Sometimes I buy books and don’t read them.
Don’t ask me why I do this, because I’m not really sure. Most of my unread books are the result of literary rabbit trails: I stumble across a curious cover or topic, which leads me to Amazon, which leads me to reviews, which mention other books to look at, and so on. The trail usually ends when I press the “buy” button to stop the madness.
And it is, indeed, madness.
I don’t know how long Whitley Strieber’s The Key: A True Encounter sat in my library before I noticed it was there. Honestly, I couldn’t even remember buying it. The premise must have piqued my curiosity at some point. I hadn’t read anything of his since childhood--when a friend lent me her copy of Communion and I spent the next several weeks terrified that aliens would abduct me in my sleep—so I sat down and gave it a try.
As with all things metaphysical in nature, I took it with a grain of salt. But the quantum mechanics Strieber kept mentioning led me straight to Google. Which led me to Quantum Leaps by Cynthia Sue Larson (the whole multiverse concept fascinates me) and finally to Robert Lanza’s notable Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe.
Did I mention the madness?
I did read all three books. They present radically different viewpoints, with the concept of quantum mechanics being the only common thread between them. Two of them firmly state what they believe to be the truth, while the third (Strieber’s) left things open for debate. Problem is, my mind won't stop thinking about them. The ideas spin around and around, begging to be addressed, or tested, or given voice and molded into something new.
Will they someday spiral into plots for YA books? Maybe. And in the meantime, I have a much deeper appreciation for all that physics humor in The Big Bang Theory.
Moral of the story: really, there isn’t one. I’m just a nerd who hits the “buy” button every now and then, and falls into the madness of unread books. :)
Image Credit: Unread Books, Big Bang
