Starting again, something new

Two years ago, the author of "Laid-Off Journalist" went back to journalism, and this blog passed into blissful stasis. Which is another way of saying, I was too lazy to keep writing it and covering water board meetings.

But change is the only thing that remains the same, and after two years conspicuously absent of water board meetings, this blog is getting a dust off. With a new focus.

The idea could be like reintroducing Olestra, complete with stomach-turning side effects. But here it is: Taking old classic novels that in theory should've been read years ago, but weren't. Blame can be assigned to excessive attention paid to pro wrestling and Pearl Jam. Or going back further, a junior year crush.

As these novels are read, the thoughts and observations will be recorded here. There are those books people just mark up in the margins with that stuff, but these are my wife's books and marking them up is a good way to ensure I read these books before bed, by the lamp next to the couch.

The title says, "with jokes," because the idea is some of these observations may drift toward humor, in the way someone texting while driving drifts into a mailbox. Not intentional, but fun to watch if you're following them.

So where to start? In Northern California this year, we're having an extended winter, the kind where the local car wash nearly has to throw buckets of soap on passing vehicles to drum up business. In that vein, I'll start with some Russian literature, under the idea that the myth about 20 Eskimo words for snow means nothing compared to what's created by a long cold season and vodka.