Men Who Hate Women

12/22/2011

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Has anyone else read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo?  I just finished it and was really struck by it.  It's very well written (although I have a feeling it wasn't well translated) and the plot is so well wound I had no idea who the "bad guy" was until the author told me.  Which is nice because with mysteries it's usually pretty easy to figure out.  And the Lisbeth Salander character is one of the most interesting I've come across in a long time.

A warning; some of the content of this book is somewhat disturbing.  There are some psycho sexual elements that are a bit off-putting.  But they're supposed to be.  That's what you get with a book titled "Men Who Hate Women,"  the original title .  The American publishers changed it to make it more palatable for the American audience; a mistake since Men Who Hate Women is about as bombtastic a book title as I've ever seen.

Anyways it's a good read.  Not a Great Book, but a pretty damn good one.

In other news you all should listen to a new band called The Civil Wars.  It's just a guy on an acoustic guitar making beautiful music with a girl singing with him.  Great harmonies, lovely voices and beautifully written songs.  Check 'em out.
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What I'm reading

12/14/2011

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So I've had lots of time to read lately, and here's my list (feel free to comment on the order I should arrange them):
- Marcel Proust - Swann's Way
- G.K. Chesterton - Everlasting Man (can't believe I haven't yet read this)
- C.S. Lewis - Screwtape Letters
- Rainer Maria Rilke - Colllected Poetry
- Matthew B. Crawford - Shop Class as Soul Craft
- Josef Pieper - Leisure:  The Basis of Culture (rereading because it's that good)

Any suggestions?

I'm also watching a lot of films, and I HIGHLY recommend Zach Braff's The High Cost of Living.  I kind of fell in love with him -- surprising? no -- through "Scrubs" and Garden State and I had heard good things about this movie.  It's got a really weird plot, but I think brings to light certain issues, kind of like Juno.  All pro-life people will like it, or at least support its message.

In terms of music, I've gotten into a lot of house lately (Avicii, Skrillex, and of course deadmau5), as well as continuing my Mumford & Sons obsession (when was their new album supposed to come out again?), Josh Ritter (thanks, Jack), and checking out Bon Iver's and Coldplay's new albums.  Also whenever "Without You" (David Guetta ft. Usher) comes on the radio I shamelessly blast it with the windows down...such a good pump-up pregame song.  I recommend for the sentimental ones among you Alex Murdoch, whom I started listening to after watching the truly terrible film Away We Go with John Krasinski.  Even Jim Halpert couldn't rescue that one.  

Lots of love,

Tavs
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PLS alums love PLS

12/7/2011

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Hey Team,

I don't know if any of you have seen this but I thought it was worth perusing.  I was on the PLS website looking for books to add to my Christmas list (since I didn't buy most of our reading list myself thanks to Hesburgh and the PLS libraries) and stumbled on this little item.  It's a series of short essays written by PLS alums about how PLS has benefited them over the years.  There's nothing new or mind-blowing here, but it was a nice reminder of why I chose PLS and what I hope it can do for me in the future.  I've noticed several posts in our forum about how, as recent grads, it's a little difficult to reconcile our PLS mindset with life in the "real world."  Maybe this will help.

Cheers.
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