Eno, again.
Couldn’t sleep last night. Maybe it’s the early mornings with Leslie, maybe I took too many naps, who knows, the point is, at 4:30 a.m., I found myself lying on the couch staring at my bookshelf, looking for something to read until I was tired again. For some reason, this turned out to be Brian Eno’s A Year (With Swollen Appendices), which was a very astute gift from my brother Carl a few years ago. The first effect this book had, was not the desired one (to put me back to sleep), but rather the opposite: I became entranced by Eno’s mind and his way of viewing the world. He sees things the way we all do, experiences the same things we all experience (which make us human), but it’s almost as if he has an additional lens through which he can view the world: A lens which filters these human experiences into fuel and energy for a certain kind of creativity. In short, i’m so glad to have re-discovered this book. Because you don’t just sit there reading it thinking: “Wow, Eno is so smart. ” I mean, you sort of do, but his way of viewing things becomes contagious, and you find little unexpected inspirations all around you. Everyone can be this way! (Well, maybe not everyone, but you know what I mean) He is truly a lovely human, very positive, very soulful, and I went back to sleep at 8:30! (4 hours later!) contentedly drowsy, and full of excitement about what the rest of the day might bring. So cheers, Brian. You’ve invented perpetual motion. You created a work of art which continually GIVES energy. Go and get this book if you haven’t read it, and if you HAVE read it, it’s even more interesting to read it again. 5 out of 5 stars.