I read at least 80 books in 2021; that is my new record since I started keeping track of my readings a few years ago. While it is tempting for me to get caught up in trying to beat my records, I am working on keeping the mindset of quality over quantity. And last year I am happy to say there were quite a few books that were well worth my time. In July of last year I wrote a post ranking my favorites as of that point. Now it is interesting to go back and see how those rated…
What I’ve Been Reading The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, Elisabeth Tova Bailey This wasn’t a life-changing read, but in a way I think that was the point of the book itself. When a woman is confined to bed with a chronic illness a friend brings her a plant and an inadvertent guest: a snail. With her world so greatly diminished, the snail becomes a primary point of interest in her daily life. The book celebrates the wonder of nature, how something as ordinary as a snail contains a universe of marvels. Watership Down, Richard Adams I’ve been…
What I’ve Been Reading Virgil Wander, Leif Enger This is one of my favorite novels of 2021 so far. The writing style is just delightful, it was a joy to meander through. Not heavy on action, it explores the quiet undercurrents of a small Midwestern town. When Virgil Wander is in a car accident and suffers some memory loss, it forces him to look at his town, and its inhabitants, from a new perspective. He was correct about the language, though. Within weeks certain prodigal words started filtering home. They came one at a time or in shy small groups….
So far this year I’ve read about 35 books. I think I might have missed a couple that I read on my Kindle and returned already. But that’s a pretty close number. And quite a lot of books! So instead of waiting until the end of the year to recap everything I wanted to mention the highlights thus far. Fiction A Discovery of Witches, Deborah Harkness This is the first in a trilogy of fantasy novels. While I went on to read the sequels, the story seemed to lose some magic along the way (pun intended). “A Discovery of Witches”…
Ever since discovering Dorothy Sayers’ delightful gentleman detective, Lord Peter Wimsey, on BBC Radio years ago, she has captured my imagination. Eventually, I found that she was a Christian author contemporary with C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. And then when I went to read Dante’s Divine Comedy I was surprised to find that her translation is one of the most famous and well-regarded translations. Not only was she a master of the mystery genre, she was also a remarkable scholar, particularly in a time when it was still difficult for women to achieve the academic success of their male counterparts….
Inspiration from a Biography of Fred Rogers Growing up in a strictly conservative home, there were strict limits to what our family was allowed to watch on television. We were probably a decade behind the times when we finally upgraded from the boxy old TV set to a new-fangled flatscreen. Our TV time was limited to a few animated cartoons and old (mostly black and white) movies. But there were a few shows on PBS that were also acceptable, including Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which came on every day at 12.30 pm. My mother would comment that this was perfect timing because…
What I’ve Been Reading “No, Thank you!” – Cyrano de Bergerac In my online reading group last week we discussed the “No, thank you!” speech from the play, Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. This was fun for me because I was completely unfamiliar with this play. If someone had said the name “Cyrano de Bergerac,” I would have responded with something like, “isn’t that a book about a guy with a big nose?” And that was the extend of my knowledge. I’ve really enjoyed our readings that are unfamiliar to me because it always opens up a whole new…
What I’ve Been Reading The state of the world today has led us to confront themes such as loneliness, connection, and danger. This piece argues that while our society seems to applaud those who take daring risks, we’re all sheltered within a bubble of safety—reluctant to take any meaningful risks. Such extreme safety has no room for resilience. We find ourselves in a place of fragility, as demonstrated by the last few months. To be truly safe, we must be willing to accept stress, discomfort, and danger. “The health of the whole depends on the ability of the parts to…
What I’ve Been Reading Inside Scientology, Janet Reitman This was a fascinating expose of a very mysterious organization. My full book review here. Tribalism Comes for Pandemic Science This piece from The New Atlantis perfectly expresses how I feel about the state of affairs in regards to the pandemic. Our polarized political culture has reflexively approached the pandemic as just another culture-war drama of this sort — demanding that we each prove our loyalty to our team and express exasperated outrage at the other. Everyone wants to have a complete understanding of reality, we expect to know exactly how…
I saw this book in the Kindle library and it sparked my interest because of my complete ignorance about this religious group. All I knew was that it is a mysterious and secretive movement that Tom Cruise is somehow connected with. Apparently this book is the only comprehensive expose that attempts to remain objective. While many defectors from Scientology have written about their own experiences, this author tries to report from a more balanced perspective and ensure that all claims are backed up with several sources. In terms of style, this was a very enjoyable read. The narrative flowed very…
