Small Beginnings, Vast Implications

I have had one or two blogs before. I was encouraged to make another. I got an idea to start a revolution years ago, but to say the least, starting a revolution is a daunting task. But a start is a start. Snowballs don't happen by themselves (though avalanches do . . .), and I am telling myself that this small, insomniac inspired effort will prove fruitful not only for myself, but for my adoring fans as well.

I could go into a detailed account of my personal background, but that's not very post-modern, that's not even very epic poetry. While I'm neither Vonnegut nor Homer, I'll make an attempt at some medias res, and I'll hopefully find something more random than introductions because they are arguably pointless. Just tell the story and let the reader figure things out.

I woke up at 4:30am after one of those weird make out dreams, one where you are making out with some semi-random person, and proceeded to pick up my laptop off the floor and play some poker. I was breaking one of my cardinal rules of poker: never play unless you are awake for at least an hour. Regardless, I had a decent but fun session. I won one [1] of four 55+5 turbos on FullTiltPoker for a small profit, along with a 5th place finish in a $3 turbo multitable with only a few over 100 starting. Let's just say a first place finish wasn't going to break the bank.

I then said hello to my parents who were getting ready to go to work. I then went to Krispy Kreme. I then thoroughly enjoyed their cinnamon bun doughnuts. I then decided to make a blog. On my way home from doughnuts, I started thinking of writing a little bit in a new blog I'd create about some of my favorite books which I'll call something like "Kyle's mandatory reading list."

Kyle's Mandatory Reading List:

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut -- This novel was suggested to me back in my sophomore or junior year of high school. It was unlike anything I had ever read. It started the proverbial snowball rolling on my eventual degree in English. English, what a great language.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller -- This novel was the second book suggested to me back in my sophomore or junior year of high school. It was unlike anything I had ever read, though it had World War II in common with Slaughterhouse-Five.

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hem(one [1] "m")ingway -- This novel was later suggested to me in my senior year of high school, along with his Nick Adams stories. Hemingway not only revolutionized writing, he revolutionized the still relatively young genre of short stories. "Hills Like White Elephants" while not a Nick Adams story, appears in just about every anthology that is moderately related to either short stories, the 20th century, American writers, or the greatest literature ever. "Indian Camp" is a Nick Adams story that is cool. "Big Two-Hearted River: Parts I and II" are a prime example of Hemingway writing his pants off. How sexy.

There are a shitton of amazing books out there. It occasionally gets me into a panic thinking about all of those books I haven't read. I was once or twice told that I shouldn't worry because I'm ahead of the pack when it comes to books read. I just think I'm lazy and not nearly motivated enough. Hopefully something as small as this internet blog can spark something inside me to start working my butt off.