So much has changed in the month since my trip to Washington; and yet, just as turning over a piece of paper twice consecutively is the same as not turning it over at all, nothing has ultimately changed.

I realized three days ago that I haven't listened to music in three months. I've concentrated on listening to more music, and everything else seems to be less critical, less dramatic.

Before my month-long hiatus, I talked a lot about books. Indeed, reading has been my chief occupation since May 12.

I finished Lincoln the Unknown, but it turned out to be different than what I wanted to read. I was hoping for anecdotes about why Lincoln is considered such a great leader, but this was much more of a blow-by-blow of his life. Events, accomplishments, friendships. It achieves this end beautifully, but I wanted something else.

After, I slowly worked my way through Thinking About Thinking. Great book. I learned lots from this book and if Travis wants it back, I'm going to need another copy.

Then I read the last half of Eddie Fantastic, a book I read in elementary school, lent to Travis, then reread the first half a few months ago before putting it back on my shelf. I don't think I'll pick that book up ever again. It's entertaining, but I've moved beyond it.

Next I tackled Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time. I practiced my speed reading with this book, so I'm sure I missed 10% of the content, but the other 90% was fabulous. Buy yourself an updated version and absorb it!

I finished Hawking's book on a Trax train to the University of Utah, so on the way home I walked into a rare book shop called Sam Wellers for my next title. I found a tiny collection of speeches, letters and quotes called The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln. Through 62 tiny pieces of paper I found what Lincoln the Unknown failed to provide in 253 pages. I finished the entire book on the train home, then gave the book to Shane.

Now I have shifted my focus to preparing more for my classes in August. I'm rereading my old biology text. I'll finish it before classes begin.

I haven't completely stopped reading, however. I upgraded the speed reading app on my iPod Touch, which allows me to import text of my choosing. In the last hour I finished reading George Orwell's 1984, which is constantly compared with Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. I still prefer Huxley's prediction for the future, but it's always best to hear both sides of an argument.

I'm not sure what books I'll pick up next. Probably I'll focus more on the rest of my life in the next few posts, but lately reading has been a huge portion of my focus.

You were there.