Although I use a small purse, because I don’t want to carry a lot of “stuff” around, it’s often inside a bigger bag. The big bag is necessary because I strongly believe in traveling with a book (or two, or three). No need to point it out, I can see the contradiction. The intent is that if I have any spare time I can use it to read (e.g. waiting for an appointment, on a coffee break, etc.). Unconsciously I probably believe having a book in relative proximity to me will make me smarter through osmosis or something.Most recently I have been reading The Accidental Masterpiece, On the Art of Life and Vice Vera by Michael Kimmelman. The book is a series of essays each one taking a slightly different perspective on life as art. Although the material is substantive it reads smoothly and with a gentle ease often lost in this type of philosophical art critic. The content was entertaining and could lead to an extended lunch in order to complete the last few pages of a chapter. But in the end the overall book was not memorable. I can recall to you high level themes; art of collecting, simple pleasures or the art of making a world, but int he end the imprint this book made on me was shallow. Is was an entertaining but not a life changing read. Who knows, maybe in two or three years I'll pick this book up off the shelf and read it again with a different perspective.
