“When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.”

Desiderius Erasmus quotes (Dutch priest, humanist and editor of the New Testament, 1469-1536)

I was at Joseph Beth for several hours yesterday. I have a genetic inability to be at Joseph Beth and not buy a book. This is why I don’t go there very often.

The book I bought this time was 101 Things To Do Before You Die, by Richard Horne. Mostly a waste of money, unfortunately. But the book caught my eye several weeks ago, and I thought I’ll look it up this time, since I had an extra hour there, while waiting for someone.

About half of the book is things that one might realistically be able to do in a normal human lifetime. Unfortunately, the other half consists of things which are illegal, immoral, impossible, or otherwise improbable. So it was a little disappointing.

But it’s kinda neat, for the former half, to have a checklist to go through and say, yeah, I’ve done that. I climbed the Eiffel Tower. I’ve riden a camel. I’ve met, spoken with, had dinner with, a number of people who I’d consider to have been, at one time or another, my heroes or idols. (Larry Wall, Vint Cerf, Brian Behlendorf, Douglas Adams, and various others.) I’ve written a bestseller. (ok, for very careful definitions of “written” and “bestseller”, but still.) And I’ve been skydiving.

I have not been on my favorite TV show (um … I’m not really sure I could come up with one. Certainly not one that’s still in production.) I have not run a marathon. I have not seen a penguin in the wild. I have not visited all the nations on Earth. And I have never been in prison.

So, it’s cute. It’s not worth the cover price ($15) but it may be worth picking up on Amazon, if you’re already ordering other stuff to get the free shipping. 😉