Why I'm Doing the Reading Lists

They seem a little pointless, maybe. After all, we're not kidding anyone here, this isn't exactly a widely-read blog...at least if the number of comments I get are any indicator. But the reading lists (which are now starting to be daily, at least for the summer) are becoming my routine for keeping up with what's going on in the world. News tends to pile up on itself, and I like the feeling of following a story from early on, and I like being able to bring up current events when the opportunity presents itself, and actually know something about what I'm talking about. I think that things matter that are happening beyond my microscopic circle, and the best way I know, so far, to keep track of them in some kind of organized way is either constantly Twitter them (as some of my friends do, and as I do occasionally) or to blog about them here. I have to admit, I prefer the latter, as it seems a little more focused. Just a little bit, though. If someone else gets some use out of them, great, but generally speaking I'm happy to do them, as I do almost all my blogs, for predominantly my own benefit.