The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe

I love books. If I could go back in time, I would travel to the Ancient City of Alexandria and peruse their library. Every time I walk into a library, the smell is completely overwhelming and warming. The feel of a book in my hands is like no other pleasure. It is impressive how, hidden within the binding, pages and words, there is a whole story waiting to be read. It gets me excited just thinking about it.

I haven't always been a book nerd. I hated reading when I was in school. I pretty much hate being told what to do, even if it is good for me. I would much rather discover things on my own, in my own way. When I was a child, I loved books but I loved dance more, so it took up the majority of my time, when I wasn't doing school work. Reading for pleasure wasn't even in my vocabulary until after High School. It mostly started with my subscription to The New Yorker. After reading so many wonderful articles, most of time about things I had never even heard of, I realized that there was so much knowledge out there ready for the taking. So I started reading everything I could get my hands on.... blogs, news, books, magazines, etc. I ended up in information overload (especially during the election) and finally decided that not everything is worth reading. Now, I refuse to read the news, mostly because it is all junk (balloon boy anyone?) but I do love my New Yorker, InStyle Magazine and a well written book.

For many years, I had The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test taunting me from my shelf. A book, like many on my shelf at the time, that hadn't been read. I made numerous attempt to get through the book but to no avail. But finally, I just picked it up and said to myself "Okay, you are going to read this book all the way through, no excuses!" and so I did. And I must say, that once you get through the first 50 pages and get into Tom Wolfe's groove of writing, the story is beyond colorful. I have always been fascinated by this era of history. I swear I was meant to be a Merry Prankster or maybe I was in a former life, who knows. But if you have any interest in a tale of partying, life discovery, philosophy, Hell's Angels and day-glo, then this is your book. I can't say that I am a fan of Ken Kesey but I am a fan of Tom Wolfe. The fact that he is able to compile a very thorough and comprehensive recollection of the life of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, is a feat of its own. It isn't until you have completed the book that you realize what a task it truly must have been. It will provide significant insight to the minds of this generation, as well as give you an idea of what it must be like to "Trip".

Music was such an integral part of what Ken Kesey was trying to accomplish and The Grateful Dead were integral to Ken Kesey's accomplishment. Though The Dead are not a main draw to this story, it is fascinating to watch them progress into the beginnings of what they are now.