Okay. A few things.
1) Usually I select a picture for each post that I feel resonates in some marginal way (e.g. whatever a basic Google image search will yield), and not the cover of the book or the author’s photo. But in the case of The God Delusion nothing seemed more appropriate. The whole. book. is. about. Dawkins.
I know, I know, you’re thinking, but wait, the book’s meant to be about God isn’t yet? Yes. I, too, expected that a book titled The God Delusion might have more to do with arguments against the existence of God and less to do with Dawkins’ petty retaliations against commercial media figures he feels have snubbed him in some way. Which brings me to…
2) At a certain point around page 150 (of 398) I thought to myself, “If I have to read one more embedded quote of some pundit who Dawkins pretends to be superior to, but insists on quoting in order to retaliate, thus demonstrating his total intellectual insecurity I’m going to set fire to this book stop reading.” And so I’ve stopped reading.
And not because I devotedly believe in (the supernatural) God and am grossly offended by his arguments. Quite the contrary, Dawkins arguments are good ones. The problem is all in presentation. I do not need a tone that alternates between condescending to me the (already atheist) reader and condescending to its supposed audience (the would-be atheists). I do not need the structure of an argument presented in map form at the beginning of the book, then each chapter, then each sub-section, then in each paragraph: I can handle both reading AND thinking at the same time.
3) Not sure if quitting Dawkins violates some 10-10-12 rule, but let me say it here: I cannot, and will not, finish the book. I don’t need to read the rest to know what happens, nor to participate in water cooler/coffee shop conversations about Dawkins + posse, nor to listen to CBC/NPR panel shows pro/con Dawkins. I get it. So I’m crossing it off, if only because if I don’t I might never read again rather than have to finish this piece of dribble.
4) Phew. I feel so much better.
Literary Vice 