Hello and welcome to ex libris (“from the library”), my periodic roundup of book discussion and recommendations. This work will be better with your contributions, so please feel free to chime in below if you’d like!
Titles I read this month:
Educated: A Memoir: Tara Westover. I don’t think you enjoy this book so much as you survive this book. A harrowing retelling of Westover’s childhood in an isolationist prepper Mormon family. I am right on the cutting edge of book conversation, given that everyone was reading this book about six years ago. It’s another one which seems difficult to imagine, and it merits at least half an hour of Google research after it’s done.
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Neil Postman. Here we are continuing the theme of “books I should have read a long time ago.” In fact, I felt like I had already read this book, with the frequency my better half quotes it to me. The shocking thing about this book is its clairvoyance; Postman was writing in 1985 about the advent of television culture. I believe if old Neil saw TikTok, his brain would melt down. A quote for good measure (but I could’ve chosen twenty): “Television, in other words, is transforming our culture into one vast arena for show business. It is entirely possible, of course, that in the end we shall find that delightful, and decide we like it just fine.”
Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale: Frederick Buechner. I wasn’t prepared for the high-speed ride this book was. I’d recommend it for any teacher or preacher. You saw a quote from it in last week’s newsletter; here’s another for good measure:
“It is a world where goodness is pitted against evil, love against hate, order against chaos, in a great struggle where often it is hard to be sure who belongs to which side because appearances are endlessly deceptive. Yet for all its confusion and wildness, it is a world where the battle goes ultimately to the good, who live happily ever after, and where in the long run everybody, good and evil alike, becomes known by his true name.”
Man in White: Johnny Cash. Yes, that Johnny Cash. Once June and Johnny finished up their three-year correspondence course studying the Bible, Johnny spent more time studying the works of the Apostle Paul. Paul became kind of a companion to him, until he finally wrote a novelization of his life, pre- and post-conversion. I had no idea this book existed until I saw it in the gift shop of the Johnny Cash museum in Nashville. I enjoyed it! He clearly did his homework on the Jewish traditions, dress, and mindset of the time.
[Our book club is reading War and Peace in 2025! I’m going to bore you with updates all year long. Since it will be my constant companion, it’s only right that it is passed on to you. Here is the translation we’re reading.]
War and Peace update: This section spent more time on peace and less on war, which is the equation I like best. Some more funny, truthful lines for you:
“Proposing new military regulations? There are many regulations, and no one to carry out the old ones. Everybody writes regulations these days; it’s easier to write them than to follow them.”
“He sometimes noticed with displeasure that he had happened to repeat the same thing on the same day in different companies. But he was so busy for whole days that he had no time to think about the fact that he was doing nothing.”
“She struck people by her fullness of life and beauty, combined with her indifference to everything around her.”
As one of the major characters falls into the ranks of Freemasonry, at our last meeting, I got to provide the group with a tiny primer on the history of Freemasonry—an assignment I never thought I would encounter. Believe it or not, there was no reference to the movie “National Treasure.”
A note on purchase links: I’m a happy supporter of independent bookshops, so the links I provide will almost always go to my affiliate link at bookshop.org. For my local readers, I heartily recommend you buy them through our favorite, Goldberry Books, but you might have a shop closer to you. Of course, you can always find these selections on That Big Website That Ships Quickly, But Not As Quickly as It Used To, and Remember How They Sucked Us All In By Being a Bookstore to Begin With? I’m also a big fan of saving money and patronizing your local library. Happy reading!
I didn't realize you hadn't yet read Amusing Ourselves to Death! Exciting. Will have to have a full debrief. He was so prescient!!! I kind of wonder if Anxious Generation is the modern update of this ... Everything is Never Enough which I'm currently reading would say that Ecclesiastes is the ancient version of this! hah
I'm reading: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek which I really think should be an Ex Libris book sometime in the near future! It helps you slow down and really see the beauty and violence and profligate-ness of nature!
Educated!! Man. What a book!!
Interested in Amusing Ourselves to Death.
I’m currently reading A Light on The Hill about CHBC! Really enjoying it and seeing God’s faithfulness over many, many years to that congregation.