Comments on: Settling in

By: Jaibee

Jaibee — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 20:03:52 +0000

JW, has a point — *I’m* supposed to be the big Catholic nerd here! What are you trying to do, steal my title? On the other hand, if you want to join us in the house blessing for Epiphany, I’ll pick you up some chalk for your doorframe….

By: Joseph Waldman

Joseph Waldman — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:30:51 +0000

The Cato copy is a good one to have. Good protection against redneck cops far and wide (like garlic against a vampire). I keep it close to my heart at all times, and I’m not being figurative there.

I got Catcher shoved down my throat by a Vietnam-addled Sixties burnout (long story there — the dude actually volunteered for ‘Nam and then came back and decided he didn’t like what he’d done and so determined to torment thirty years of English classes by using them as his therapist) so I’ve always hated it. Which I suppose is much more protopunk than it itself ever could be.

By: Kasia

Kasia — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 14:20:00 +0000

Re Catcher in the Rye: yeah, I read it in high school or thereabouts and so have a vestigial sentimental attachment to the book, but even at the time I thought Holden Caulfield was a twit. And that’s sayin’ something.

Re showing off the Catholicity: are you referring to The Purpose-Driven Life? ‘Cause that ain’t Catholic.

Re a prominent copy of the Constitution and the Declaration: I own (and have handy) a copy of the former. The latter is primarily committed to memory, but is also easily accessible via the Interwebs. However, if you really want me to have this Cato edition front-and-center, you could always make us a wedding gift of a copy… :-p

By: Joseph Waldman

Joseph Waldman — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 12:58:42 +0000

Chuck Catcher in the Rye as soon as possible. In fact, burn it. It turned a whole generation and a half into whining brats. Plus which no one ever shot a Beatle after reading Gravity’s Rainbow, if we’re dealing with reclusive literary types here.

Hey, Clinton’s book wasn’t all that bad. Yeah, it was full of shit, but that was what made it great bathroom reading.

Also you should push all your bibles and religious propaganda (really, Katie, we get it, you’re Catholic, enough with the showing off already . . .) to the back of the shelf and give the Cato Institute’s handy-dandy pocket edition of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution some front-row publicity. Maybe also a book of Lincoln’s collected writings. Y’know, bicentennial and all.