“I believe that many who find that 'nothing happens' when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand.”
C.S. Lewis - Introduction to "On the Incarnation" by St. Athanasius
12.28.08
Posted in Literature at 9:42 pm by Adam B.
Early Fantasy Book
George MacDonald is probably best known today for his influence on C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. For that reason I decided to give this work a shot. Phantastes is a about a man who enters into fairy land (yes, with actual fairies that live in flowers and such) and the things that happened to him there. I was disappointed, but not entirely.
Right from the start I was reminded of Carrol’s “Alice in Wonderland” because the plot was practically non-existent and dreamlike. Luckily, by the end of the book, most of the random elements found their place in the stories resolution. That helped, but, like Carrol, he seemed to exult in the inexplicable and random to the frustration of the reader. This might be partially explained away as an attempt at allegory, but the allegory was all too hidden for the casual reader like myself (and everyone else I found online who read the book) to explain what was happening. Where the allegory was clear the story shined, but this was all too infrequent.
MacDonad’s style itself was a bit distressing at first because his sentences could easily go on for half a page. Early on I found myself often reading and rereading single sentences to remind myself of the subject. By about a third of the way through this was no longer necessary as I had happily adapted. I say happily because these elaborate sentences were full of description and beauty that greatly aided this tale. It was not difficult to be swept away by his imagery even when it was difficult to know what was happening or where the story was going.
The most impressive part of the book took place in a library where the hero was reading several books. In this portion of the book the hero retold stories he had just read, stories that only barely touched on the rest of the book as it progressed, if at all. (Random!!!) Nevertheless, the second story, which made up the longest chapter in the book, was perhaps the best short story I have ever read. It showed me that the author was well aware of elements like plot, characterization, subtlety, tension and resolution, even if he chose not to use them in the larger story. In some ways this mini-story foreshadowed the hero’s journey to come, but it stood well on its own and could be removed from this book with no damage done.
This book was MacDonald’s first attempt at fantasy writing, and I have been told that his book Lilith, written many years later, was the fruit to this seed. Perhaps I will give it a try before too long as I would sincerely like to appreciate this author who inspired so many I love.
I read this book on my ipod as well, and continue to love the experience.
Permalink
12.26.08
Posted in Marriage at 12:11 pm by Adam B.
Whenever Chrissy is off work she makes me a nice breakfast of eggs and toast from our homemade bread and we sit down and chat as the morning passes slowly away. We speak of friends and family, of our dreams of scholarship and chickens, of books and bees, and our inmost hopes that drive us. There is plenty of time for silent looks and quiet chewing as we enjoy the peaceful stillness of the break of day. Chrissy with her weak coffee weighed down with cream and me with my tea sip the morning away enthralled with the joy of spending life together.
A breeze passes by our window and I ask about today’s plans. She tells me of her desire to knit and read and take a walk after lunch. She asks me the same and I reply in kind, minus the knitting. The smell of coffee and toast is mingled with wax as a tiny flame digs deeper and deeper into the heart of the candle on our table. I wish to remain as we are until its light is extinguished, but the day begins to beckon me away from this simple happiness. There are books that need reading and Greek that requires learning, and I cannot put them off forever. I smile and sigh toward my kitty-corner companion and in my heart I thank God for these lovely mornings.
Permalink
12.23.08
Posted in Literature at 6:21 pm by Adam B.
Emma by Jane Austin in ebook
Emma is the third Jane Austen book I’ve read. I enjoyed Pride and Prejudice, loved Mansfield Park, and Emma was a joy from start to finish. I can see why this is one of her most recommended works.
To begin with, the characters were fantastic. Emma is beautiful and precocious; and she knows it. In a word, the perfect heroine. There’s the narcissistic but loving father (if you can fit those together in your mind), the suave but eminently perplexing suitor, the wise brother-in-law, the naive younger friend, and on it goes. For those who know the genre these characters alone offer significant opportunity for misunderstanding, anxiety, and ultimate happiness. What more could one want from a romance?
Austin’s writing is some of the best I’ve seen. As I have developed a taste for literature my senses are continually awakened to new forms of beauty in writing and story. What I love about Austen is that the more I bring to the table the more she has to offers me as a reader. Every time I read one of her books I feel it is her best. I now believe that this has more to do with me than the works themselves. Her writing is like fine chocolate. Any fool can enjoy it but only one with refined taste can appreciate its purity, subtlety and the care that produced it. I look forward to improving my skills as a reader so I can enjoy her next work even more.
On another note, Emma is my first attempt at reading an ebook. A few months back I got an ipod touch with my laptop, replacing one that had been stolen. The device is ridiculously useful and I keep it on my person the way most people do there cell phones. I have long known that I could read ebooks on the ipod touch, but I was so convinced that I would loath the experience I never took it up. I was happily mistaken. While you lose the effect of paper and ink you also lose the weight. Apple’s commitment to a slim and light device is much appreciated. Now I can read anywhere without remembering to grab my current book or get a light when things get dark. If I finish a book while I am out I have a few more already downloaded I can dive right into. The reading does not get tedious like I expected and even has some advantages. You can manipulate the font, color and brightness of the screen to perfectly suite your tastes. I am currently reading my books on a light blue screen with black, bolded letters, dimly lit (the screen, not me). Gone are the days of sitting in my uncomfortable couch instead of my comfy chair to get better lighting. Gone are the days of keeping a dictionary or computer close by so I can look up words I want to learn. Now I can just switch to the built in dictionary, look up the word, and switch back. Brilliant.
And, best of all, since most of the books I read are past the copyright date, everything I have wanted to read on it is free. This may be better than when McDonald’s introduced the dollar menu.
Permalink
12.15.08
Posted in Literature at 1:53 pm by Adam B.
by Neil Postman
In this book Neil Postman helps to expound the meaning of the expression, “the medium is the message,” or, as he rephrases, “the medium is the metaphor”. While I have long pondered the inherent meaning behind the forms of media we use to communicate and how those mediums affect our communication, Postman has brought much needed clarity and insight to my own musings on this subject.
Anyone who is an avid reader and movie goer should know that some elements that work well in writing do not always work well in a motion picture. In my own experience I have also noticed the limitations of drama and preaching as I seek to communicate the gospel during my yo-yo shows.
Every medium has both advantages and disadvantages when it comes to communication. A sermon can be useful for thorough examination of a text or detailed argumentation (though they are rarely used for this anymore). A skit cannot. On the other hand, a well done dramatization can implement metaphor and story with a terseness and power that words alone can rarely match.
Postman takes this truth as the foundation for his basic argument and builds upon it. Every form of communication has a bent towards a certain set of ideas that are convenient for that medium to express. The ideas that are easiest to express will become the most important ideas for a culture. This argument becomes clearest in his discussion of the news media. Before the advent of the telegraph information could only travel as fast as an individual could carry it. This meant that public discourse in news papers tended to be more local while major “world” events could be more thoroughly analyzed. This sounds backwards to us because we tend to think that more information would lead to better analysis, but the opposite is the case. Today we are bombarded by so much “news” information that has little or nothing to do with us at all that we have no time to thoughtfully consider the great events of our time. Consider this past election. Many of the best and most important things that were said never got any coverage or analysis at all because they could not be summarized in a 45 second clip in the evening news. In a media environment that favors short, fast, fresh, we have no time to think about what is happening, and just barely enough time to react so we can answer a question in a pole to make more news to respond to. Our debates today are not about polices but about looking pretty and not looking stupid. In contrast Postman describes a debate between Lincoln and Douglas in 1858. “Their arrangement provided that Douglas would speak first, for one hour; Lincoln would take an hour and a half to reply; Douglas, a half hour to rebut Lincoln’s reply.” And this was a short debate. How much time do we give our politicians to tell us their answers to the current world crises? Two minutes, maybe three. Unlike the audiences in 1858 we are not ready to handle the real issues and so we do a little dance instead until someone misses a step.
Postman argues that television has done this to us. It is a medium that favors fast, brief, exciting communication, while shunning long thorough analysis. Consequently the fast and fresh information has become all that is important to us while we have lost our ability to think critically. Have you tried having a political conversation with someone you disagree with lately? How often does it resort to name calling and baseless arguments about associations? Have you ever had a thoughtful discussion about a real issue. If you have you are one of the lucky ones.
Postman also delves into the effect of television on education. Sesame Street was originally an experiment to see if education can be entertaining. They discovered that indeed it can. What they failed to see is that Sesame Street also taught us that education should be entertaining. Unfortunately entertainment can only handle certain kinds of discourse and learning so we end up crippling ourselves instead of simply making learning more fun. Anything that cannot be learned through entertainment is pushed to the side while we count to 10 in Spanish.
The insights of this book, which I have only pointed out a few, are profound and its implications vast. How much more does this apply to the internet than televison (the book was written in 1985). I will have to get his work “Informing ourselves to death” to find out. This book has certainly sparked a curiosity in me concerning this line of discussion. I would like to pursue it further.
Permalink