Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway

As a kid, I loved this movie (the 1990's version with Anthony Quinn, Gary Cole) and remember fondly watching it with my grandmother. At the request of one my students, Johnny Sims, I read it today. 

Beautiful. Powerful. 

Here are some of my favorite quotes and pictures found on a simple google search.

He remembered the time he had hooked on of a pair of marlin. The male fish always let the female fish feed first and the hooked fish, the female, make a wild, panic-stricken, despairing fight that soon exhausted her, and all the time the male had stayed with her, crossing the line and circling with her on the surface. He had stayed so close that the old man was afraid he would cut the line with his tail which was sharp as a scythe and almost of that size and shape. When the old man had gaffed her and clubbed her, holding the rapier bill with its sandpaper edge and clubbing her across the top of her head until her colour turned to a colour almost like the backing of mirrors, and then, with the boy’s aid, joisted her aboard, the male fish had stayed by the side of the boat. While the old man clearing the lines and preparing the harpoon, the male fish jumped high into the air beside the boat to see where the female was and then went down deep, his lavender wings, that were his pectoral fins, spread wide and all his wide lavender stripes showing. He was beautiful, the old man remembered, and he had stayed. Pg 49-50

“Fish,” he said, “I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends.”

“I will kill him though,” he said. “In all his greatness and his glory.” Although it is unjust, he though. But I will show him what a man can do and what a man endures. Pg 66

It is good we do not have to try and kill the sun or the moon or the stars. It is enough to live on the sea and kill our true brothers. Pg 75

“Keep my head clear,” he said against the wood of the bow. “I am a tired old man. But I have killed this fish which is my brother and now I must do the slave work.” Pg 95

“But man is not made for defeat,” he said. “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” Pg 103

You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman. You loved him when he was alive and you loved him after. If you love him, it is not a sin to kill him. Or is it more? Pg 105

He spat into the ocean and said, Eat that, galanos. And make a dream you’ve killed a man.” Pg 119

“In the night I spat something strange and felt something in my chest was broken.” Pg 125

Also, here is Hemingway's Cocktail for Rough Times

Princess Bride, by William Goldman

Not often do movies trump books, but in this case, it might be true. To be fair, I love this book and my kids laughed out loud often, but the movie is better. Not because the lair under the tree was more enjoyable or because shrieking eels makes more sense then shrieking sharks, but really, because of Buttercup. Her character doesn't make sense in the book version. 

If Wesley is all that Goldman creates him to be, than why would he be so in love with such a dits? On this, the movie got it right. Make her pretty, but also make her smart, confident, and strong. Make her worthy of Wesley, and Wesley worthy of her.

The extent of their differences are spelled out here:

For more on . . .

Stealing from the Princess Bride

All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr

Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

There are many more, but I've boiled it down to two thoughts:

On Dads:

At first, it was Marie-Laure's father that stood out to me. His love, his devotion, and his wisdom were challenging and convicting, as a father and as a son. 

Unintentional perhaps, but this story awoke in me the Power of being a Dad, and that the plans I have for the future may never actually come; before I'm ready, my time my close forever. And what will I leave behind? Will my kids be able to survive? Thrive? Endure? 

How will I love my children here. Now. So that if tomorrow never comes, I will be with them forever.

This storyline captured me. And I ached for him and hoped so deeply that he would make it out of prison and be able to come back home to his daughter. 

On Single Stories:

About two-thirds of the way through, I began to struggle a bit with the Single Story concept, "How many times must we read stories about the Germans?" Then I had a great discussion, as always, with Alison Allen, a good friend and fellow English teacher. She reminded me of how important it is to never forget the atrocities that have happened, to never forget those who have suffered and died, and to never stop telling those stories - now matter how hard they are.

Tell of the Nazi concentration camps, the African American enslavements, the rape of the Native American people, and tell them over and over again. Lest we repeat them. Lest we forget. 

Because, "Every hour, she thinks, someone for whom the war was memory falls out of the world" (pg 529). 

Doerr, in his unique style of storytelling wrote a story that not only reminded us of The War, it also challenged the single story of the war. It told of Fredrick and his strength to stand up to the Reicht - even though it cost him his life - and he told of Werner, a young German, soon-to-be-Nazi boy, who, in all his complexity and ugliness and beauty, does not fit the Nazi mold. He actually reminded me of Germany’s leading fighter aces, Franz Stigler from A Higher Call, who had mercy on his enemies and saved the lives of several Americans by flying formation over Germany's Iron Curtain. It's a crazy story that highlights the complexity yet beauty of humanity. Just like Werner. 

Near the end of the book, and the war, Doerr also adds in a small yet poignant scene of invading Russian soldiers who behave in the most atrocious of ways towards a small band of little girls, and I can only assume that Doerr intentionally adds this scene as a reminder that not all Germans were devils, and not all non-Germans were angels. It's a short yet powerful reminder that we are all capable of doing terrible things, not just our enemies.

A beautiful read. A powerful story. An acute reminder. 

Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World, by Adam Grant

Another solid gift from my wife. Is there anything hotter than a hot wife who gifts good books?  

Creative Destruction: The risky business of going against the grain

“On matters of style, swim with the current,” Thomas Jefferson allegedly advised, “on matters of principal, stand like a rock" (pg 13).

With the base notion that there are infact very few original ideas, and because if one is TOO radical in their style and expression that they are rarely if ever heard (thus losing their voice to whatever it is they’re actually trying to say), swim with the current – don’t fight against it. Be unique, pursue aristic expression, but also embrace and accept the times we find ourselves in. 

But when those currents begin to shape our principals – our convictions of morality and truth – stand like a rock. Have integrity. Be authentic.

Blind Inventors and One-Eyed Investors: The art and science of recognizing original ideas

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” – Scott Adams (pg 29)

Simonton finds that on average, creative geniuses weren’t qualitatively better in their fields than their peer. They simply produced a greater volume of work, which gave them more variation and a higher chance of originality. “The odds of producing an influential or successful idea,” Simonton notes, are “a positive function of the number of ideas generated.” – pg 35

Consider Shakespeare, Mozart, Beethovan, Picaso and Maya Angelou – we celebrate their great works, but these are the peaks to the mountains of works they’ve produced.

“Original thinkers,” Robert Sutton notes, “will come up with many ideas that are strange mutations, dead ends, and utter failures. The cost is worthwhile because they also generate a larger pool of ideas – especially novel ideas.”

Many people fail to achieve originality because they generate a few ideas and then obsess about refining them to perfection. (pg 37)

“An American gained little from working in Canada . . .”

In isolation, this is a great quote to share with an AP class that has two Canadians, but in context, it makes much more sense.  A few sentences before the passage reads, “The most creative fashion collections came from houses where directors had the greatest experience abroad, but there were three twists. First, time living abroud didn’t matter: it was time working abroad, being actively engaged in design in a foreign country, that predicted whether their new collections were hits. Second, the more the foreign culture differed from that of their native land, the more that experience contributed to the directors’ creativity. An American gained little from working in Canada, compared to the originality dividends of a project in Kora or Japan. (pg 49).

It’s all about context.

Out on a Limb: Speaking truth to power

People think an amateur can appreciate art, but it takes a professional to critique it. Merely changing a handful of words from positive to negative was sufficient to make the critical reviewer sound smarter. “Prophets of doom and gloom appear wise and insightful while positive statements are seen as have a naïve quality. (pg 72)

This is discouraging. Because it’s true – often times. There are many thoughts rolling around for me, but really, the main takeaway is this: I want to be the type of person who can professionally critique art, habits, teaching strategies, whatever, by articulating what I LIKE about it just as much, if not more so, as what I dislike about it.

Fools Rush In: Timing, strategic procrastination, and the first-mover disadvantage

Being original doesn’t mean require being first. It just means being different and better. (pg 105)

Goldilocks and the Trojan Horse: Creating and maintaining coalitions

“Horizontal hostility” : The minor differences in people who are otherwise alike that form the basis of feelings of strangeness and hostility between them (pg 117)

Like vegans and vegetarians. Compared to much of the world, they are very much alike, but because they are so much alike, they can often find horizontal hostility because the other isn’t doing it right and therefore tainting it – “making us look bad.”

We compete with those who are similar, not those in different camps.

“Make the world better.” – Lucy Stone

Rethinking Groupthink: The myths of strong cultures, cults, and devil's advocates

The greatest tragedy of mankind comes from the inability to have thoughtful disagreement to find out what’s true. Through the process of open-minded debate, Dalio expects employees to reconcile their differences – to “have strong opinions, weakly held.”  (pg 195)

The fight to stay in sync. This is Unity, and it guards against uniformity – the death of creativity and originality.

“Argue like you’re right, listen like you’re wrong” pg 201

If you’re going to tell the emperor he has no clothes, you’d better be a good tailor . . . or know someone who is (pg 197)

Devil's Advocate: 

The concept dates back to 1587, when Pope Sixtus V instituted a new process for vetting candidates for sainthood into the Roman Catholic Church. He assigned a promotor fidei, or promotor of the faith, to oppose canonization by critically evaluating the character of candidates and challenging claims of miracles they had performed. The promoter of the faith august against the advocates Dei, God's advocate, and became known as the devil's advocate

The "devil's advocate" was in a position to PROMOTE THE FAITH - seek Truth, or ensure that what was happening, the direction they were going, the claims that were being made, were TRUE!  They didn't argue for the sake of arguing or sounding smart or ruffling feathers, but to maintain Truth's purity. In this, they were unified, even though, I'm sure, they caused and stirred conflict. 

Rocking the Boat and Keeping it Steady: Managing anxiety, apathy, ambivalence, and anger

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it . . . the brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela

Without a sense of urgency, people . . . won’t make needed sacrifices. Instead, they cling to the status quo and resist. ( pg 232)

To counter apathy, most change agents focus on presenting an inspiring vision of the future. This is an importantmessage to convey, but its not the type of communication that should come first. If you want people to take risks, you need first to show what’s wrong with the present/ To drive people out of their comfort zones, you have to cultivate dissatisfaction, frustration, or anger at the current state of affairs, making it a guaranteed loss. “The greatest communicators of all time start by establishing what is: here’s the status quo.” Then, they “compare that to what could be,” making “the gap as big as possible.” (pg 234)

Venting doesn’t extinguish the flame of anger, it feeds it (pg 240) When we are angry at others, we aim for retaliation or revenge. But when we’re angry for others, we seek out justice and a better system. We don’t want to punish; we want to help. (pg 242).

“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it difficult to plan the day.” (E.B. White) pg 242

Actions for Impact:

Individual action:

1.     Question the default

2.     Triple the number of ideas you generate

13.  Focus on victim, not perpetrator

Leadership action:

4.     Emphasize values over rule

For more on . . .

Reading List 2017  :  Non-fiction reads  :  Books (recommended by others)

Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Almost twelve years ago I read, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy and remember thinking, "I don't really get it, but I like it." I think now it was because it was such a different story, and that there was something being communicated that was bigger than me, that I couldn't quiet articulate but knew was there. Like the smell of a coming rain.

Half of a Yellow Sun is a similar sort of story. It is beautiful and raw and unapologetic. It's Africa. It's Adichie. It's Kainene. And I absolutely loved it. And yet, I'm not fully sure why. Which is the best kind of art.

Here are two thoughts I'm wresting with:

On Sex:

"The truth is that most of the time when writers deal with sex, they avoid writing about the act itself. There are a lot of scenes that jump from the first button being undone to a postcoital cigarette (metaphorically, that is) or that cut from the unbuttoning to another scene entirely. The further truth is that even when they write about sex, they're really writing about something else" (Foster).

Adichie's scenes don't exactly cut from one to another entirely, but she is definitely talking about something else. Betrayal. Loyalty. Longings (not physical). Identity. Revenge. Belonging. Wonder. And a myriad of other things. 

"When they're writing about other things, they really mean sex, and when they're writing about sex, they really mean something else. If they write about sex and mean strictly sex, we have a word for that. Pornography" (Foster).

Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun is far from pornography. It's so much more, because sex can be "pleasure, sacrifice, submission, rebelion, resignation, supplication, domination, enlightenment, the whole works" (How to Read Lit Like a Professor, Foster). 

It's Life.

On Richard Churchill:

There are many powerful and beautiful characters living in Half A Yellow Sun, all of which are fully dynamic and flawed. But, for the not-so-obvious reasons, Richard is the one I related to the most - because of his desire to write the story of the people he loved, and the struggles that ensued. 

Richard is a shadow of the possible hero, Ugwu, as their lives and sins are thinly paralleled. But where Ugwu can step forward and assume the rightful position of a voice for his country, Richard must step back. Which he does. Reluctantly at first, but with a confidence and peace at the end that sits heavy on my mind. As deep truth should.

Ultimately, what Nigeria needs, is for Richard to stop. He is accepted and loved by Nigeria (Kainene), he is used by Nigeria (Olanna), and he is hated yet eventually accepted by Nigeria (Odenigbo). He also plays a role in inspiring Nigeria (Ugwu), but ultimately, his responsibility within Nigeria is to back off and play the minor character. Because he is not Nigeria. He is the white foreigner. He is Churchill.

Favorite Quotes:

"She pulled a cigarette from the case, but she didn't light it. She put it down the bedside table and came over and hugged him, a tremulous tightening of her arms around him. He was surprised he did not hug her back. She had never embraced him that closely unless they were in bed. She did not seem to know what to make of the hug either, because she backed away from him quickly and lit the cigarette. He thought about that hug often, and each time he did he had the sensation of a wall crumbling." pg 88

"He discusses the British soldier-merchant Tubman Goldie, how he coerced, cajoled, and killed to gain control of the pal-oil trade and how, at Berlin Conference of 1884 where Europeans divided Africa, he ensured that Britain beat France to two protectorates around the River Niger: the North and the South.

The British preferred the North. The heat there was pleasantly dry; the Hausa-Fulani were narrow-featured and therefore superior to the negroid Southerners, Muslim and therefore as civilized as one could get for natives., feudal and therefore perfect for indirect rule. Equable emirs collected taxes for the British, and the British, in return, kept the Christian missionaries away. 

The humid South, on the other hand, was full of mosquitoes and antimists and disparate tribes. The Yoruba were the largest in the Southwest. In the Southeast, the Igbo lived in small republican communities. They were nondocile and worryingly ambitious. Since the did not have the good sense to have kings, the British created "warrant chiefs." because indirect tule cost the Crown less. Missionaries were allowed in to tame the pagans, and the Christianity and education they brought flourished. In 1914, the governor-general joined the North and the South, and his wife picked the name. Nigera was born." pg 146

For more one . . .

Reading Log 2017  :  Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie  :  Books to Read

TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking - by Chris Anderson

From recommendations of font sizes to larger philosophical applications to life, this book is a great resource for any public speaker (of course), educator, or anyone brave enough to try and impact the world through Ideas.

Thank you to my wife for finding it in a Hong Kong bookstore. 

Here are some highlights:

The Why of Public Speaking:

“Your number-one goal as a speaker is to take something that matters deeply to you and to rebuild it inside the minds of others.” – pg 12

“An idea is anything that can change how people see the world.” Pg 13

“An important idea, wrapped up in a fresh story, can make a great talk.” Pg 15

When giving a presentation, “give, don’t take.” It’s not about you, the admirations you want to receive, or to boost your name and product, it’s about sharing a gift that you have that will benefit others, not self. Pg 24

“ The intense appeal of the standing ovation can lead aspiring speakers to do bad things.” pg 27

“Here’s the thing about inspiration: it has to be earned. Someone is inspiring not because they look at you with big eyes and ask you to find it in your heart to believe in their dream. It’s because they actually have a dream that’s worth getting excited about. And those dreams don’t come lightly. They come from blood, sweet, and tears. Pg 28

“If you have dreams of being a rock-star public speaker, pumping up an audience as you stride the stage and proclaim your brilliance, I beg you to reconsider. Don’t dream of that. Dream of something much bigger than you are.” Pg 29

“What are humans for? Humans are for being more human than we’ve ever been. More human in how we work. More human in what we learn. And more human in how we share that knowledge with each other.” Pg 234

“The secret to happiness is: find something more important than you are, and dedicate your life to it.” – Dan Dennett

“We don’t seek the painful experiences that hew our identities, but we seek our identities in the wake of painful experiences. We cannot bear a pointless torment, but we can endure great pain if we believe that it’s purposeful. Ease makes less of an impression on us than struggle. We could have been ourselves without our delights, but not without the misfortunes that drive our search for meaning.” – Andrew Solomon

 

The How of Public Speaking:

 "Throughline is the connecting point that runs through your entire presentation, connecting every piece, and perhaps encapsulated in fifteen words or less."

“The throughline traces the path that the journey takes. It ensures that there are no impossible leaps, and that by the end of the talk, the speaker and audience have arrived together at a satisfying destination” pg 33

“Great writing is all about the power of the deleted word” pg 36

- Don’t be trapped by your ego – kill your darlings.

“An issue-based talk leads with morality. An idea-based talk leads with curiosity.” Pg 41

“If you want to reach people who radically disagree with you, your only chance is to put yourself in their shoes as best you can. Don’t use language that may trigger tribal responses. Start with a visual of the world as seen through their eyes. And use every one of the tools described here to build a connection based on your shared humanity.” Pg 62

“There’s always somebody who wants to confiscate our shared humanity, and there are always stories that restore it. If we live out loud, we can trounce the hatred and expand everyone’s lives – Andrew Solomon pg 69

If the whole power of a talk is in the connection between the speaker and audience, slides may actually get in the way of that. Pg 113

With a talk and slides, you have two streams of cognitive output running in parallel. The speaker needs to blend both streams into a master mix. In these circumstances, the audience member’s brain needs to decide whether to focus on your words, your slides, or both and it’s mostly involuntary. You must choose where you want their attention. Pg 116

            Questions: Are the visuals key to explaining what I want to say, or a distraction?

“Give your audience enough time to absorb each step. Don’t feed too much of the slide at a time or people will get overwhelmed.” Pg 122

- Rarely show clips longer than 30 seconds

- Must explain something that can’t be explained by still images; and have great production value

Transitions: Should never call attention to itself

- Cut: shifting to a new idea

- Dissolve: two slides are related in some way

“Every word you speak that someone has already seen on a slide is a word that carries zero punch. It’s not new news.” Pg 142

- Tease the arrival of a slide before revealing it.

“Every piece of content in our modern era is part of an attention war. It’s fighting against thousands of other claims on people’s time and energy . . . all these are lethal enemies. You never want to provide people with an excuse to zone out.” Pg 157

“If the ending isn’t memorable, the talk itself may not be.” Pg 168

The How: Authenticity

“When speaking live, we are vulnerable. When we are live and passionate, the audience can sense the conviction, and they get to be a part of the excitement of seeing a big idea identified, battled with, and finally shaken into shape.  The fact that they can sense that the presenter truly mean what they’re saying in the moment helps give permission to embrace the meaning, the idea.” Pg 134

“If the audience can tell you’re reciting. They may see your eyes roll around between paragraphs as you bring the next sentence to mind. More likely they will notice that your tone is slightly flat and robotic, because you are focused on brining the right sentences out instead of brining real meaning to those sentences.”  Pg 136

- As related to life: scripted apologies or affirmations have a similar effect.

Ask, “Is this essential to advancing my message, and is this interesting, really interesting? Do I love saying this line? If anything lands in the maybe pile . . . it’s out” pg 145

A Checklist:

-       Is this a topic I’m passionate about?

-       Does it inspire curiosity?

-       Will it make a difference to the audience?

-       Is my talk a gift or an ask?

-       Is the information fresh? Or is it already out there?

-       Do I have the credibility to make this talk?

-       What are fifteen words that encapsulate my talk?

-       Do those fifteen words really matter?

 

 Future TED Talks:

            Sherwin Nuland         

            Bryan Stevenson

            Rob Reid

            Hans Rosling

            David Deutsch

            Nancy Kanwisher

            Steven Johnson

            David Christian

            Dan Pallotta

            Reuben Margolin

            Thomas Heatherwick

            Hans Rosling

            James Nachtwey

            J.J. Abrams

            Brene Brown

            Julian Treasure

            Billy Collins

            June Cohen

The War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells

A study, a glimpse, into the heart of man. The white man has many large footprints around the world where God, the pursuit of exploration, and the hope to "civilize" granted permission to pillage, destroy, and rape a people and land. The natives might have called them Martians. But they didn't. But reading a story that places the white man on the other side of colonization certainly has a different feel to it than our high school history books.

The War of the Worlds was a decent and easy read which also made it tolerable. If it had gone on too much longer it may have been shelved before completed, but as it is, just shy of 200 pages, it was worth the read. 

And it offered a few choice nuggets. In Chapter 13, one of the minor characters (the curate) finds himself in complete mental anguish and begins a brief discussion of the purpose of life, conflict, and role of man.  

"What does it mean?" he said. "What do these things mean?

I stared at him and made no answer.

He extended a thin white hand and spoke in almost a complaining tone.

"Why are these things permitted? What sins have we done? The morning service was over, I was walking through the roads to clear my brain for the afternoon, and then - fire, earthquake, death! As if it were Sodom and Gomorrah! All our work undone, all the work - What are these Martians?"

"What are we?" I answered, clearing my throat. He gripped his knees and turn to look at me again. For half a minute, perhaps, he stared silently. "I was walking through the roads to clear my brain," he said. "And suddenly - fire, earthquake, death!"

He relapsed into silence, with his chin now sunken almost to his knees.

Presently he began waving his hand. "All the work - all the Sunday school -- What have we done - what has Weybridge done? Everything gone - everything destroyed. The church! We rebuilt it only three years ago. Gone! Swept out of existence! Why?"

. . .

"Be a man!" said I. "You are scared out of your wits! What good is religion if it collapses under calamity? Think of what earthquakes and floods, wars and volcanoes, have done before to men! Did you think God exempted Weybridge? He is not an insurance agent."

H.G. Wells then provides a possible answer to the question of what is the purpose of conflict? What is It all about?

Answer: to endure, and to not lose hope.

By the toll of a billion deaths man has bought his birthright of the earth, and it is his against all comers; it would still be his were the Martians ten times as mighty as they are. For neither do men live nor die in vain.

And then he concludes with:

And there, amazed and afraid, even as I stood amazed and afraid, were my cousin and my wife - my wife white and tearless. She gave a faint cry. "I came," she said. "I knew - knew --"

She put her hand to her throat - swayed. I made a step forward, and caught her in my arms."

Beautiful.

A Loving Life, by Paul E. Miller

I've been accused of hating Christian books, movies, and music. It's an accurate accusation. And this book by Paul E. Miller is a great example of why. 

I'm trying to find the silver-lining in life, people, and thoughts because I don't want to be a bitter old man who complains about everyone and everything. So I tried with this book, and sure enough, there are some.  Things like:

Suffering is the crucible for love. We don't learn how to love anywhere else. Don't misunderstand; suffering doesn't create love, but it is a hot-house where love can emerge . . . the death of self offers ideal growing conditions for love. 

and

One of the oddest things about deep suffering is that the sun comes up in the morning. Life limps along.

and this

One of the hardest parts of a hesed love is that you can love others, but there may be no one to love you. The very act of loving can make you lonely.

But then he uses phrases like, "Your life energy needs to come from God" and I begin to lose interest. But that isn't enough to toss the book because I'm sure I too use similar language at times and really, so what if he says a phrase differently than I'd like.  

This book is damaging and frustrating not because of a few shallow phrases, but because of it's arrogance. All throughout, Miller uses his family and himself as the standard for esed love. The story of Naomi and Ruth are his structure and outline, but he is the center of book: his advice, his love, and his actions - the saving of a remote African village was perhaps the most disturbing. "I can endure in love for these people . . . I recruited teams, raised funds, and planned strategy . . . I loved them from above" - like Boaz!  He literally spends two pages talking about how he saved this village and then relates himself to the savior of the Naomi story!  

Who is this book about again?

Equally disturbing, but in contrast to the saved-by-a-white-foreigner story is the arrogance with which he looks down on Paula - the woman with five children from five different husbands who can't work, needs money, wisdom on how to live life, and is completely without anything redeemable - even morals. And that is exactly how Paul E. Miller sees her: a project that needs him. The way he describes her is ruthless and pious. No grace. No kindness. He actually says, "Frankly, I was disgusted with her choices" and concludes her story with a callous, "A few years later she got cancer and passed away."

His reflection on the woman and her life is "I assumed her appreciation of our care meant repentance. It didn't. I helped her situation but not her soul. But my biggest regret was that I didn't stay in touch with her sons." 

This is why "Christian" literature bothers me. It often takes a story, pads layers upon layers of possible intent, then spends the majority of the time talking about self, then sells it as a brilliant and new way of living.

The simple gospel truth of "remember the poor" doesn't need explanation. 

(As a side note, the continual assumption that the reader is of such low understanding and cognitive ability frightens me. Here's an example: "The Hebrew for "she sat beside the reapers" suggests that Ruth sat down at the side of or next to the reapers." And there's about half a dozen such examples in this book.)

The best part of this book is when he writes:

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love (Eph. 4:2)

Bear with one another and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you (Col. 3:13)

In repentance and rest is your salvation (Isaiah 30:15)

When you give a dinner or banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, let they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just (Luke 14:12-14)

I think Paul E. Miller means well, that he has done some pretty great things, and that I am probably being unfair at the least and hypocritical at best. I'm aware that, as I write my critique, I am exuding the same critical nature he showed Paula. So I don't want to write him off as worthless or someone in need of something I can provide. What have I done or written?  Am I able to cast the first stone?

Certainly not. 

I would just rather not read this type of literature.

The Underground Railroad - Colson Whitehead

"She wasn't surprised when his character revealed itself - if you waited long enough, it always did." - pg 15

To quote President Obama, "Mr. Whitehead's most recent novel is a reminder of the way in which the pain of slavery transmits itself across generations, not just in overt ways, but how it changes minds and hearts."  

The Magician's Elephant, by Kate DiCamillo

"At the end of the century before last, in the market square of the city of Baltese, there stood a boy with a hat on his head and a coin in his hand. The boy's name was Peter Augustus Duchene, and the coin that he held did not belong to him but was instead the property of his guardian, and old soldier named Vilna Lutz, who had sent the boy to the market for fish and bread."

"That day in the market square, in the midst of the entirely remarkable and absolutely ordinary stall of the fishmongers and cloth merchants and bakers and silver-smiths, there had appeared, without warning or fanfare, the red tent of a fortune-teller. Attached to the fortune-teller's tent was a piece of paper, and penned upon the paper in a cramped but unapologetic had were these words:"

The most profound and difficult questions that could possibly be posed by the human mind or heart will be answered within for the price of one florist.

"Peter read the small sign once, and then again. The audacity of the words, their dizzying promise made it difficult suddenly for him to breathe. He looked down at his coin, the single florist, in his hand . . ."

 (an excerpt from chapter 1)

Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How it Transformed the World

By Mark Pendergrast

Favorite Quotes:

- "The aroma is familiar and obvious enough - that fragrance that often promises more than the taste delivers. Body refers to the feel or "weight" of the coffee in the mouth, how it rolls around the tongue and fills the throat on the way down. Acidity refers to a sparkle, a brightness, a tang that adds zest to the cup. Finally, flavor is the evanescent, subtle taste that explodes in the mouth, then lingers as a gustatory memory." - pg xvi

- "So important did the brew become in Turkey that a lack of sufficient coffee provided grounds for a woman to seek a divorce." - pg 7

- "They came to be known as penny universities, because for that price one could purchase a cup of coffee and sit for hours listening to extraordinary conversations -or, asa 1657 newspaper advertisement put it, "PUBLICK INTERCOURSE." . . . "The coffeehouses provided England's first egalitarian meeting place, where a man was expected to chat with his stablemates whether he knew them or not." - pg 12

- "Wherever it has been introduced it has spelled revolution. It has been the world's most radical drink in that its function has always been to make people think. And when the people begin to think, they become dangerous to tyrants." pg 17

- "It wasn't enough simply to employ people. 'You love them, you love their families, you are part of them.'" - pg 126

- "Our judgement concerning the worth of things, big or little, depend on the feelings the things arouse in us." - pg 128

- "I believe the only way to conquer is to walk where the battle rages most fiercely, and fight, fight, fight until you win." (Alice Foote MacDougall) - pg 131

- "There have been many other extraordinary outcomes from the cooperation of roasters and growers. Paul Katzeff sells Delicious Peace, coffee grown on a Ugandan cooperative consisting of Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Community Coffee of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, convicted the feuding Colombian towns of Toledo and Labateca to work together to produce a great blend high in the Andes." - pg 358