2003-03-24 - 10:11 a.m.
booklistgreetings, my dear and nebulous audience. i've been reading quite a bit and consequently have decided to keep a running list and brief commentary on the books that i am checking off that ever-expanding list of "things to read before i die." so keep checking this entry, because i will try to keep it updated as i can.
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The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: ahhhh, how can i praise these books enough. it is rare when you find a fairy story that doubles as an epic, reaching the heights of the great greek poets (and their later roman knock-offs) and yet completely accessible to the most uneducated of children, boys and girls alike. i wish that i had read these when i was young. my children certainly will.
Naming the Silences, Stanley Hauerwas: more of a critique of western, post-enlightenment (american) christianity than the positing of any substantial answer to the theodicy question. though, in the end, that is the point.
Sex, Art, and American Culture: Selected Essays, Camille Paglia: all i can say of this character, aside from the fact that she is my hero, is that she reminds me of a someone who has wandered out of the confused and chaotic morality of the old testament, to shake a defiant fist at the absurdity of our own time
Girard Reader, Rene Girard: i haven't finished the book, which is a collection of essays. every time i pick it up i feel my mind entirely dwarfed. he is one of the few writers who still causes that sensation i had when i first started reading the giants - those sunny afternoons spent laboring to understand plato, aristotle, shakespeare, and then trying to in some way intelligently engage the authors... girard is good. very good. i'd love to study under someone like him.
Galetea 2.2, Richard Powers: i've tried to read powers before. in fact, i've got about four of his novels on my shelf as witnesses to my attempts to appreciate him, as he is one of the most lyrical word artists i've ever read. unfortunately, he is not a very good story-teller and making it to the middle of the story is nearly as satisfying as making it to the end. galatea, however, is an incredible combination of all power's poetry and an engaging narrative. quite good.
Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis:
Witness, Whittaker Chambers:
The Man Who Was Thursday, G.K. Chesterton:
Napoleon of Nottinghill, G.K. Chesterton:
Thanatos Syndrome, Walker Percy:
Lancelot, Walker Percy:
Signposts in a Strange Land, Walker Percy:
Memoirs from Antproof Case, Mark Helprin:
Closing of the American Mind, Allen Bloom:
The Arts of the Beautiful, Etianne Gilson:
http://www.jahsonic.com/Taste.html
