Hitch

Miss Woolf and Ms. Toast got in a little fight in my journal over Christopher Hitchens. I went to private messages to ease the mood. In that private discussion, Miss Woolf expressed a curiosity about Hitchens, asking me for a book recommendation. I perhaps let Hitchens down in my answer, but I am not sure that I was wrong.

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Hmm, at the risk of being presumptuous, I imagine that you would be better spending your time reading others, that he really wouldn't be your cup of tea. For me, a lot of my appreciation for Hitchens has to do with his speaking engagements and debates and interviews - as a charismatic personality, so smart, so worldly, so smooth. Moreover, although he only recently died, I suspect he really does belong as a voice of the past. To recommend something, I'd go with his "Arguably", which is just a collection of his articles or essays, including that one about women not being funny. Hitchens is perhaps an acquired taste, and maybe it's not worth your while to try to acquire that taste. There's so much in the world to read, and I imagine it might be better for you to take a pass on Hitchens, and go instead to where your heart leads. Both Ms. Toast and I are older, and Hitchens speaks to our youth.

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