Strange Book

I made a poor purchase today. A group of students, with no apparent organizational affiliation, were on campus pawning off used books. I was hungry and on my way back to my apartment when the books caught my eye. Already, I was in a position to do something impulsive.

I started rummaging through the bin of books. Really, I should have just walked away. None of the books were interesting at all; I was in the bin was labeled fiction and I found a book on corporate IT management. Regardless, I dug further. I was encouraged by the two girls managing the pop-up shop to keep looking.

Eventually, I pulled out a book titled A Turtle on a Fencepost by Allan C. Emery. In all honesty, I didn't even bother to page through the book. I just liked the cover art of a turtle balancing itself on a fence post. I guess that's the point of a cover, isn't it? In my rushed state, nothing seemed more appealing than grabbing some charming object. In addition to that, one of the girls said that it's actually two books in one. On the flip side was a book titled Women Who Win by Mary C. Crowley. That wasn't as interesting, but I had never seen a book like it before.

It was for this reason that I was convinced to buy the book, er, both books. I'm in the process of reading House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski, which redefines what a novel can be. A book that defies the format of what is commonly expected of a normal book appealed to that same side of me. However, I should have taken even a minor peek at the contents, for I committed great sin: I judged a book by its cover(s).

It's not possible to read a sentence in these books without encountering some sort of reference to God or the bible. I was raised Christian, but I'm not interested in religion at all. Reading any sentence in this book makes me feel like someone is trying to convince me that the only path to happiness is through God. I don't know about you, but anyone trying to persuade me to partake in any form of religious activity or organization turns me off instantly.

Why am I dismissing religion so quickly? Well, it's just a personal preference. Historically, religion has been the root cause of many disputes, to put it lightly; however, it also has great power to unite people. I think that people should be able to do what makes them happy. Religious organizations can be major cornerstones of a community. Religion can help people recover from turbulent times in their lives. For some, on the other hand, it is simply unnecessary. Some people do not require religion any more to find satisfaction in their lives.

I say this because I'm one of those people. Some times I feel more agnostic. Some times I feel more motivated by my belief in the power of the inner will. I have no set belief system, and I like to keep it that way. I think it makes me more open-minded to how other people choose to practice (or not practice) religion. Overall, I find satisfaction exploring my own hobbies and spending time with my small groups of friends and family. I don't really need anything else.

So, even though I spent $3 on this useless, unique, used book, I think I still got some value out of it. It caused me to write this post. It gave me a story to tell, which helped to put my own beliefs into context. Hopefully, all of that was interesting to you.