Day 249 - Benchmark 5

I have finished reading my favorite book; Dune, by Frank Herbert. It may seem a small thing to others, but as you can tell by the title of my blog, and by my blog address, it is not so to me. The copy of Dune I have with me is the first copy I purchased while attending UND in the 1980's. I have read this particular copy of Dune, and no other, on the North American, European, Australian, and now Asian continents. As I doubt I'll ever visit the Antartic, that leaves only two more continents to go. The edges of the paper are yellowing and many pages have pulled free of the binding. So that I do not lose my place, I have dog-earred the page where I've stopped reading, when I set the book down for a brief respite from the words of Frank Herbert. This particular copy of Dune, I have read, oh, somewhere between 18 and 25 times. The number of pages with the creases of past dog-earring is, while not begin countless, numbers higher than I care to count. Of the 17 books of the Dune universe, this is my favorite. In my minds eye I have conjoured the images of the Fremen riding the giant worms of Arrakis. I have seen the loathsome Harkkonen commit one heinous act after another. I have witnessed the entourage which constantly surrounds Paul and his father, Leto, giving all of themselves out of a sense of loyality and duty. I have seen the indifferent and ineffective Emperor unable to change the course of events which he himself set into motion. This may be a bit of a stretch, however I have to make my own parallel with Paul. I harbour no messiah complex, but on a smaller, more human scale, I have, and am, set in the desert, to emerge, after trials and tribulations, into an entirely new life. At least I don't have to worry about running the Empire of a Million Worlds. I can barely manage my own.