Reality has diverged from the plan...
I have (had?) a plan for what books I mean (meant?) to read in 2013. I've been reading a lot more fiction instead of, or along with, the planned reading.
The Black Death by Phillip Zeigler
Modern Man in Search of a Soul by Carl Jung
Downtiming the Night Side by Jack Chalker
The Eye of the Monster by Andre Norton
Calculated Risks: How to Know When Numbers Deceive You by Gerd Gigerenzer
To the Stars by Harry Harrison
Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons
Frank Herbert: The Works by Bob R Bogle
The Terror: A Novel by Dan Simmons
The Vanquished Gods: Science, Religion, and the Nature of Belief (Prometheus Lecture Series) by Richard H. Schlagel
Planned
Toxophilus by Roger Ascham
Planet of Exile by Ursula K. Le Guin
Kerygma and Myth: A Theological Debate, by Rudolph Bultmann and Five Critics. Edited by Hans Werner Bartsch and translated by Reginald H. Fuller.
Bultmann and his peers were deep into a sophisticated and nuanced theology one does not encounter among our current surplus of evangelical apologists or the ascendant wing of Roman Catholics that seem intent on stealing the Religious Right's conservative credentials. Fascinating stuff.
Planned
Time Tunnel by Murray Leinster
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, by Reza Aslan
There is little in Zealot not already covered by White, Frederiksen, or even Ehrman, but Aslan has a very engaging story telling style so the The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth feels more accessible.
Days of War, Nights of Love: Crimethink for Beginners
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
Fire in the Lake by Frances Fitzgerald
I regret waiting so long to read this fine history of one the most formative issues of my generation.
So this is where the plot for "Fern Gully," "Dances With Wolves," and "Avatar" came from.
Hybrids by Robert J. Sawyer
I enjoyed this as much as I did "Supernatural
Selection: How Religion Evolved" by Matt Rossano. Can't believe this has
been resting on my bookshelf for three years...
Planned
Supernatural Selection: How Religion Evolved by Matt Rossano
This is a book I wish both William Lane Craig and Richard Dawkins would
read. Religion need not be God-breathed or factual in order to have
played an important role in human flourishing, evolution, and progress.
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham
Before I read Meacham's carefully researched and finely detailed
biography I was ambivalent about Jefferson - the author of the
Declaration of Independence who bedded a female piece of property and
who enslaved his children by her until his death. Thanks to Meacham I
still hold that ambivalence, but with more and better reason.
Planned
On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not by Robert A. Burton, MD
An area of deep interest to me is the nature of strongly held belief. Understanding how we come to know we're right and that others are wrong speaks to some very human impulses. It may also hold the key to moving beyond our current fixation with red state, blue state, conservative, progressive, abortion, gun control, religion, global warming, and other inflammatory topics playing out on the battle lines of the Culture War.
Robert A. Burton, MD came to my attention by way of Dr. Ginger Campbell's thoughtful Brain Science podcast. He's been on twice. In Dr. Burton's most recent appearance he discussed his latest book, A Skeptic's Guide to the Mind: What Neuroscience Can and Cannot Tell Us About Ourselves
After listening to the show I chose to check out Burton's first book, On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not, which Dr. Campbell reviewed in BSP #42. It did not disappoint. At once philosophical, scientific, well-written and entertaining, On Being Certain informs us (or reminds those who have been studying the topic recently) that most of our mental processes operate at an inaccessible subconscious level, that many of our decision are made before we are consciously aware of them, are then experienced as a "feeling of knowing," and then rationalized as needed. That is a daunting and somewhat frightening notion; an important idea that calls for careful consideration.
When it comes to promoting a deeply human understanding of the New Testament there are few writers I like better than Elaine Pagels. In "Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation"
she uses the Revelation of John, the last and most controversial book
of the New Testament, as a starting point for an examination of the many
other apocryphal revelations and apocalypses circulating in the
pre-Nicene Church as the pious and the powerful wrestled with what it
meant to be Christian, Catholic, and heretic.
The Greatest Raid of All by C. E. Lucas Phillips
A
common argument offered by Christian apologists is, "Why would the
apostles and other early Christians have died for something they didn't
believe in?" In The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom, author Candida Moss,
a skilled story teller and a thorough
academic, has answered that question with great thoughtfulness and in
deep detail. While intended for a popular audience, The Myth of
Persecution is rigorously methodical and carefully referenced. Unlike
like many other overly earnest volumes on such topics, it is also
emotionally engaging in its presentation. After carefully laying a
historical foundation in the first five chapters, Moss builds an
imposing
edifice in the last three, explaining how the largely inaccurate myth
of
persecution has been put to poor use by the Church, Christians, and
Western political leaders since the 4th century. The Myth of
Persecution is as entertaining as it is erudite, as important as it is
troubling. The Myth of Persecution is an important book for anyone
interested in history of Christianity. If attempting to understand religion is
your thing this book is worth your time.
Non-Stop by Brian Aldiss
The story is as old as I am and may be the grand-daddy of all generation ship stories. Many since have borrowed heavily from it. Great fun!
From Jesus to Christianity: How Four Generations of Visionaries & Storytellers Created the New Testament and Christian Faith, by L. Michael White
I enjoyed L. Michael White's "Scripting Jesus: The Gospels in Rewrite" so this seemed a good bet. I was not disappointed. While there is some overlap between this and White's other book, they are complimentary rather than repetitive. If you're interested in pre-Nicene Christianity this book belongs in your library.
Planned
A densely plotted story about a very alien world fully realized, but not my favorite Vinge.
When's the last time you were actually scared by a ghost story? If you're ready to risk that dread enjoyment again it is my privilege to encourage you to sample the work of Soren Narnia. I first encountered The Complete Knifepoint Horror when I entered a Goodreads Giveaway drawing for a copy. The cover art alone is the stuff of nightmares. I didn't win, but every time I saw the image on the cover - something horrible recoiling from something even more horrible - I was drawn back to it. I did a little digging and learned that it's available in all the usual places in all the formats one expects these days. If you visit his website the author will even give you a copy, just so there is no rational reason not to come to where he is. Still, the best - or worst - way to encounter Soren Narnia's stories is to have them read to you. Me, I listen to Knifepoint Horror at night, in the dark, with my bedsheets pulled up to my chin, just the way I enjoyed such stories as a child. My fitful sleep, and my night terrors, have not been the same since. Soren Narnia has written many other stories, but first I must survive my exposure to this anthology. There is no turning back. These stories will leave little indelible burn marks on your soul like the afterimage that floats on your retina after you look at the sun a little too long. Your decision.
Robert Wright does a fine job of communicating complex ideas about Evolutionary Psychology and offers a very accessible biography of Charles Darwin while doing so.
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