I mentioned on Rough Theory that I had read Francis Fukuyama, and I was specifically referring to his book The End of History and the Last Man. However, I have to confess that I can remember absolutely nothing from the experience of reading it. I know I read it since I have notes on it somewhere and one paper I wrote in undergrad cites it. Evidently, I’ve read it in the past, but I can’t even remember what it was about. Well, I know what it’s about because I’ve read reviews and it’s mentioned here and there in other articles and such, but I can’t pull out of my mind any knowledge of the book that specifically comes from my own reading. I have a feeling I wasn’t impressed, otherwise reading the book would have made an actual impression on me. What I remember from book reviews also leads me to conclude that I probably dumped the book from my long-term memory because I didn’t think it was that great. I’m not too broken up about this situation, but it is rather curious.
I actually had a more embarrassing version of this happen to me recently: I’ve had in the back of my mind for some time now that I really should get a copy of a particular book and read it, but I never seem to get around to it. The other day, reorgansing a few things in my house, I found a copy of that book – one which, from its dog-eared condition, had clearly been read by someone. I’m still unsure whether that some was… er… me, and the book made so little impression that I forgot, not only buying it, but also reading it. For my own sanity, I’m hoping that the dog-eared copy in my home is at least something I bought used… ;-P