book talk: books with numbers in their titles...

These days, I've been caught up in some really great books. Just finished a fun-start-to-the-series YA novel by N.D. Wilson:

It's about a boy who goes to stay with his aunt and uncle and cousins in Kansas, only to discover that there are mysterious cupboards beneath the plaster walls of his room there. Adventure, and a little bit of magic, ensue. The end was a tad unsatisfying, but I suspect that is because it is the first book of a series and meant to leave the reader feeling unsated, wanting more. I'm game. 

On the grown-up end of things, I'm one "glass" into this fun and absorbing book by Tom Standage. Somewhere in the "praise for" section, it says something like, "manages to give you a comprehensive history of the western world and entertain you at the same time..." and I think it's true. I'm now the proud knower of quite a lot of Fertile Crescent history, along with ideas about not only the invention of beer, but also the invention of writing. I can't wait to finish this book, I just know I'll feel so much smarter!

What about you? Any books (perhaps with numbers in their titles?) that make you feel smarter or more magic just by reading them? Do tell. 

book talk: spiritual/philosophical memoirs

In the midst of all the other books I'm reading (or, ahem, am supposed to be reading...I'm looking at you, Guide to College Writing Assessment!), I have begun yet another. It is what I would call a spiritual/philosophical memoir. I guess. Jake and I are reading this new book together:

So far, it is a very engaging read. The author's style is thoughtful, in a rambling-sort-of-way, and he avoids getting too deep about ontological ideas by throwing only glancing blows at them. And then, a seemingly absurd mention of hamburgers. Or beetles. It turns out, it's a cheeky journey through philosophy and spirituality that lands strategically-placed declarations woven together with witty banter between the author and imagined college philosophy professors. So far, pretty good. 

I can't talk about spiritual memoirs, though, without giving a shout out to my favorites--books that have taken me on a journey, with their writers, through unknowing and finding, through encounters with mystery, through sacred personal experiences.

 Travelling Mercies by Anne Lamott is honest, irreverent and hilarious. Her un-religious experience with Jesus feels refreshing and, well, real. I can't ever recommend this book enough. 

Another funny, smart and interesting journey is Elizabeth Gilbert's in Eat, Pray, Love. I use excerpts from this whenever I teach a unit on memoir, because it's broken into highly digestible chunks, and because it's so darn good. 

I've never liked the title of Lauren Winner's Girl Meets God. In fact, I pretty much cringe every time I say it. Not like it's a necessarily bad title, but because I don't think it encapsulates--or even gives an idea as to--the depth of honesty and intellectual complexity of Winner's journey from agnostic to Orthodox Jew to Protestant Christian. Also, contrary to what the title might imply, it's not written for an only-female audience. Everyone can, and should, read this book. 

I could probably go on and on (Thomas Merton! Sara Miles!, Dorothy Sayers!), but I'll end with another brilliant writing-mind: Annie Dillard. Holy the Firm made me cry, smirk, ponder, and smile. It is poetry and memoir and spiritual journey all in one. I recommend this one to anyone who isn't sure if they like poetry, or to anyone who wants fodder for contemplation.

What about you? Do you have any favorite spiritual/philosophical memoirs? Lay 'em on me!