On December 15, 2013, I added Charles Darwinās The Origin of Species to my āCurrently Readingā list on goodreads.
Itās still on there.
I assure you, this is not an oversight, and itās not for lack of interestĀ or because I canāt admit defeat. Ā Iām completely down with Did Not Finish when it comes to any book that annoys me (The Goldfinchā¦Iām lookinā at you). Ā Darwin decidedly does not annoy me.
In the past two years, Iāve read countless articles, scientific papers, blog posts, and Wikipedia entries about evolution. Ā I’ve watched six Yale Lecture Series videos on Evolution (trust me, six is a LOTTA Yale to digest when you only have an English degree), and scoured the entire University of BerkeleyĀ evolution website. Ā IĀ read Carl Sagan and Richard Dawkins, and wellā¦you get the point. Ā I donāt have that much Darwin street cred but I do have a wee bit. Ā Itās just notā¦Darwin himself.
I want to read Darwinās seminal book – and I have, in fact, read the first three chapters. Ā Why am I doing this? Ā Because I once proclaimed to a circle of friends, rather obnoxiously and almost tearfully, that I am a Darwinist. Ā At the time, I had no idea what the hell that meant. Ā But Iā¦thought I….meant it. Ā Even though Iād not read a word of Darwin and I had no solid understanding of evolution at all. Ā I still seem to be skimming the surface of evolutionary literature without really deepening my understanding. Ā Which aināt right.
Well, nowĀ I officially start MyĀ Darwin Project. Ā Because those first 3 chapters of The OriginĀ of Species are incredible. Ā They, and the subsequent twelve chapters, deserve more from me than a cursory reading and a move to my āReadā list on goodreads. Ā Darwin is the hub of this wheel for me; the driving force; my evo-co-pilot. Ā But I’m ready to dig in to Darwin’s predecessors as well as contemporary science writers, too.
Because hey, whyĀ do Darwin straight up, no chaser? Ā The Origin of SpeciesĀ is over 150 years old! Ā I needĀ reading guides, supplementary literature, videos, poems, podcasts, Pinterest boards,Ā a genetics primer,Ā blogs, art, popcorn (best with oliveĀ oil, salt and nutritional yeast),Ā photographs and diagrams, the Crosby Stills Nash & YoungĀ box set, long walks, and possibly reading glasses before this is over. Ā And I plan to share all of this with you (Except the popcorn. Ā Go pop your own.) Ā I may even tweet about this spectacle. Ā Iām not saying I will ever know what Iām talking about, but I will surely give this a go.
You can find a partial Bibliography of Evolutionary Awesome on my goodreads profileĀ (along with my horror, pirates, and magicahhh book lists – wait come back here, donāt get distracted!)Ā AND also check out Darwin’s Entangled Bibliography, my supplementary resource list, or as I like to call it, Somebody TellĀ Me What Darwin Just Said.Ā Ā To be updated regularly, andĀ to include a bunch of other Darwinian and evolutionary treats.
How do we startĀ this voyage? Ā On a ship, of course. Ā The HMS Beagle. Ā Pack your bags, we set sail soon.
Ā
What's on your mind?