Collected Miscellany

Now that we are in full fledged summer, I figured it was time for the perennial reading lists. National Review Online has one up already. I figured now would be a good time to post one myself. But first, here are what some other bloggers are recommending or planning to read:
Orrin Judd has a long list of possibilities. His list, however, comes with some unique guidelines:

(1) It should be big. Five-hundred-pages-or-better big. You should be able to only take two books from the list and still have enough reading to get you through a week.
(2) It should be readable. No note-taking needed. Not a whole lot of names to remember. You should be able to pick it up and put it down again without having to reorient yourself. Most of all, you should enjoy it.
(3) Ideally it should be a book that you’ve been meaning to read but you’ve put off, probably because of its size. But now, when it’s the only one, or one of the only ones, you have with you, you’ll be “forced” to read it. At the same time, it should be good enough that you won’t regret having brought it. No experiments.

So if those sound like good ground rules check out the Brothers Judd list.

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I have always had a certain ambivalence towards explicitly Christian culture whether it be music or literature or art. I find much of it forced and cheesy; lacking depth or layers. Don’t get me wrong it isn’t the underlying message I reject or feel odd about, I enjoy Christian music in certain settings for example. Although, I have always been a bit of an classicist when it comes to music in church, preferring hymns and avoiding “Christian Rock” in worship services. I also enjoy Christian authors like C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, etc. I enjoy works that explore issues like faith and belief but I have trouble in that middle ground between worship and allegory – something that is explicitly Christian but entertainment too.

All of this was in the in the back of my mind when I came across an interesting novel that looked to combine Christian themes with an entertaining story. Flabbergasted is the debut novel of Ray Blackston. It is the story of Jay Jarvis a single investment broker relocated to South Carolina. Jay asks his realtor what singles do for fun in Greenville South Carolina. Her response: church. Not being shy he heads to North Hills Presbyterian Church and as a result ends up involved in the singles group there. In short order Jay signs up for a weekend trip to the beach and meets someone who will turn his life upside down. I won’t spoil the ending for those who want to read the book, but it involves a missionary and a trip to South America.

There are many ways in which I can relate to this book. I was raised in a Christian family and I have attended Church almost all my life. I have been involved in dozens of church trips and short-term missions; and in fact recently took a vacation with my church to the Carolina shore. On the other hand I have not experienced being single as a full-fledged adult or at least not in the way Jay does. I started dating my wife when I was senior in high school and she was a sophomore. I never really had any other serious long-term relationships and we have been married for nine years.

All that being said, Flabbergasted is an entertaining, if light-hearted, story. It is easy to like and sympathise with Jay. He is likable, sincere, and yet irreverent and confident. He doesn’t approach church with any strong dispositions or biases. He makes friends easily and enjoys their company; especially the intriguing Allie – a missionary on vacation. Given his disposition and his lack of friends in his new town, Jay falls into hanging out with the men from the church singles group. The supporting characters are interesting and unique enough to seem real and provide a good backdrop for Jay’s search for deeper meaning in life.

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Someone else is discussing a Blog Book Club but they are talking about doing some heavy lifting. No Harry Potter for these guys.

Leave it to the folks at Reason to connect a pop culture phenomenon to a serious philosophical issue. In their defense, Julian Sanchez does a great job illuminating how Order of the Phoenix reflects the banality of evil – a concept and term coined by Hanah Arendt.

Despite, or perhaps because of, his unique starting point Sanchez provides a insightful glimpse into the latest Harry Potter book. Should provide food for thought for our Blog Book Club selection. I will post my review next week.

Long time readers will know that I am fascinated by the “taxonomy” of the conservative movement. I am interested in, and have studied, the political and intellectual history of the movement. And not infrequently I have been drawn into the internecine quarrels of conservatism. These fights seem to have intensified and deepened with the end of the Cold War and the Republican Majority. We now have terms like paleo-conservative and neo-conservative being debated in the conservative press and even seeping into the mainstream press in weird ways. Trying to shed some light on this subject I picked up Revolt from the Heartland: The Struggle For An Authentic Conservatism a friendly look at paleo-conservatism by Joseph Scotchie. I wanted to get a closer look on what exactly motivates and underlies this conservative counter-culture (or what they would claim is a return to conservative roots).

If I was still a grad student, I would love to really deconstruct and unpack this rather short book. Since I have a full time job, I will simply try to point out some pluses and note some incongruities.

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Per the entry below, I am throwing out the first batch of books to vote on for the first every Blog Book club Book. Entries are below. One vote per person please. You can vote via the comments on this post or by emailing me your choice.

Since I am already reading it and it is likely that a number of other people are too, I thought I would start with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It is a bit long but it is easy reading.

In a totally different vein is The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad by Fareed Zakaria. It might not be as popular as Harry Potter but it is extremely topical and certainly capable of engendering interesting debate.

The next choice might not be as relevant to current events but it should provide some historical perspective. Plus I have been wanting to read The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman and the Destruction of Hitler’s Germany, 1941-1945 by Michael Beschloss for awhile. Being the moderator for this book club does have some advantages.

Last but certainly not least, we have an option that might really stir up the Blogosphere: A Time for Choosing: The Rise of Modern American Conservatism. What with Republicans in power in Washington and with conservatives getting into heated debates about what the term means, I figure this might be a good time to review how we got here.

So there you have it. Your choices for out very first book club run. Fantasy fiction, international relations, history, and political science. Seems like a wide array of choices. I will keep the vote open for a week. Look for the winner to be announced on June 30.