Lit-Nerd Alert!

I wouldn't consider myself a lit-nerd, per se, because I don't get to spend nearly as much time as I'd like reading; I especially wouldn't consider myself a lit-nerd when I look at others that I know who could run circles around me when it comes to discussing literature.

Then again, I can see myself getting accused of being a lit-nerd compared to some other people I know. Of course, the people I'm referring to also happen to be complete buffoons who seem to take pride in the fact that they've never read an entire book in their lives.

Like many things in life, lit-nerd street-cred can be relative, I suppose. As I often say, to each their own. People have a right to ignore things like reading, learning, and expanding their knowledge, if they so choose.

There are other ways to learn and expand your horizons, afterall. You know what I mean--living and experiencing life instead of reading about it. But, I tend to believe neither one has to be mutually exclusive. Finding a nice balance of doing both is where it's at, if you ask me!

I can read a fantastic, inspiring piece about what its like to experience a baseball game at Fenway Park, but it will never compare to actually being there. Then again, you could spend your whole life in a cycle of waking up, eating, going to work, and going to sleep without doing either.

Nevertheless, a good story can be a great way to forget the real world and escape your troubles.

And with Christmas just weeks away, I'm reminded of one of the classic stories that can do that for you: Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

I recently saw the new version in theatres with Jim Carrey, and thought it was pretty good. But it's tough to beat the 1938 classic that you've grown up watching every year. As for the book, it's been a long time since I'd read it. So long, in fact, that I don't even remember much about the story outside of what is shown in the movies.

Minus one lit-brownie-point from my total for that one.

Then I read a story a few days ago in the NY Times about the original written manuscript being displayed at the Morgan Library and Museum in Manhattan. Apparently it's the authentic pen-to-paper original, which includes all of his edits, and you can apparently see how the story was shaped and how it evolved into the story we know today.

I'm sure this is just so fascinating, right. By now you're probably thinking something like:

(a) "Wow, that's cool! I'd love to see that"

or

(b) "So what?"

I fall into the (a) group.

Aw, crap. I am a lit-nerd!