, inhale and ingest. An article, an essay, a book – these are the inspirations for life. If you have been amused by my previous scribblings, here is my recommended bibliography:
(Almost anything by the authors is worth reading, I’ve listed my favorite)

Mark Twain “Letters from the Earth”
Henry Louis Mencken “Chrestomathy”
Henry David Thoreau “Civil Disobedience”
Robert Ingersoll “Assorted Speeches”
Francois Rabelais “Gargantua and Pantagruel”
James Jones “From Here to Eternity”
John Updike “Rabbit”
Sinclair Lewis “Elmer Gantry”
Truman Capote “In Cold Blood”
Harper Lee “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Joseph Heller “Catch 22”
John Irving “The World According to Garp”
Kurt Vonnegut “Slaughterhouse Five”
George Orwell “1984”
J. D. Salinger "Catcher in the Rye"
Aldous Huxley “Brave New World”
Khalil Gibran “The Prophet”
Upton Sinclair "The Jungle”
John Steinbeck “The Grapes of Wrath”
God “Holy Bible” (St. James version)
George Carlin “Brain Droppings”
Larry McMurtry “Lonesome Dove”
John Bartlett “Familiar Quotations”

WARNING: An overdose of the ideas expressed by the authors will have you skipping down the road to perdition, holding hands with Beelzebub.