A Strange Ennui, If You Will
Tom Bartlett of Minor Tweaks challenged his readers to review obscure, unloved, and long-forgotton works on Amazon.com. The past challenge? That charming tome Father used to read aloud as the rest of the family gathered around the fireplace, “Related information for seventh and eighth grades in the areas of wood, metal, ceramics, and fly tying.” Here are some of the choicer bits that had me laughing so hard the hub shot me a fierce glare for disrupting his enjoyment of Outbreak. (Fighting Ebola is HARD!)
From Ms. Elizabeth H. Brien:
When I was nine, my parents gave me a beautifully illustrated, hard back copy of ‘Alice In Wonderland’ for Christmas. I still remember sitting by the tree, the log fire ablaze, the carollers singing, gazing at the cover of my new book. And do you know what I was thinking at the precise moment? Not “I cannot wait to start reading about Alice’s adventures in Wonderland”. Not “How generous of my parents to give me such a thoughtful gift”. No, I was thinking “I wish they had listened to me and given me ‘Related information for seventh and eighth grades in the areas of wood, metal, ceramics, and fly tying’ by Raymond W Kasold liked I asked them to”. …
From Joel (UK):
…You might have noticed that I avoided mention of ceramics in the above endorsement. This was no idle typo. As much as it pains me to say it, ceramics are the Achilles heel of “Related information for seventh and eighth grades in the areas of wood, metal, ceramics, and fly tying”. Something about the sections dealing with ceramics just don’t ring true. It’s almost as if—and I hesitate to suggest it—the author was less interested in ceramics than he was in wood, metal and fly tying. There is a touch of listlessness about the writing when the subject of ceramics comes up; a strange ennui, if you will.
[via Emdashes]
