Oh, it's nice to be among people (even in cyber space) who are still reading voraciously!!  The other intern's reaction to my reclusive literary habits seems to be mildly amused condescension.  If we were related, I know she'd think I was adopted.

Anyway, I just finished a book by Walker Percy:  Lancelot.  And I'd like to recommended it with a major caveat...  It is without doubt the dirtiest book I've ever read.  Parts of it are horribly obscene.  That said, it is also a fantastic work.  I've been thinking about it ever since I picked it up.

None of the obscenity is gratuitous.  It's meant to give a dark, atheistic view of the world (with a strong Nietzschean flavor) - and ultimately to present it as the rival to Christianity, pitting both world views against the world itself and suggesting that one or the other must be right.  Not the lightest book, maybe, but it's a profoundly honest text - nothing didactic or easy about it - and it's also a fascintating examination of the nature of evil.  Lastly, if any of you are Arthurian legend buffs, it's just brimming with allusions - most of which I unfortunately lack the background to appreciate.  (As a PLSer I'm thoroughly ashamed.)  

I would love to discuss it with anyone brave enough to join me on the other side of Lancelot!  :)  It was pretty short, too - you could definitely read it in a couple of days.  


  Laura S. 

I also just read The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. (Lilly and I were actually reading it at the same time, by complete coincidence.) I second what Lilly said and strongly recommend this book to everyone. It is one of the most profound and beautiful books I have ever read. It's kind of like Buber's I and Thou in that it is vaguely religious without being connected to any specific religious tradition. The writing is simpler than Buber's, and for that reason perhaps more powerful. It's basically just a series of aphorisms, but each aphorism lends itself to profound meditation. If you're just reading it straight through, you can probably read it in about an hour, but you'll probably want to spend more time soaking it in.

Anyway, I would like to mention some other books I have been reading. To prepare for my job reporting on religion news, I have been trying to read the Qur'an a bit at a time, but it's slow going. The book is incredibly repetitive and monotonous. It makes the Old Testament look like a fast-paced thriller. I am also reading the book A Rumor of Angels, which those of you who were in Power's SSHP class might remember. We read a chapter of it for his class, but I wanted to go back and read the whole thing. I think it gives a pretty good overview of the present situation of theology, and it sketches out a possible course for reconciling theology with the social sciences. I haven't finished it yet, but I'd already recommend it to anyone who is concerned about the modern malaise of religion.

I have also been reading a few books that relate to my novel-in-progress in some way. The most significant one for me, by far, is The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, by Tom Wolfe. This book chronicles the exploits of Ken Kesey (author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) and his group, the Merry Pranksters, in the 1960s. The Merry Pranksters were some of the first people ever to take LSD, and from their experience emerged what could be called "one of the greatest experiments in human consciousness ever devised." They were basically the precursors of the hippies, but don't be fooled by any stereotypical images of hippies you have in your mind: Hippies were basically the bastardization of what the Merry Pranksters were trying to do, and the cultural stereotypes that we now associate with hippies are a further bastardization of what hippies were trying to do. Anyway, this book is actually a great follow-up to Sem. 6, as authors like Freud, Nietzsche, and Weber play heavily into it. Also, for anyone who has read Kerouac's On the Road, this book is like the logical next step after the Beats. In fact, Kerouac himself makes an appearance, and Neal Cassady and Allen Ginsburg became important parts of Kesey's entourage (especially Cassady). To top it off, the writing is fantastic. Wolfe does an amazing job evoking the delirious atmosphere and the acid experience (well, what I assume the acid experience is like), and he is a very insightful, balanced commentator. Bottom line: everyone should read this book.

I've also read The Strawberry Statement, a book that is basically the diary of a student at Columbia during the big student strike they had there in 1968. It was a good inside look at the student activism of that period. I've been reading Malcolm Gladwell's What the Dog Saw, and I just read The Little Prince for the first time (I know a lot of people probably read it in middle school). That's about it.

Next on my stack to tackle: books about ecstasy and raving.

I recently finished a book every PLS major would enjoy.  It's ridiculously short and simply written; you could finish it in a sitting (although I didn't - this is a book to be savored).  Joey also just read it, so that's 2 votes of confidence.

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran (available online! but I like tangible books better) is profound, gentle, and wise.  It's also apparently one of the 20th century's best-selling books.  Win-win.

If anyone has read it, please share your thoughts.  If not, dash to the bookstore as soon as you can (not the library; you want your own copy to write in and treasure), read it with a slow glass of wine at your side, and share your opinion as well.

LC

Helllooooo!

Like most PLS-ers, I instantly delved into about 12 different books after graduation.  Right now, my primary focus is a short collection of Franz Kafka's basic works.

Has anyone read Kafka?  If yes, I'd love to discuss him... I find his work difficult to read for its morbidity and grittiness, but I'm enjoying his occasional illuminating moments of humor and fine writing.

I think any PLS-er would enjoy this short pensee-like fragment, "Paradise" (read from the bottom of p. 168 - 170).

I'm particularly moved by his "Letter to My Father", which I think is essential to understanding all of his other works.  It really put stories like "Metamorphosis" and "The Burrow" into context for me. 

Does anyone else have other opinions or details about Kafka's work?  I'd love more biographical information and literary interpretation, if anyone has studied him in detail.

Lillian

Well I have had a fair amount of down time this summer so, in true PLS fashion, I am spending most of it reading.  The two most interesting books I've perused so far have been the second and third books in C. S. Lewis' 'The Space Trilogy.'  I had read this series a few years ago but I thought I might get soemthing neI didn't bother to re-read the first one, "Out Of the Silent Planet," although I probably will soon.  If you haven't read this series already then start with the first one.  Obviously. I shouldn't even have to tell you that.  Come on.  Get with it.
Here's a brief rundown of what I found interesting in these books.

The second book in this trilogy, "Perelandra," takes place on the planet Venus (yes, it's technically science fiction - deal with it).  It's Lewis' take on The Fall in which he argues the pros and cons of Original Sin.  Compelling arguments are presented for both sides.  He also portrays an interesting version of Man in the State of Nature in contrast with Man far removed from such a state.  This book was particularly interesting since I had just read Paradise Lost.  There are definitely Miltonian elements here.  Like Milton, Lewis takes the brief account of Adam and Eve's sin in the Bible and greatly expands it. There's also a little Dante in there, which I love.

The last book in the series, "That Hideous Strength" (one of my all time favorite book titles) raises questions and concerns with humanity's constant improvements in technology.  And, more importantly, he discusses the role and responsibility of the self-appointed intellectual elite, something I found very interesting since everyone knows that's what PLS is all about (please note my sarcasm).  Just kidding.  But seriously.  There are definitely some people who believe that they have all the answers and that their way is the best way and will pursue it even when the rest of the world would scream in protest if they knew what was going on.  Lewis takes these people to task here.  There's also a treatment of love and marriage in here that Emma Bovary would not understand in the slightest, but that I found thought provoking.

These books are not that great when compared with the type of novels we read in PLS, but they're a hell of a lot better than most books you'll pick up.  The writing is excellent and the plots compelling, although there are a few points that require a leap of faith on the part of the reader (not religious faith but faith in the integrity of the story. I definitely put my book down and said "Really, Lewis? Really? You expect me to just believe that? Really?" a couple times while reading That Hideous Strength.)  But overall I thought they were very good.  Obviously, since it's C. S. Lewis, they take a VERY Christian slant.  Some of you will no doubt love that.  Others will hate it.  Either way I think this series is a worthwhile read.

As an ISI Honors Fellow last school year, I was lucky enough to get free books from their publisher whenever I wanted - and I ordered 20 as soon as I got home for the summer. School's out, so time to read what I want, right? In addition to these fabulous additions to my library, I'm lucky enough to have an hour-long commute to and from work every day, including about 40 minutes on the train. I say lucky because I've been taking advantage of this opportunity to read a lot. Can I just add that The Wind in the Willows is the perfect book to read in the summer? I got so caught up in the plot this morning that I almost missed my Metro stop, plus the writing is so beautiful and deep. Even if you read it as a child, I highly recommend revisiting it. Anyway, many of you have received texts from me recommending specific books that make me think of you, and  to get this thread going I'm sharing some favorites here. Enjoy!

John Greil, Conor, Katie D. and anyone else going into education might enjoy Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of your Child, which gets a little polemical at times but overall is a thought-provoking assessment of some of the ways modern education and culture are screwing kids over. 

The excellent The Life of the Mind is by Georgetown's inimitable Father Schall, one of the best advocates for liberal education alive today, and whose writing never disappoints. His other (fabulous) books include On the Unseriousness of Human Affairs (Erasmus fans will probably love it) and my favorite short volume, A Student's Guide to Liberal Learning, one of ISI's excellent Student Guides series. It's like the biggest support for PLS-style education ever. These all come with a warning, however; reading anything by Father Schall will cause you to immediately go buy about 20 more books on Amazon, because you'll get so excited about learning. It wouldn't be fair to recommend these books without warning you of the serious dangers attendant to them. :)

Right now I'm taking a break from Schall to read Wind in the Willows, but I'll be getting back to that soon so if anyone wants to read it with me and discuss as we go, just say the word!

Oh and I recently started Beauty Will Save the World (like the Dostoevsky shout-out?) which is actually amazing but way too dense to read on the train so I'm taking a break from that too. I'll be finishing it soon though, so again, if anyone wants to book-club it with me, let me know. 

And yes Tavs, you don't need to say it, I'm a total ISI groupie!