Just for fun, I’ve decided to share short reviews of a few of the books I have read over the past four months. Just as the word “eclectic” implies there’s no rhyme although at the time of the selection of said book, there may have been a reason to read it, but I won’t go into that. (You will note that I refer to each of these authors by their first names. I’m feigning familiarity.)
The Greatest Sentence Ever Written
Walter Isaacson
Because I agree with Walter, I will begin with this slim volume that tells of the crafting of the sentence which begins the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Just gives me goosebumps when I read it. What catches my eye is the word “pursuit.” We are not guaranteed happiness. The soon-to-be citizens of this new country would have to stretch and strive in order to pursue what they wanted. And here we are 250 years later, ever the optimistic strivers.
Two Treatises of Government
John Locke
I know you’re going to say, “I see a theme developing.” Just remember, in addition to being a writer, I am a lawyer. I was curious about this revolutionary era influencer. What I found was some of the thinking that would lead to Jefferson’s turn of phrase, “endowed by their Creator.” In Locke’s view rights are given by God, so no Monarch or Parliament can take them away. They are “unalienable”! I’ll get my musket now.
Amusing Ourselves to Death
Neil Postman
I’m only twenty-nine pages into this social commentary, so it might be best that I post a quote from the book first:
“I will try to demonstrate that as typography moves to the periphery of our culture and television takes its place at the center, the seriousness, clarity, and above all value of public discourse dangerously declines.”
Postman’s conclusion seems to be that the printed word, Jefferson’s and Locke’s tool for enlightenment and ultimately revolution, is being pushed aside. Not by me. I’ll keep reading that printed word.
The Anxious Generation
Jonathan Haidt
The subtitle reads, “How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.” In this thoroughly researched volume, Jonathan comments on the effect of “the rise of fearful parenting, and the gradual loss of play-based childhood.” Add the iPhone. I had never realized the value of my play-based childhood in the 1950’s until I read this book. In those years the only “technology” I was handed was a set of stilts my friends’ daddy had made.
Theo of Golden
Allen Levi
A first novel by Allen, this originally self-published book was republished by Atria, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC, and ultimately became a New York Times best seller. I read it because a self-proclaimed “I-don’t-read-books” friend recommended it. Always eager to find new readers for MY books, I wanted to see what the draw was.
The story was surprisingly simple: a wealthy, elderly man buys framed drawings displayed on a coffee house wall and gives them away to the ones pictured in them. The characters are genuine, kind, and just trying to make the most of the lives they are in. There are no killers, drug dealers, or other nefarious types in the book. No psychos here. A few drunk kids acting mean near the end of the book, but no psychos. I was fascinated that such a book could be a best seller. It just seemed too pure, too kind, too naïve. Shows how well I can spot a best seller!
The Irish Visitor
Lindy Keane Carter
Like me Lindy is a Southern historical fiction writer. I have read two of her books which are companion pieces. The other one, The Rice Birds should be read first. Margaret, an Irish immigrant, former house servant is caught up in the despair of post-Civil War Charleston and Georgetown, South Carolina. She ends up at a broken-down rice plantation the locus of a power struggle between the white widow plantation owner and the newly freed enslaved woman both with very different visions of the plantation’s future.
Insane for the Light
Ronald Rolheiser
As one who at seventy-eight is clearly in the final years of her life, this book provided me with a different perspective on dying. As an opening quote to Chapter Three, Ronald poses a question, “The ultimate question that any of us, or any art, can ask is this ‘How may I die generously?’”
How can I end my life in a way that shows that I see the light? The surrender of independence will be part of this generousness. In one chapter he tells the story of a woman whose five children were bitterly alienated from each other. The woman prayed for their reconciliation, pleaded with the children to get along, to no avail. But when she contracted cancer and they had to team up to care for her, restoration came. She died generously. Her death had meaning and brought healing for her children.
So, there you have it. If you can make sense of my reading choices, good for you. I sure can’t. Maybe no rhyme or reason is needed, just open a book, printed please, not electronic.
