The Church Nursery Worker:
"I am very impressed with Owen. We were talking while he had his snack, and he was explaining the difference to me between a statement sentence and a question sentence."
Owen: "Yeah, and I don't like it that I can't do EITHER of those while you're doing your choir rehearsal."
Upon returning from the Rochester Museum and Science Center:
Owen: "My favorite part was getting to see the Holy Mammoth."
Felix, at EVERY. SINGLE. MEAL.
If he likes the food--"Ooh, dis tas' like a hot dog."
If he doesn't like the food--"This i' yukky. I wanna' hot dog."
And at some random point: "Mommy, Bills play a' Eagles dis' week?"
Answer: "No, the Bills play the ---"
Response: "No. Bills play a' Eagles."
Whenever Felix hears any music by John Williams.
"Ooh. Dat Shaw Waw." (Star Wars)
Jane, upon hearing Felix singing softly to himself over the LEGO table.
"Felix, are you singing yourself a song?"
"No, I singin' SHAW WAW!"
Thursday, January 23, 2020
Friday, January 10, 2020
What the Kids Are Up To
James-
It's January 10th, and I'm not sure that James has actually yet worn anything other than pajamas in 2020. I am reasonably certain that he hasn't worn the same pajamas for the entire new year, but I did have to stop and think about that.
I wouldn't mind the pajama thing so much except that he's so unreasonable about the interruptions between pajama time. When he has to change into church clothes on Sunday morning--this would be our weekly guarantee to get him out of jammies, but this last Sunday I called in sick for the first time in 9 years--he puts off the change until the last possible second and then lovingly lays out his pajamas on the floor, face up, and free from wrinkles.
His Sunday shirt and pants, meanwhile, are often on backwards. Or inside out. Or both.
As soon as we get back into the house he's in his pajamas again. And this is also true for trips to the grocery store on a Tuesday afternoon, or stepping outside for piano lessons. He's back in pajamas as soon as we're back in the door. Even if he knows that we're just heading out again 30 minutes later, he wants to be jammied for those 30 minutes. If a well-meaning parent tosses his dirty pajamas in a laundry basket (perhaps hoping that we can keep him in jeans and a sweater for more than the bare minimum amount of time) he just goes upstairs and finds another set of pajamas.
And though our sweet oldest child is endlessly patient and uncomplaining with his younger siblings and most of the inconveniences of his life, I do catch a glimpse of teenage righteous anger on the rare occasions when all of his pjs are dirty and in the laundry. "Dad," he'll sass "when are you EVER going to get around to doing the laundry."
"It's already done, it just needs folding."
"Okay, I'm going to go get some in the basement."
"Stay out of the basement. Whenever you dig through it it all ends up on the basement floor."
"But DAAADD!!!!"
Owen--
Owen had, over the course of about 24 hours, a bad allergic reaction to flaxseed, the start of the cold, and pinkeye. He's been much braver about the eyedrops for the pinkeye than James, though. James squints and wiggles and involuntarily puts his hands up. He whimpers and complains and somebody has to hold him still.
Owen lies ramrod straight on the floor with eyes wide open, unblinking. Part of him must enjoy being a daredevil. He's cycling through all of the colors of the rainbow with his M&M reward.
I foolishly taught both of them how to do the 1st down game (I think we called it 'calisthenics') that we used to play in the living room growing up. The idea was that one brother had a football and four tries to move it from the doorway to the closet. Everyone else tried to tackle them. Perhaps for younger siblings there was a blocker allowed? That's the way that we've been playing it with Owen, anyhow.
Owen takes a lot of punishment. For one thing, he doesn't have the sense to go down easily when he's all wrapped up and not going any further, so he ensures that it's a violent affair whenever he's tackled. He also has no patience for setting up his "runs" or avoiding contact. He wants to smash into you as hard as he can and keep pushing. And finally, James is so long and gangly that he usually tackles Owen using a horse collar or some other method that involves hooking and looping down rather than wrapping up.
Like I said, the knowledge of some games should just remain hidden.
Felix-
We had a discussion over break about whether or not Felix is a good kid. The question was--is he usually a good kid, or is he just usually not a bad kid? What Felix wants out of life isn't typically hard to give him. He likes to motor toy cars along window ledges and tote his George around behind whatever his brothers are doing. He likes to kick in the bathtub and look through books.
But, increasingly, he also is developing a taste for some naughtier activities. And there is no convincing him that ripping up library books isn't a good idea. Or, for example, turning on space heaters. ("I want to touch the hot.") Or flicking light switches up and down to make a strobe light. ("I turn light on and off.") Or throwing/dumping enormously full bins of LEGOs onto a freshly cleaned floor. "(I dump.")
It's helpful that he narrates everything that he does. This has saved us from disaster several times, including when I overheard from the other room "I cut my hair."
He's still amiable and well-behaved the vast majority of the time. (Currently he's pretending that two of the wise men from our nativity scene are rockets and that they are flying through the living room.) But if he gets a bad idea, there's no talking him out of it. ("I NEED'a play in the bathroom!")
It's January 10th, and I'm not sure that James has actually yet worn anything other than pajamas in 2020. I am reasonably certain that he hasn't worn the same pajamas for the entire new year, but I did have to stop and think about that.
I wouldn't mind the pajama thing so much except that he's so unreasonable about the interruptions between pajama time. When he has to change into church clothes on Sunday morning--this would be our weekly guarantee to get him out of jammies, but this last Sunday I called in sick for the first time in 9 years--he puts off the change until the last possible second and then lovingly lays out his pajamas on the floor, face up, and free from wrinkles.
His Sunday shirt and pants, meanwhile, are often on backwards. Or inside out. Or both.
As soon as we get back into the house he's in his pajamas again. And this is also true for trips to the grocery store on a Tuesday afternoon, or stepping outside for piano lessons. He's back in pajamas as soon as we're back in the door. Even if he knows that we're just heading out again 30 minutes later, he wants to be jammied for those 30 minutes. If a well-meaning parent tosses his dirty pajamas in a laundry basket (perhaps hoping that we can keep him in jeans and a sweater for more than the bare minimum amount of time) he just goes upstairs and finds another set of pajamas.
And though our sweet oldest child is endlessly patient and uncomplaining with his younger siblings and most of the inconveniences of his life, I do catch a glimpse of teenage righteous anger on the rare occasions when all of his pjs are dirty and in the laundry. "Dad," he'll sass "when are you EVER going to get around to doing the laundry."
"It's already done, it just needs folding."
"Okay, I'm going to go get some in the basement."
"Stay out of the basement. Whenever you dig through it it all ends up on the basement floor."
"But DAAADD!!!!"
Owen--
Owen had, over the course of about 24 hours, a bad allergic reaction to flaxseed, the start of the cold, and pinkeye. He's been much braver about the eyedrops for the pinkeye than James, though. James squints and wiggles and involuntarily puts his hands up. He whimpers and complains and somebody has to hold him still.
Owen lies ramrod straight on the floor with eyes wide open, unblinking. Part of him must enjoy being a daredevil. He's cycling through all of the colors of the rainbow with his M&M reward.
I foolishly taught both of them how to do the 1st down game (I think we called it 'calisthenics') that we used to play in the living room growing up. The idea was that one brother had a football and four tries to move it from the doorway to the closet. Everyone else tried to tackle them. Perhaps for younger siblings there was a blocker allowed? That's the way that we've been playing it with Owen, anyhow.
Owen takes a lot of punishment. For one thing, he doesn't have the sense to go down easily when he's all wrapped up and not going any further, so he ensures that it's a violent affair whenever he's tackled. He also has no patience for setting up his "runs" or avoiding contact. He wants to smash into you as hard as he can and keep pushing. And finally, James is so long and gangly that he usually tackles Owen using a horse collar or some other method that involves hooking and looping down rather than wrapping up.
Like I said, the knowledge of some games should just remain hidden.
Felix-
We had a discussion over break about whether or not Felix is a good kid. The question was--is he usually a good kid, or is he just usually not a bad kid? What Felix wants out of life isn't typically hard to give him. He likes to motor toy cars along window ledges and tote his George around behind whatever his brothers are doing. He likes to kick in the bathtub and look through books.
But, increasingly, he also is developing a taste for some naughtier activities. And there is no convincing him that ripping up library books isn't a good idea. Or, for example, turning on space heaters. ("I want to touch the hot.") Or flicking light switches up and down to make a strobe light. ("I turn light on and off.") Or throwing/dumping enormously full bins of LEGOs onto a freshly cleaned floor. "(I dump.")
It's helpful that he narrates everything that he does. This has saved us from disaster several times, including when I overheard from the other room "I cut my hair."
He's still amiable and well-behaved the vast majority of the time. (Currently he's pretending that two of the wise men from our nativity scene are rockets and that they are flying through the living room.) But if he gets a bad idea, there's no talking him out of it. ("I NEED'a play in the bathroom!")
Saturday, January 4, 2020
Sass from a Sick Felix
1. On my responding to a question he was asking J
"Daddy, I'm not talkin' a you. I talkin' a MOMMY."
2. On being presented with a bowl of Peruvian pesto
"This yukky."
"You don't know if it's yucky. You haven't tried it."
"It yukky."
"Here, I'm going to help you with a bite."
"No. It YUKKY."
<inserts bite>
"OH. This not yukky."
3. On being told it was time to have some medicine.
"I want not that."
"I can't want that."
"I want chock'it." (chocolate)
"Daddy, I'm not talkin' a you. I talkin' a MOMMY."
2. On being presented with a bowl of Peruvian pesto
"This yukky."
"You don't know if it's yucky. You haven't tried it."
"It yukky."
"Here, I'm going to help you with a bite."
"No. It YUKKY."
<inserts bite>
"OH. This not yukky."
3. On being told it was time to have some medicine.
"I want not that."
"I can't want that."
"I want chock'it." (chocolate)
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
2019 Reading
The Open Society and Its Enemies (Karl Popper)--My first reading, and a timely one in the age of Trump. (The Economist did an excellent piece last year about whether or not Open v. Closed is a useful description of societies.)
Pure (Linda Kay Klein)--A recommendation from J, and a totally worthwhile (though grim) read for anyone who grew up in the Josh Harris/purity culture moment of Evangelicalism. More a collection of stories than a preachy counterdoctrine.
Cozy Minimalist Home (Myquillyn Smith)--Meh. Pretty pictures. We did a lot of work refurnishing our downstairs last January and February.
Galapagos (Kurt Vonnegut)--The end of the world as we know it. I don't know how he came up with his story ideas, but this was a fun one.
While Mortals Sleep (Kurt Vonnegut)--A collection of posthumous short stories. Almost as interesting for the illustrations as the stories themselves.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (J.K. Rowling)
Rabbit, Run (John Updike)--I read this once in college and could barely stomach it. I read it again in Greensboro and thought that I liked it better. This time I loved it.
Deadeye Dick (Kurt Vonnegut)--Dreadfully uncomfortable book about an accidental murder.
The Reckoning (John Grisham)--It was fine. I think I read it in a hotel room on an audition.
Fluent Forever (Gabriel Wyner)--A book about brain science and how to study foreign language grammar and vocabulary. Interesting that the author was originally a musician. (Opera singer)
William Shakespeare's Star Wars (Ian Doescher)--Exactly what it sounds like. It was great. I read it in the pit while sitting around for hours at a time in the pit for Don Giovanni last February.
A Thousand Acres (Jane Smiley)--Very interesting retelling of the King Lear story, but set in the modern midwest.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (J.K. Rowling)
King Lear (William Shakespeare)--Because I had to after reading A Thousand Acres. It turns out that the adaption was even more faithful than I remembered.
The Empire Striketh Back (Ian Doescher)--More Star Wars fun in iambic pentameter
God and the Gay Christian (Matthew Vines)--One of the recommendations from my former pastor. Very interesting to read in counterpoint to Greg Coles' book, as they are similarly aged and telling related stories.
The Tipping Point (Malcolm Gladwell)--Interesting people, heuristics, and sociological change. Apparently the first popular essay on the broken windows theory of policing.
The Sense of Style (Steven Pinker)--Pinker's excellent follow up to the White and Strunk. This is one that's probably worth keeping a hard copy.
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (Kurt Vonnegut)--A novel about money, philanthropy, and madness. Kilgore Trout appears.
Church in Crisis (Oliver O'Donovan)--A wonderful set of essays on the debate surrounding homosexuality in the Anglican communion. As much about church polity as the actual interpretation of the issues, but clear and insightful.
Black Hawk Down (Mark Bowden)--A minute by minute account of the events of the Battle of Mogadishu.
On the Road (Jack Kerouac)--My first reading. Wasn't nearly as off-putting as I was always lead to believe.
In a Dark, Dark Wood (Ruth Ware)--Good mystery yarn. I don't love amnesia as a central plot element.
The Song of Achilles (Madeline Miller)--I LOVED this book. Incorporated tons of source material from the Iliad and made that world come alive to a modern reader like any good modern novel. Might have been my favorite book of the year. Also, the author looks just like Martha.
Enlightenment Now (Steven Pinker)--Pinker's summative case for secular humanism.
Ab Urbe Condita, Liber V (Livy)--Read in Latin. The end of the Veii conflict through the first sacking by the Gauls. Thanks to Lucas for getting this edition for me down in Ithaca.
The Death of Mrs. Westaway (Ruth Ware)--Good mystery yarn. Lots of good red herrings.
The Bacchae (Euripides)--Read in Greek. I forgot quite how violent this is. (Ends in explicit dismemberment.)
The Story of the Stone (Cao Xuequin)--Chinese court novel from the Qing dynasty. I read the first book, didn't feel terribly compelled to seek out the other volumes.
Rabbit, Redux (John Updike)--Hard to read Rabbit's story while he was basically in my phase of fatherhood. (But living in 1969.)
Hocus Pocus (Kurt Vonnegut)--Must be especially amusing for college professors of literature to read an experimental novel in which college literature departments are contrasted with prisons.
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)--Annual re-read of one of my favorite novels. Also enjoyed watching the Hulu miniseries, but was disappointed with how it fizzled out at the end.
David and Goliath (Malcolm Gladwell)--Just okay. I loved discovering Malcolm Gladwell (and his podcasts) this year, but this was better as a collection of short biographies than his usual collection of interesting ideas.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (J.K. Rowling)
Obama's Wars (Bob Woodward)--A look into the executive branch during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Nothing to very little said at all about the Gitmo controversies or torture in general, much more about troop strategy and internal politicking.
Richistan (Robert Frank)--A Hamway recommendation. Fascinating look (published right before and at the beginning of the 2008 crash) at wealth disparity in the United States. Frightening to think about how some of the issues highlighted might have worsened since then. Donald Trump figures into the book tangentially in his pre-political life.
De Bello Gallico Liber I (Julius Caesar)--Read in Latin. Caesar's war journals from the Gallic war. An unsurprisingly flattering account of Caesar and his rousing pre-battle speeches.
Lost Moon (Jim Lovell)--Lovell's account of the Apollo 13 mission. Didn't even know this book existed until I saw it accidentally in the library and read it almost in a single sitting.
Paul, A Biography (N.T. Wright)--Great popular level work on Paul's life and ministry. Squarely in the biography genre but incorporates a lot of the scholarship from Paul and the Faithfulness of God.
The Lying Game (Ruth Ware)--My favorite premise of her mysteries.
Fear (Bob Woodward)--Confirms all your worst suspicions about how the first stretch of the Trump White House (up to the beginning of the Mueller investigation) actually worked.
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? (Beverly Daniel Tatum)--Another recommendation from my former pastor. Was very interested in this book but ultimately disappointed. A provocative call to conversations about race (and the effect of race on childhood development) without actually setting parameters for what the conversations might look like.
Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad)--This one seemed extra racist right after reading the Tatum book.
Peter and the Starcatchers (Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson)--Hilarious prequel to the Peter Pan stories. Flirted just between being for children and being for adults. (Kind of like watching an Animaniacs.)
The Edge of Words (Rowan Williams)--The more I read Rowan Williams the more I love him. Brilliant short book here about the nature/limits of human language and how it intersects with spirituality/community.
Bad Blood (John Carreyou)--A recommendation from J. The story of the Theranos startup. Who says that excellent reporting is dead?
Peter and the Shadow Thief (Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson)--This is probably where I should have given up on this series--each book got a little worse--but they were fun and I kept going.
Passionate Marriage (David Schnarch)--NOT a sex manual. But a well reviewed book on the psychological independence in a married/sexual relationship. Some good ideas inside, but the author was so smug about his own importance/ideas that long stretches were unreadable.
Rabbit is Rich (John Updike)--The third Rabbit book. What happened to Nelson in this book (and the next) was heartbreaking. Set in the 80s.
Peter and the Secret of Rundoon (Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson) The third Starcatchers book.
Rabbit at Rest (John Updike)--Rabbitdammerung.
Hillbilly Elegy (J.D. Vance)--A memoir recommended by J about escaping from white poverty and "white trash" culture and the systemic entanglement of honor/pride/responsibility.
Rabbit Remembered (John Updike)--A little novella that wraps up the Rabbit Story and gives Nelson a little happiness.
Peter and the Sword of Mercy (Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson)--The last Starcatchers book.
Flow (Mihaly Csikszentmilhalyi)--The psychology of being in flow. Perfectly explains why I do what I do. (And usually enjoy it)
Animal Farm (George Orwell)--Annual reread
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J.K. Rowling)
Artemis (Andy Weir)--Not nearly as good as The Martian, but fun
Foreign Affairs (Alison Lurie)--A novel about two academics in London. Funny on the one part and desperately sad for the other.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (J.K. Rowling)
The Secret Adversary (Agatha Christie)--The first of the Tommy and Tuppence books. I intended to read them all this year, but never got around to it.
What the Dog Saw (Malcolm Gladwell)--A collection of New Yorker essays. I was much amused that the title essay was all about the Dog Whisperer. One of my BPO colleagues spent most of the previous summer trying to convince me (unsuccessfully) to watch that.
Endure (Alex Hutchinson)--Profiles of athletes and the sports science/sports psychology about the extreme limits of the human body.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (J.K. Rowling)
The Bridge to Neverland (Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson)--Bonus Starcatcher novel set in the modern world.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles--The first Hercule Poirot novel. Never got around to reading the rest of those either.
Beautiful Ruins (Jess Walter)--Funny satirical novel about Hollywood/Italy and missed connections
The Year of Living Danishly (Helen Russell)--Did not make me want to move to Denmark
All the President's Men (Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein)--Semiannual re-read.
The Coddling of the American Mind (Jonathon Haidt and Greg Lukianoff)--Excellent research book expanded from their Atlantic article about civil discourse, call-out culture, and the state of the American university.
Natural Causes (Barbara Ehrenreich)--A blend of journalism and memoir about American health care and wrestling with your own mortality.
A Walk in the Woods (Bill Bryson)--One of my top book from all year. Bill Bryson and Stephen Katz hike parts of the Appalachian Trail. Hilarity ensues.
The Frugalwoods (Elizabeth Willard Thames)--The story of a debt-retiring and early financial independence for a young family that decided to stop buying pretty much everything.
The Ninth Hour (Alice McDermott)--A novel about nuns in Boston. Lots of guilt, death, and moral ambivalence.
Orange is the New Black (Piper Kerman)--Read it in one go in an airport.
The 100 Thing Challenge (Dave Bruno)--Also read this at the airport. Possibly the dumbest book I read all year. You can't claim that you're going to live with only 100 possessions if one of your possessions is "a library."
The Hunt for Red October (Tom Clancy)--I think I read most of this in the airport as well? Dates pretty well for an 80s techno thriller.
Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov)--Straight up creepy with no redeeming virtues. Never need to open it again.
Faith Unraveled (Rachel Held Evans)--Her first memoir, a recommendation from J. Loved it. It's the voice of our particular moment.
David Copperfield (Charles Dickens)--Uriah Heep is maybe his best villain.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J.K. Rowling)
Cardinal of the Kremlin (Tom Clancy)--I read all the Jack Ryan books at some point in college, but somehow skipped over this one in the process.
Dreamland (Samuel Quinones)--The story of two towns in Ohio and Mexico and all of the economic/legal/social factors that are driving the opioid epidemic.
Circe (Madeline Miller)--Not quite at the same level of Song of Achilles, but loved it.
American War (Omar El Akkad)--War novel set in the post-apocalyptic future where the South has seceded again
A Gentleman in Moscow (Amor Towles)--One of the most beautifully written books I read all year--the whole thing was like reading poetry. (And apparently the author was a stockbroker?) The story of a count under house arrest in a hotel in Communist Moscow.
The Lost City of Z (David Grann)--The parts about Percy Fawcett were way more interesting than the modern bits.
The Histories, Volume 1 (Herodotus)--The original storyteller. Even if it's mostly unreliable it makes for great reading.
Bad Feminist (Roxanne Gay)--Essays on being a woman in the modern world. Some topical, some autobiographical.
Hallucinations (Oliver Sacks)--The positive and the negative effects of hallucination and a very accessible explanation (or guesswork) at some of the brain science behind them.
Dazzle (Judith Krantz)--Also a strong contender for the worst book I read all year. Apparently Krantz died last year and the Economist did an obit praising her for bringing legitimate literary merit to the "bonkbuster" genre. Maybe in some of her other books, I could barely get through this one.
The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)--Hard to classify stylistically. It's sort of an adult fairy tale in lyric prose about a journey in northern Africa. Beautifully written.
A Man Called Ove (Fredrik Backman)--A recommendation from one of my carpool friends. It was like reading a life of my grandfather. Absolutely loved it, and went on a big Backman kick thereafter.
Simply Jesus (N.T. Wright)--Read along with J and some in-laws for beach discussion.
Columbine (Dave Cullen)--Investigative journalism about the events of Columbine and then the reporting (and political movements) that followed. Dispelled a lot the myth and background noise that I remember from being in that moment and trying to make sense of it.
An Anthropologist on Mars (Oliver Sacks)--Wonderful essays on some of Dr. Sacks' patients and their quirks/gifts.
War (Sebastian Junger)--One of my favorite writers and his experience being embedded in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan with US troops.
The Art of Travel--I can't remember the author (maybe Galton?) and am too lazy to go looking on my kindle. It was someone from the Lost City of Z book, and this is guide to 19th century travel expeditions. (Warning--contains all the worst racism/sexism of the era.)
Tribe (Sebastian Junger)--An extended piece of belonging to one another in/through culture, war, and disaster. As much philosophy as journalism.
Swann's Way (Marcel Proust)--My second time through the first book of the series, but I've never gone any further and didn't this time either.
Why We Sleep (Matthew Walker)--An excellent book about the science of sleep health recommended by one of my carpool friends. Has made me feel guilty about my coffee intake and lack of stable rest time (knowing the possible consequences) but unfortunately hasn't led to a ton of changes...
The Feather Thief (Kirk Johnson)--A recommendation from J. The true story of the classical flutist who committed a felony theft of rare feathers to make Victorian fishing flies. Or, more evidence not to trust flutists.
The Case for the Psalms (N.T. Wright)--Wonderful little book about the Psalms in Christian life. Directly inspired the psalm project we did at GPC over the fall.
A Death in Belmont (Sebastian Junger)--The possible (does it ever really get resolved?) unmasking of the Boston Strangler, and how the story directly (and frighteningly) intersected with Junger's own childhood.
Not in God's Name (Jonathan Sacks)--One of my favorite books of the year. A long essay on religious violence, the interpretation of the Abrahamic narratives in Genesis, and a look at the "sibling rivalry" between the three Abrahamic faiths.
Fall of Giants (Ken Follett)--A WWI epic recommended by one of my BPO colleagues, part of which takes place in Buffalo.
Gratitude (Oliver Sacks)--A collection of his final essays.
The Great Partnership (Jonathan Sacks)--His thoughts and insights on the dialouge/rivalry between science and religion and where the debate stands now.
Fire (Sebastian Junger)--The dangerous and little noticed business of fighting wildfires in America.
Euthyphro (Plato)--Read in Greek. The question of piety and (indirectly) the justice of the gods.
Under the Banner of Heaven (Jon Krakauer)--A long and uncomfortable look and fundamentalist mormonism and its ugliest iterations.
Grit (Angela Duckworth)--Teasing out the data about talent, perseverance, and achievement in a number of different disciplines.
The Mind's Eye (Oliver Sacks)--The miracle of sight and all that can go wrong between seeing and the understanding the world.
The Fifth Risk (Michael Lewis)--All of the potential long-term negative outcomes of the Trump executive branch through their neglect of the federal bodies that ensure we get weather/manage nuclear waste/etc...
Bridge to Terabithia (Katherine Paterson)--Annual re-read.
Evicted (Matthew Desmond)--A look at poverty and the housing markets in Milwaukee with a number of ongoing case studies.
Less (Andrew Sean Greer)--A recent Pulitzer winner about a gay man trying to escape a painful breakup and traveling the world to do so.
Things My Son Needs to Know About the World (Fredrik Backman)--Absolutely hilarious (Dave Barryesque) stories from Backman about being the parent of a little boy.
Histories, Volume 2 (Herodotus)--More of the history of Greece and Asia Minor, through the great conflict with Persia.
Flash Boys (Michael Lewis)--The confounding logic and underhanded dealing behind flash trading and the building of exchange infrastructure. Made my head spin with anger. (And appreciation that someone actually reported on this.)
Where the Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens)--I know this book has been popular and well-reviewed. I thought it was dumb. Totally fits all of the White Woman Southern Fiction tropes.
How to Read Water (Tristan Gooley)--Picked this up in an outdoors store in Skaneatles while waiting around between a rehearsal and a gig. Esoteric but you appreciate that someone is still keeping this sort of knowledge alive.
The Cuckoo's Calling (Robert Galbraith)--J read these awhile ago and recommended them, but I never got around to picking them up. I LOVED them once I started. Can't wait until the next one comes out, and I hope she keeps them up.
Beartown (Fredrik Backman)--His hockey novel. Excellent sports writing.
The Silkworm (Robert Galbraith)--Gruesome and great.
Rules of Civility (Amor Towles)--A novel set in 1920s New York City. Excellent twist at the end.
Close to Shore (Michael Capuzzo)--Set up to read like an Erik Larson book, but it's really literary Shark Week. It was fun.
Us Against You (Fredrik Backman)--The sequel to Beartown. First sports book I've ever read where you don't actually get to find out how the "big game" ended.
Career of Evil (Robert Galbraith)--The third Cormoran Strike book. The Strike-Robin relationship in this one is masterful.
Believe It (Nick Foles)--Because James recommended it about twenty times. (And has probably read it even more times.) I still can't convince him to send Nick Foles a letter.
Lethal White (Robert Galbraith)
Trail Fever (Michael Lewis)--An in depth look at the 1996 presidential primaries. I'd be curious to know how much about the process has changed. Definitely not a flattering portrait of Bob Dole.
Manhattan Beach (Jennifer Egan)--An okayish novel about a woman who becomes a diver in WWII NYC. The mafia is involved somehow too. It's fine.
The Boys in the Boat (Daniel James Brown)--The true story of the US crew team that won gold at the 1936 Olympics. A great recommendation from J--I don't understand how it isn't a big movie yet.
The Deal of a Lifetime (Fredrik Backman)--A little experimental novella dealing with the father-son relationship.
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry (Fredrik Bakman)--The lives of one little apartment complex and how they intersect more closely than you'd think. Clever.
The Uncoupling (Meg Wolitzer)--A high school puts on Lysistrata and it somehow curses the couples of the town.
Moneyball (Michael Lewis)--The story of the '00 Oakland A's and data-driven personnel moves.
Out of the Silent Planet (C.S. Lewis)--Reread of the Space Trilogy
How Much Is A Little Girl Worth (Rachel Denhollander) A recommendation from J. VERY well written. (We're probably going to own this book before too long.)
Casino Royale (Ian Fleming)--I had never read any of the Bond novels. He's very different than in the movies. (He sweats through his shirts and has bad breath, for one thing)
Britt-Marie Was Here (Fredrik Backman)--Semi-sequel to his Grandmother book, and the soccer equivalent of Beartown.
The Riverside Villas Murder (Kingsley Amis)--Fun premise for a murder mystery, but uncomfortably full of statutory rape.
Perelandra (C.S. Lewis)
Live and Let Die (Ian Fleming)--I've never seen this movie, but there's no way it can be as openly racist as the book.
The Female Persuasion (Meg Wolitzer)--A very interesting long look at a lifelong mentoring relationship between two women.
A Wrinkle In Time (Madeline L'Engle)--Reread. Attempted to gauge whether James might be interested yet, inconclusive.
The Joy Luck Club (Amy Tan)--The story of Chinese families (multiple generations) making their way in America
Talking to Strangers (Malcolm Gladwell)--THIS was a good book. Full of all sort of good Kahneman/Tvsersky style ideas and experiments.
Washington (Ron Chernow)--Long but very readable. A whole work that held together lots of material and I learned quite a bit.
Liar's Poker (Michael Lewis)--His debut novel about finding his way in and eventually quitting the bond market in the 80s.
Shutter Island (Dennis Lehane)--Creepy mindbending thriller that takes place over 48 hours on a secluded island with a psychiatric facility.
I'm a Stranger Here Myself (Bill Bryson)--His "travel" book about living in America. Originally all essays published in his local paper.
That Hideous Strength (C.S. Lewis)
The Wife (Meg Wolitzer)--This was my favorite of her works so far. A renowned author and his wife travel to Finland to collect a literary prize and their story is tantalizingly unspooled. Great twist at the end.
The Blind Side (Michael Lewis)--The Michael Oher story. Excellent football writing.
Till We Have Faces (C.S. Lewis)--Improves with every re-reading.
Big Little Lies (Liane Moriarty)--A recommendation from J. Didn't love it. Tried some of her other stuff and didn't love that either.
The Great Alone (Kristin Hannah)--Like the Nightingale it had a lot going for it and ended with a whimper. The story of a girl with a dangerous father living in Alaska.
The Position (Meg Wolitzer)--The four children of two therapists find out more than they wanted to know about their parent's sex lives. The novel tracks the whole family through their adult lives.
The Progress Paradox (Gregg Easterbrook)--I used to love reading TMQ. A lot of ideas in here that appeared in that column.
Neither Here Nor There (Bill Bryson)--Bryson's European travels. Includes excellent Katz stories.
What Alice Forgot (Liane Moriarty)--I don't love amnesia as a plot device.
The Ten Year Nap (Meg Wolitzer)--Amnesia is actually not a plot device in this one. The story of parents/couples finding their way in NYC.
In a Sunburned Country (Bill Bryson)--His Australia book. Gutbusting funny and we had a lot of fun asking our Australian friends about some of the content.
Aphytrio (Plautus)--Read in Latin. Latin theatre isn't great, but this was an amusing comedy about Jove scoring with a mortal woman and confusing the husband in the process.
The Interestings (Meg Wolitzer)--Follows a circle of summer camp friends through their adult lives.
The Husband's Secret (Liane Moriarty)
Mystic River (Dennis Lehane)--Three boyhood friends meet again when one of their daughter's is murdered. (There's a police officer, an ex-con, and the prime murder suspect.)
A Short History of Nearly Everything (Bill Bryson)--Bryson's big summary of modern scientific advancement and how it is that we got there.
The Garden of Eden (Ernest Hemmingway)--A couple on honeymoon becomes a throuple and it ends badly.
When the Sleeper Wakes (H.G. Wells)--An "amnesia" (sort of) novel that ends well. A 20th century Englishman falls asleep for 200 years and awakes to a political crisis that he's somehow involved in.
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid (Bill Bryson)--What it was like to grow up in Iowa in the 50s and 60s with a very active imagination.
My hope for 2020 is to do a much better job blogging. Sorry about 2019. I was busy reading.
Pure (Linda Kay Klein)--A recommendation from J, and a totally worthwhile (though grim) read for anyone who grew up in the Josh Harris/purity culture moment of Evangelicalism. More a collection of stories than a preachy counterdoctrine.
Cozy Minimalist Home (Myquillyn Smith)--Meh. Pretty pictures. We did a lot of work refurnishing our downstairs last January and February.
Galapagos (Kurt Vonnegut)--The end of the world as we know it. I don't know how he came up with his story ideas, but this was a fun one.
While Mortals Sleep (Kurt Vonnegut)--A collection of posthumous short stories. Almost as interesting for the illustrations as the stories themselves.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (J.K. Rowling)
Rabbit, Run (John Updike)--I read this once in college and could barely stomach it. I read it again in Greensboro and thought that I liked it better. This time I loved it.
Deadeye Dick (Kurt Vonnegut)--Dreadfully uncomfortable book about an accidental murder.
The Reckoning (John Grisham)--It was fine. I think I read it in a hotel room on an audition.
Fluent Forever (Gabriel Wyner)--A book about brain science and how to study foreign language grammar and vocabulary. Interesting that the author was originally a musician. (Opera singer)
William Shakespeare's Star Wars (Ian Doescher)--Exactly what it sounds like. It was great. I read it in the pit while sitting around for hours at a time in the pit for Don Giovanni last February.
A Thousand Acres (Jane Smiley)--Very interesting retelling of the King Lear story, but set in the modern midwest.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (J.K. Rowling)
King Lear (William Shakespeare)--Because I had to after reading A Thousand Acres. It turns out that the adaption was even more faithful than I remembered.
The Empire Striketh Back (Ian Doescher)--More Star Wars fun in iambic pentameter
God and the Gay Christian (Matthew Vines)--One of the recommendations from my former pastor. Very interesting to read in counterpoint to Greg Coles' book, as they are similarly aged and telling related stories.
The Tipping Point (Malcolm Gladwell)--Interesting people, heuristics, and sociological change. Apparently the first popular essay on the broken windows theory of policing.
The Sense of Style (Steven Pinker)--Pinker's excellent follow up to the White and Strunk. This is one that's probably worth keeping a hard copy.
God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater (Kurt Vonnegut)--A novel about money, philanthropy, and madness. Kilgore Trout appears.
Church in Crisis (Oliver O'Donovan)--A wonderful set of essays on the debate surrounding homosexuality in the Anglican communion. As much about church polity as the actual interpretation of the issues, but clear and insightful.
Black Hawk Down (Mark Bowden)--A minute by minute account of the events of the Battle of Mogadishu.
On the Road (Jack Kerouac)--My first reading. Wasn't nearly as off-putting as I was always lead to believe.
In a Dark, Dark Wood (Ruth Ware)--Good mystery yarn. I don't love amnesia as a central plot element.
The Song of Achilles (Madeline Miller)--I LOVED this book. Incorporated tons of source material from the Iliad and made that world come alive to a modern reader like any good modern novel. Might have been my favorite book of the year. Also, the author looks just like Martha.
Enlightenment Now (Steven Pinker)--Pinker's summative case for secular humanism.
Ab Urbe Condita, Liber V (Livy)--Read in Latin. The end of the Veii conflict through the first sacking by the Gauls. Thanks to Lucas for getting this edition for me down in Ithaca.
The Death of Mrs. Westaway (Ruth Ware)--Good mystery yarn. Lots of good red herrings.
The Bacchae (Euripides)--Read in Greek. I forgot quite how violent this is. (Ends in explicit dismemberment.)
The Story of the Stone (Cao Xuequin)--Chinese court novel from the Qing dynasty. I read the first book, didn't feel terribly compelled to seek out the other volumes.
Rabbit, Redux (John Updike)--Hard to read Rabbit's story while he was basically in my phase of fatherhood. (But living in 1969.)
Hocus Pocus (Kurt Vonnegut)--Must be especially amusing for college professors of literature to read an experimental novel in which college literature departments are contrasted with prisons.
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)--Annual re-read of one of my favorite novels. Also enjoyed watching the Hulu miniseries, but was disappointed with how it fizzled out at the end.
David and Goliath (Malcolm Gladwell)--Just okay. I loved discovering Malcolm Gladwell (and his podcasts) this year, but this was better as a collection of short biographies than his usual collection of interesting ideas.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (J.K. Rowling)
Obama's Wars (Bob Woodward)--A look into the executive branch during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Nothing to very little said at all about the Gitmo controversies or torture in general, much more about troop strategy and internal politicking.
Richistan (Robert Frank)--A Hamway recommendation. Fascinating look (published right before and at the beginning of the 2008 crash) at wealth disparity in the United States. Frightening to think about how some of the issues highlighted might have worsened since then. Donald Trump figures into the book tangentially in his pre-political life.
De Bello Gallico Liber I (Julius Caesar)--Read in Latin. Caesar's war journals from the Gallic war. An unsurprisingly flattering account of Caesar and his rousing pre-battle speeches.
Lost Moon (Jim Lovell)--Lovell's account of the Apollo 13 mission. Didn't even know this book existed until I saw it accidentally in the library and read it almost in a single sitting.
Paul, A Biography (N.T. Wright)--Great popular level work on Paul's life and ministry. Squarely in the biography genre but incorporates a lot of the scholarship from Paul and the Faithfulness of God.
The Lying Game (Ruth Ware)--My favorite premise of her mysteries.
Fear (Bob Woodward)--Confirms all your worst suspicions about how the first stretch of the Trump White House (up to the beginning of the Mueller investigation) actually worked.
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? (Beverly Daniel Tatum)--Another recommendation from my former pastor. Was very interested in this book but ultimately disappointed. A provocative call to conversations about race (and the effect of race on childhood development) without actually setting parameters for what the conversations might look like.
Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad)--This one seemed extra racist right after reading the Tatum book.
Peter and the Starcatchers (Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson)--Hilarious prequel to the Peter Pan stories. Flirted just between being for children and being for adults. (Kind of like watching an Animaniacs.)
The Edge of Words (Rowan Williams)--The more I read Rowan Williams the more I love him. Brilliant short book here about the nature/limits of human language and how it intersects with spirituality/community.
Bad Blood (John Carreyou)--A recommendation from J. The story of the Theranos startup. Who says that excellent reporting is dead?
Peter and the Shadow Thief (Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson)--This is probably where I should have given up on this series--each book got a little worse--but they were fun and I kept going.
Passionate Marriage (David Schnarch)--NOT a sex manual. But a well reviewed book on the psychological independence in a married/sexual relationship. Some good ideas inside, but the author was so smug about his own importance/ideas that long stretches were unreadable.
Rabbit is Rich (John Updike)--The third Rabbit book. What happened to Nelson in this book (and the next) was heartbreaking. Set in the 80s.
Peter and the Secret of Rundoon (Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson) The third Starcatchers book.
Rabbit at Rest (John Updike)--Rabbitdammerung.
Hillbilly Elegy (J.D. Vance)--A memoir recommended by J about escaping from white poverty and "white trash" culture and the systemic entanglement of honor/pride/responsibility.
Rabbit Remembered (John Updike)--A little novella that wraps up the Rabbit Story and gives Nelson a little happiness.
Peter and the Sword of Mercy (Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson)--The last Starcatchers book.
Flow (Mihaly Csikszentmilhalyi)--The psychology of being in flow. Perfectly explains why I do what I do. (And usually enjoy it)
Animal Farm (George Orwell)--Annual reread
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J.K. Rowling)
Artemis (Andy Weir)--Not nearly as good as The Martian, but fun
Foreign Affairs (Alison Lurie)--A novel about two academics in London. Funny on the one part and desperately sad for the other.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (J.K. Rowling)
The Secret Adversary (Agatha Christie)--The first of the Tommy and Tuppence books. I intended to read them all this year, but never got around to it.
What the Dog Saw (Malcolm Gladwell)--A collection of New Yorker essays. I was much amused that the title essay was all about the Dog Whisperer. One of my BPO colleagues spent most of the previous summer trying to convince me (unsuccessfully) to watch that.
Endure (Alex Hutchinson)--Profiles of athletes and the sports science/sports psychology about the extreme limits of the human body.
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (J.K. Rowling)
The Bridge to Neverland (Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson)--Bonus Starcatcher novel set in the modern world.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles--The first Hercule Poirot novel. Never got around to reading the rest of those either.
Beautiful Ruins (Jess Walter)--Funny satirical novel about Hollywood/Italy and missed connections
The Year of Living Danishly (Helen Russell)--Did not make me want to move to Denmark
All the President's Men (Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein)--Semiannual re-read.
The Coddling of the American Mind (Jonathon Haidt and Greg Lukianoff)--Excellent research book expanded from their Atlantic article about civil discourse, call-out culture, and the state of the American university.
Natural Causes (Barbara Ehrenreich)--A blend of journalism and memoir about American health care and wrestling with your own mortality.
A Walk in the Woods (Bill Bryson)--One of my top book from all year. Bill Bryson and Stephen Katz hike parts of the Appalachian Trail. Hilarity ensues.
The Frugalwoods (Elizabeth Willard Thames)--The story of a debt-retiring and early financial independence for a young family that decided to stop buying pretty much everything.
The Ninth Hour (Alice McDermott)--A novel about nuns in Boston. Lots of guilt, death, and moral ambivalence.
Orange is the New Black (Piper Kerman)--Read it in one go in an airport.
The 100 Thing Challenge (Dave Bruno)--Also read this at the airport. Possibly the dumbest book I read all year. You can't claim that you're going to live with only 100 possessions if one of your possessions is "a library."
The Hunt for Red October (Tom Clancy)--I think I read most of this in the airport as well? Dates pretty well for an 80s techno thriller.
Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov)--Straight up creepy with no redeeming virtues. Never need to open it again.
Faith Unraveled (Rachel Held Evans)--Her first memoir, a recommendation from J. Loved it. It's the voice of our particular moment.
David Copperfield (Charles Dickens)--Uriah Heep is maybe his best villain.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J.K. Rowling)
Cardinal of the Kremlin (Tom Clancy)--I read all the Jack Ryan books at some point in college, but somehow skipped over this one in the process.
Dreamland (Samuel Quinones)--The story of two towns in Ohio and Mexico and all of the economic/legal/social factors that are driving the opioid epidemic.
Circe (Madeline Miller)--Not quite at the same level of Song of Achilles, but loved it.
American War (Omar El Akkad)--War novel set in the post-apocalyptic future where the South has seceded again
A Gentleman in Moscow (Amor Towles)--One of the most beautifully written books I read all year--the whole thing was like reading poetry. (And apparently the author was a stockbroker?) The story of a count under house arrest in a hotel in Communist Moscow.
The Lost City of Z (David Grann)--The parts about Percy Fawcett were way more interesting than the modern bits.
The Histories, Volume 1 (Herodotus)--The original storyteller. Even if it's mostly unreliable it makes for great reading.
Bad Feminist (Roxanne Gay)--Essays on being a woman in the modern world. Some topical, some autobiographical.
Hallucinations (Oliver Sacks)--The positive and the negative effects of hallucination and a very accessible explanation (or guesswork) at some of the brain science behind them.
Dazzle (Judith Krantz)--Also a strong contender for the worst book I read all year. Apparently Krantz died last year and the Economist did an obit praising her for bringing legitimate literary merit to the "bonkbuster" genre. Maybe in some of her other books, I could barely get through this one.
The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)--Hard to classify stylistically. It's sort of an adult fairy tale in lyric prose about a journey in northern Africa. Beautifully written.
A Man Called Ove (Fredrik Backman)--A recommendation from one of my carpool friends. It was like reading a life of my grandfather. Absolutely loved it, and went on a big Backman kick thereafter.
Simply Jesus (N.T. Wright)--Read along with J and some in-laws for beach discussion.
Columbine (Dave Cullen)--Investigative journalism about the events of Columbine and then the reporting (and political movements) that followed. Dispelled a lot the myth and background noise that I remember from being in that moment and trying to make sense of it.
An Anthropologist on Mars (Oliver Sacks)--Wonderful essays on some of Dr. Sacks' patients and their quirks/gifts.
War (Sebastian Junger)--One of my favorite writers and his experience being embedded in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan with US troops.
The Art of Travel--I can't remember the author (maybe Galton?) and am too lazy to go looking on my kindle. It was someone from the Lost City of Z book, and this is guide to 19th century travel expeditions. (Warning--contains all the worst racism/sexism of the era.)
Tribe (Sebastian Junger)--An extended piece of belonging to one another in/through culture, war, and disaster. As much philosophy as journalism.
Swann's Way (Marcel Proust)--My second time through the first book of the series, but I've never gone any further and didn't this time either.
Why We Sleep (Matthew Walker)--An excellent book about the science of sleep health recommended by one of my carpool friends. Has made me feel guilty about my coffee intake and lack of stable rest time (knowing the possible consequences) but unfortunately hasn't led to a ton of changes...
The Feather Thief (Kirk Johnson)--A recommendation from J. The true story of the classical flutist who committed a felony theft of rare feathers to make Victorian fishing flies. Or, more evidence not to trust flutists.
The Case for the Psalms (N.T. Wright)--Wonderful little book about the Psalms in Christian life. Directly inspired the psalm project we did at GPC over the fall.
A Death in Belmont (Sebastian Junger)--The possible (does it ever really get resolved?) unmasking of the Boston Strangler, and how the story directly (and frighteningly) intersected with Junger's own childhood.
Not in God's Name (Jonathan Sacks)--One of my favorite books of the year. A long essay on religious violence, the interpretation of the Abrahamic narratives in Genesis, and a look at the "sibling rivalry" between the three Abrahamic faiths.
Fall of Giants (Ken Follett)--A WWI epic recommended by one of my BPO colleagues, part of which takes place in Buffalo.
Gratitude (Oliver Sacks)--A collection of his final essays.
The Great Partnership (Jonathan Sacks)--His thoughts and insights on the dialouge/rivalry between science and religion and where the debate stands now.
Fire (Sebastian Junger)--The dangerous and little noticed business of fighting wildfires in America.
Euthyphro (Plato)--Read in Greek. The question of piety and (indirectly) the justice of the gods.
Under the Banner of Heaven (Jon Krakauer)--A long and uncomfortable look and fundamentalist mormonism and its ugliest iterations.
Grit (Angela Duckworth)--Teasing out the data about talent, perseverance, and achievement in a number of different disciplines.
The Mind's Eye (Oliver Sacks)--The miracle of sight and all that can go wrong between seeing and the understanding the world.
The Fifth Risk (Michael Lewis)--All of the potential long-term negative outcomes of the Trump executive branch through their neglect of the federal bodies that ensure we get weather/manage nuclear waste/etc...
Bridge to Terabithia (Katherine Paterson)--Annual re-read.
Evicted (Matthew Desmond)--A look at poverty and the housing markets in Milwaukee with a number of ongoing case studies.
Less (Andrew Sean Greer)--A recent Pulitzer winner about a gay man trying to escape a painful breakup and traveling the world to do so.
Things My Son Needs to Know About the World (Fredrik Backman)--Absolutely hilarious (Dave Barryesque) stories from Backman about being the parent of a little boy.
Histories, Volume 2 (Herodotus)--More of the history of Greece and Asia Minor, through the great conflict with Persia.
Flash Boys (Michael Lewis)--The confounding logic and underhanded dealing behind flash trading and the building of exchange infrastructure. Made my head spin with anger. (And appreciation that someone actually reported on this.)
Where the Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens)--I know this book has been popular and well-reviewed. I thought it was dumb. Totally fits all of the White Woman Southern Fiction tropes.
How to Read Water (Tristan Gooley)--Picked this up in an outdoors store in Skaneatles while waiting around between a rehearsal and a gig. Esoteric but you appreciate that someone is still keeping this sort of knowledge alive.
The Cuckoo's Calling (Robert Galbraith)--J read these awhile ago and recommended them, but I never got around to picking them up. I LOVED them once I started. Can't wait until the next one comes out, and I hope she keeps them up.
Beartown (Fredrik Backman)--His hockey novel. Excellent sports writing.
The Silkworm (Robert Galbraith)--Gruesome and great.
Rules of Civility (Amor Towles)--A novel set in 1920s New York City. Excellent twist at the end.
Close to Shore (Michael Capuzzo)--Set up to read like an Erik Larson book, but it's really literary Shark Week. It was fun.
Us Against You (Fredrik Backman)--The sequel to Beartown. First sports book I've ever read where you don't actually get to find out how the "big game" ended.
Career of Evil (Robert Galbraith)--The third Cormoran Strike book. The Strike-Robin relationship in this one is masterful.
Believe It (Nick Foles)--Because James recommended it about twenty times. (And has probably read it even more times.) I still can't convince him to send Nick Foles a letter.
Lethal White (Robert Galbraith)
Trail Fever (Michael Lewis)--An in depth look at the 1996 presidential primaries. I'd be curious to know how much about the process has changed. Definitely not a flattering portrait of Bob Dole.
Manhattan Beach (Jennifer Egan)--An okayish novel about a woman who becomes a diver in WWII NYC. The mafia is involved somehow too. It's fine.
The Boys in the Boat (Daniel James Brown)--The true story of the US crew team that won gold at the 1936 Olympics. A great recommendation from J--I don't understand how it isn't a big movie yet.
The Deal of a Lifetime (Fredrik Backman)--A little experimental novella dealing with the father-son relationship.
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry (Fredrik Bakman)--The lives of one little apartment complex and how they intersect more closely than you'd think. Clever.
The Uncoupling (Meg Wolitzer)--A high school puts on Lysistrata and it somehow curses the couples of the town.
Moneyball (Michael Lewis)--The story of the '00 Oakland A's and data-driven personnel moves.
Out of the Silent Planet (C.S. Lewis)--Reread of the Space Trilogy
How Much Is A Little Girl Worth (Rachel Denhollander) A recommendation from J. VERY well written. (We're probably going to own this book before too long.)
Casino Royale (Ian Fleming)--I had never read any of the Bond novels. He's very different than in the movies. (He sweats through his shirts and has bad breath, for one thing)
Britt-Marie Was Here (Fredrik Backman)--Semi-sequel to his Grandmother book, and the soccer equivalent of Beartown.
The Riverside Villas Murder (Kingsley Amis)--Fun premise for a murder mystery, but uncomfortably full of statutory rape.
Perelandra (C.S. Lewis)
Live and Let Die (Ian Fleming)--I've never seen this movie, but there's no way it can be as openly racist as the book.
The Female Persuasion (Meg Wolitzer)--A very interesting long look at a lifelong mentoring relationship between two women.
A Wrinkle In Time (Madeline L'Engle)--Reread. Attempted to gauge whether James might be interested yet, inconclusive.
The Joy Luck Club (Amy Tan)--The story of Chinese families (multiple generations) making their way in America
Talking to Strangers (Malcolm Gladwell)--THIS was a good book. Full of all sort of good Kahneman/Tvsersky style ideas and experiments.
Washington (Ron Chernow)--Long but very readable. A whole work that held together lots of material and I learned quite a bit.
Liar's Poker (Michael Lewis)--His debut novel about finding his way in and eventually quitting the bond market in the 80s.
Shutter Island (Dennis Lehane)--Creepy mindbending thriller that takes place over 48 hours on a secluded island with a psychiatric facility.
I'm a Stranger Here Myself (Bill Bryson)--His "travel" book about living in America. Originally all essays published in his local paper.
That Hideous Strength (C.S. Lewis)
The Wife (Meg Wolitzer)--This was my favorite of her works so far. A renowned author and his wife travel to Finland to collect a literary prize and their story is tantalizingly unspooled. Great twist at the end.
The Blind Side (Michael Lewis)--The Michael Oher story. Excellent football writing.
Till We Have Faces (C.S. Lewis)--Improves with every re-reading.
Big Little Lies (Liane Moriarty)--A recommendation from J. Didn't love it. Tried some of her other stuff and didn't love that either.
The Great Alone (Kristin Hannah)--Like the Nightingale it had a lot going for it and ended with a whimper. The story of a girl with a dangerous father living in Alaska.
The Position (Meg Wolitzer)--The four children of two therapists find out more than they wanted to know about their parent's sex lives. The novel tracks the whole family through their adult lives.
The Progress Paradox (Gregg Easterbrook)--I used to love reading TMQ. A lot of ideas in here that appeared in that column.
Neither Here Nor There (Bill Bryson)--Bryson's European travels. Includes excellent Katz stories.
What Alice Forgot (Liane Moriarty)--I don't love amnesia as a plot device.
The Ten Year Nap (Meg Wolitzer)--Amnesia is actually not a plot device in this one. The story of parents/couples finding their way in NYC.
In a Sunburned Country (Bill Bryson)--His Australia book. Gutbusting funny and we had a lot of fun asking our Australian friends about some of the content.
Aphytrio (Plautus)--Read in Latin. Latin theatre isn't great, but this was an amusing comedy about Jove scoring with a mortal woman and confusing the husband in the process.
The Interestings (Meg Wolitzer)--Follows a circle of summer camp friends through their adult lives.
The Husband's Secret (Liane Moriarty)
Mystic River (Dennis Lehane)--Three boyhood friends meet again when one of their daughter's is murdered. (There's a police officer, an ex-con, and the prime murder suspect.)
A Short History of Nearly Everything (Bill Bryson)--Bryson's big summary of modern scientific advancement and how it is that we got there.
The Garden of Eden (Ernest Hemmingway)--A couple on honeymoon becomes a throuple and it ends badly.
When the Sleeper Wakes (H.G. Wells)--An "amnesia" (sort of) novel that ends well. A 20th century Englishman falls asleep for 200 years and awakes to a political crisis that he's somehow involved in.
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid (Bill Bryson)--What it was like to grow up in Iowa in the 50s and 60s with a very active imagination.
My hope for 2020 is to do a much better job blogging. Sorry about 2019. I was busy reading.
Saturday, November 30, 2019
11/24 GPC Sermon (properly formatted)
Before we hear the gospel lesson I’d like to tell you a story. This is a story that comes to us from the historian Flavius Josephus, in his book The Jewish War. It’s a story that takes place during Jesus’ lifetime, sometime between 18 and 20 AD, and it takes place where he grew up. Many of the players enter the New Testament stories at one point or another. There’s King Herod, for example--Herod the Great. This is the Herod who tries to have Jesus killed in the Nativity story when he hears about a baby who is going to be King of the Jews. One of his sons (also named Herod) is the one who is present at the Crucifixion. But this story is about a different son of Herod the Great-- a son named Archelaus.
His father--Herod the Great--has just died. Archelaus thinks he’s going to inherit his father’s throne, but since the province of Judea is under Roman rule, he has to go through the formality of appearing before Caesar--this would be Tiberius Caesar--and having his kingship confirmed. Archelaus now went to the seaside with his family and friends, and left behind him a steward to be in charge of his palace, and to take care of his domestic affairs. Salome also went along with him, and her sons. In appearance this was to give him all the assistance they were able, so that he might secure his succession. But in reality they would accuse him for his breach of the laws for what he had done at the temple.
Archelaus had committed a brutal crime against Jewish and Roman law several years earlier--he had sent his soldiers into a crowd during the Passover Festival and slaughtered over three thousand people. This crowd was advocating for the removal of some Roman symbols in the temple, the release of political prisoners, lower taxes, and the removal of a corrupt high priest.
Archelaus went on his journey, not knowing that Salome and her sons were also going to accuse him instead of supporting him once he was before Casear. His brother also goes to Caesar to work against him, and some of the stewards that he’s left behind to look after his affairs--it turns out that they are in league against him as well.
While he’s away there is a popular revolt--doubtless the result of some of those very problems that Archelaus was suppressing, like pagan symbols in the temple, corruption among the elites, high taxes, and unfair imprisonments. The leader of this revolt is a shepherd named Athronegus, who announces that he has started a movement to establish the Kingdom of God. We don’t officially know what happens to Athronegus, but the revolt is unsuccessful and he’s most likely executed. Archelaus keeps on making his case to Caesar, and even more Jewish envoys protest against him. Eventually Caesar decides to split the Judean province into four separate kingdoms--he calls them ethnarchies--and he gives only one of them to Archelaus.
Here’s how Josephus writes the conclusion. And now Archelaus took possession of his ethnarchy and used not only the Jews, but the Samaritans also, barbarously; and this out of the resentment for their old quarrels with him.
Hear now the reading from the gospel of Luke. In chapter 19 Jesus is coming from the North to ascend into Jerusalem--the final trip to Jerusalem, where his public ministry comes to a head. He has been raising support and performing miracles throughout the northern reaches of Palestine, and he has the authorities worried. Large crowds are following him, he’s performing miraculous signs, and he keeps on speaking about how the Kingdom of God is now breaking in. He is a legitimate threat to some, a sign of revolutionary hope to others, and a confrontation is brewing. He’s just passed through Jericho (meeting the wee little man Zaccheus), and the story picks up in verse 18.
As the crowd heard these things he proceeded to tell them a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and the crowd supposed that the Kingdom of God was about to appear immediately.
He said therefore, “A nobleman went to a faraway country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants,[a] he gave them ten minas,[b] and said to them, ‘Take care of my business until I come back.’ 14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. 16 The first came before him, saying, Sir, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant![c] Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, Sir, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Then another came, saying, Sir, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ 24 And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ 26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for those enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them in front of me.
I always heard this passage--or the parallel passage in Matthew, which the currency is denominated in “talents” instead of “minas,” and doesn’t include that last line about the king ordering his enemies slaughtered in front of him--as a story about how you should be responsible with your “gifts.” The first two servants are the good guys, the third servant is bad because he’s lazy, and the king stands in for God. The passage (in the flannelgraph telling) is about responsibility and the protestant work ethic. It’s about signing up help with the snow shoveling, or how you should join Adult Choir. To be clear, I do think we should all be responsible, and I do think that all of you should join Adult Choir. But that isn’t what this passage is about. This passage is about Archelaus. Jesus isn’t giving a flannelgraph lesson, he’s telling them a news story--importantly, a news story that they all would have already known. So why?
The key is the crowd--the crowd that is boiling over with the expectation that the Kingdom of God is about to appear imminently. In telling the story of Archelaus Jesus is making a nuanced critique of that expectation and subverting it. He’s not saying “the moral of the story is to behave like the servant with the ten minas.” He’s saying what he says in Matthew 11--from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of God has suffered violence, and violent people have tried to take it by force.
Do you remember Athronegus, the shepherd leader of the revolt from Josephus’ story? That’s what the crowd is expecting. They are expecting that this charismatic leader who clearly has divine favor, who proclaims freedom for prisoners, and who critiques the corrupt Jewish rulers and priests is going to come down to Jerusalem and cleanse the temple and drive the Romans out with their pagan symbols and their pagan taxes. They’re expecting a call to arms. And Jesus has done bits of that--he HAS declared a jubilee, he’s announced that the kingdom is “within your grasp,” and he does critique corrupt politicians. You can understand why the crowd is worked up.
But just as they get to the point of reaching for their swords as they boil over with the expectation that Jesus is going to inaugurate the Kingdom of God RIGHT NOW, he opens his mouth to tell them a story. They’re probably expecting him to tell them a story like the story of The Maccabees--about Jewish revolutionaries taking up arms and driving out the pagans by force in the name of purity, Torah, and homeland.
But Jesus doesn’t do that. He reminds them that those who sought to work behind Archelaus’ back were put to a violent death, the inevitable result of fighting against pagan power on a pagan power’s terms. He reminds the people of Israel--the people who chosen to be a light to the world, to be a blessing to the Gentiles, to be the holy people among whom the Creator God made his home--that there are ruinous consequences for those who shirk the office that they are entrusted.
What Jesus did is astounding. He confronted those who thought they could lay claim to being the divine people, the chosen ones, and who were prepared to enforce that claim by violence and political machinations. He upended them by telling a story, a nuanced story about the consequences of trying to gain a kingdom of by intrigue and force. Since the days of John the Baptist violent men have been trying to lay hold of the Kingdom of God. Jesus warning about a judgment coming upon this crowd, not a Kingdom.
It’s depressingly easy to start naming instances in our modern world where some group would claim to speak for God. “We are the chosen people, and because we are being faithful we can justify our violence or our political power plays.” Now, as then, the answer to those who would lay hold of the Kingdom of God by violence is not to answer with a louder or more violent claim that “no, we are the divine people. We can’t let the kingdom fall into their hands.”
Instead, let us tell stories. When our culture implies that only the rich and important are worth paying attention to, let us gather into a community that above all else looks to the care of the poor, the elderly, and the children. Let us sing our songs, on music Sunday, not only of ourselves and our own loves and pains, but let us sing God’s glory and goodness--a reflection of our God into his good creation and a summing of that creation’s praises as an offering back to him. May the story of our community be of corporate self-criticism and confession.
And let us, in that corporate life, be ready to be surprised by God’s word when it turns out that what we thought was a straighforward stewardship parable turns out to be a nuanced political critique that upends our understanding of our vocation. When others would lay hold of the kingdom of God by violence, let us sing its songs and tell its stories.
Thursday, September 19, 2019
Year 6
Today was the first rehearsal of my sixth season in (silly name redacted for privacy) orchestra. Here are some things I know, going into my sixth year, that I didn't going into my first.
-The first rehearsal after the summer break and the first rehearsal after the winter break are the best your chops will feel all year. Eventually you just come around to feeling like sore and beat up is normal, and fresh and rested is an unusual day.
-Lipping up all the time wastes your face, and playing loud all the time wastes your face, but lipping up while playing as loud as you can is a great way to be toast after five minutes.
-All the method books work on getting the fronts of notes to speak right, but most of the time on the job it's the ends of notes that make you feel silly.
-Don't eat or drink anything during the rehearsal if you can help it, and try to go pretty light on the lunch in between
-Even if you don't like chapstick, you still have to wear chapstick
-You have to be able to distinguish the genuine conductor feedback (stuff they actually heard and want fixed) from the stock phrases that they trot out because they're up in front of everyone and feel like they should talk. Nod appreciatively at both, but you don't have to actually do anything different if they start going on about "playing right on the stick."
-Stay hydrated. Don't drink too much coffee.
-80% of your missed notes won't be because you're doing something wrong technically, just because you aren't quite focused. So drink enough coffee to be alert.
-15% of your missed notes could have been solved by sitting down with the part ahead of time and giving it a thorough enough look to figure out where the problem spots are going to be.
-But if you only have an hour to practice and a bunch of folders of new music, it's better to spend the hour on keeping your fundamentals up. Because you can't play anything when your chops are messed up.
-99% of the time you don't need to play as loud as you think you do.
-The first rehearsal after the summer break and the first rehearsal after the winter break are the best your chops will feel all year. Eventually you just come around to feeling like sore and beat up is normal, and fresh and rested is an unusual day.
-Lipping up all the time wastes your face, and playing loud all the time wastes your face, but lipping up while playing as loud as you can is a great way to be toast after five minutes.
-All the method books work on getting the fronts of notes to speak right, but most of the time on the job it's the ends of notes that make you feel silly.
-Don't eat or drink anything during the rehearsal if you can help it, and try to go pretty light on the lunch in between
-Even if you don't like chapstick, you still have to wear chapstick
-You have to be able to distinguish the genuine conductor feedback (stuff they actually heard and want fixed) from the stock phrases that they trot out because they're up in front of everyone and feel like they should talk. Nod appreciatively at both, but you don't have to actually do anything different if they start going on about "playing right on the stick."
-Stay hydrated. Don't drink too much coffee.
-80% of your missed notes won't be because you're doing something wrong technically, just because you aren't quite focused. So drink enough coffee to be alert.
-15% of your missed notes could have been solved by sitting down with the part ahead of time and giving it a thorough enough look to figure out where the problem spots are going to be.
-But if you only have an hour to practice and a bunch of folders of new music, it's better to spend the hour on keeping your fundamentals up. Because you can't play anything when your chops are messed up.
-99% of the time you don't need to play as loud as you think you do.
Friday, September 6, 2019
James' Latin Lesson
Lesson III
Vocabulary
fortuna--fortune, chance (fortunate)
Gallia--Gaul
herba--plant, herb (herbivore)
mensa--table
nauta--sailor (Nautilus)
terra--land, earth (territory)
via--road, way (Via Dolorosa)
clamo--I shout (clamor)
porto--I carry (portable, transport)
supero--I overcome, surpass (superior)
"Okay James, we're going to finish up with some work on the derivatives--I'm going to ask you for some English words that are derived from the Latin vocabulary. Are you ready?"
"Sure."
"Question 1: Something light enough to carry is _____?"
"Umm...potable."
"Well, not quite. Potable means you can drink it, that's a derivative from another Latin verb that we'll learn later."
"Right, portable."
"Yes. Question 2: When the settlers moved west, they went through Indian ______?"
"Uh."
"Through Indian____?"
"Uh. Through Indiana."
"Well, I suppose some have them might have gone through Indiana, but what was the name of the land that the Indians owned that the settlers passed through?"
"Oh, Indian territory."
"Question 3. You are ______ to be able to study Latin."
"Umm...Dolorosa?"
"James."
"I am able to be able to study Latin?"
"What's another way to say lucky? From fortuna?"
"What?"
"Fortunate. You are fortunate to be able to study Latin."
"I guess so."
"Question 4. Latin study will make you a ________ student."
<Thoughtful look>
"Latin study will make me a Latin student."
Vocabulary
fortuna--fortune, chance (fortunate)
Gallia--Gaul
herba--plant, herb (herbivore)
mensa--table
nauta--sailor (Nautilus)
terra--land, earth (territory)
via--road, way (Via Dolorosa)
clamo--I shout (clamor)
porto--I carry (portable, transport)
supero--I overcome, surpass (superior)
"Okay James, we're going to finish up with some work on the derivatives--I'm going to ask you for some English words that are derived from the Latin vocabulary. Are you ready?"
"Sure."
"Question 1: Something light enough to carry is _____?"
"Umm...potable."
"Well, not quite. Potable means you can drink it, that's a derivative from another Latin verb that we'll learn later."
"Right, portable."
"Yes. Question 2: When the settlers moved west, they went through Indian ______?"
"Uh."
"Through Indian____?"
"Uh. Through Indiana."
"Well, I suppose some have them might have gone through Indiana, but what was the name of the land that the Indians owned that the settlers passed through?"
"Oh, Indian territory."
"Question 3. You are ______ to be able to study Latin."
"Umm...Dolorosa?"
"James."
"I am able to be able to study Latin?"
"What's another way to say lucky? From fortuna?"
"What?"
"Fortunate. You are fortunate to be able to study Latin."
"I guess so."
"Question 4. Latin study will make you a ________ student."
<Thoughtful look>
"Latin study will make me a Latin student."
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