I wish I had read this book earlier in life. It answers the question - "what is all of this for?" The reading, the thinking, the life of the mind? It'I wish I had read this book earlier in life. It answers the question - "what is all of this for?" The reading, the thinking, the life of the mind? It's a beautiful work that gives purpose to the quest for truth and it's a book I intend to return to often....more
In this book, Russ Ramsey weaves the triumphs and failures in the lives of artists into the artwork they created. But he doesn’t stop there. He bringsIn this book, Russ Ramsey weaves the triumphs and failures in the lives of artists into the artwork they created. But he doesn’t stop there. He brings the lessons home to us the readers by asking penetrating questions and tying artwork to deep matters of the heart. I learned about art but I also learned about myself. Exposure took place on both sides....more
This book covered so much. It was extremely helpful and enlightening. It's broken up into four main parts - The Teacher, The Methods, Great Teachers &This book covered so much. It was extremely helpful and enlightening. It's broken up into four main parts - The Teacher, The Methods, Great Teachers & Pupils, and Everyday Teaching. We're all teachers in one way or another through parenting, employing, and instructing. It's important to acknowledge that and then to seek ways to most properly share the information with others. This book does that by considering great teachers of history, considering good and bad students, and looking at how teaching occurs in small ways in our daily lives. This is a book I will be referencing often....more
This is such a stunningly beautiful book. It reminded me of Sir Gibbie by George MacDonald and Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry. It's the type of book wheThis is such a stunningly beautiful book. It reminded me of Sir Gibbie by George MacDonald and Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry. It's the type of book where the protagonist causes you to realize you could be living life in a much more delightful way, despite the pain of the world. The characters are not cheesy do-gooders, they are those who have deliberately chosen to live well, despite past and current suffering. My immediate thought upon staying up late to finish the book was to re-read it....more
These three plays show both the immediate and long-term impact of war on women. It's hard to determine who suffered more - Hecuba or Andromache. HecubThese three plays show both the immediate and long-term impact of war on women. It's hard to determine who suffered more - Hecuba or Andromache. Hecuba and The Trojan Women occur immediately after the Trojan War while still in the land of Troy. Andromache takes place a little later on in Greece, and shows the life of a slave woman. These are incredible tragedy plays with so many deep connections, themes, and ideas....more
In Hippolytus, we see Aphrodite using her beguiling ways to cause a stepmother to lust after her stepson. Fine fodder for a tragedy.
Iphigenia in TauriIn Hippolytus, we see Aphrodite using her beguiling ways to cause a stepmother to lust after her stepson. Fine fodder for a tragedy.
Iphigenia in Tauris presents an alternative to the sacrifice of Iphigenia story. In an Abraham-esque way, Iphegenia is saved from sacrifice at the last moment by Artemis herself and taken to Tauris where she becomes the priestess to Artemis. The job has its drawbacks in that she must sacrifice any traveler who arrives in Tauris. This places her in s tough spot when her brother Orestes arrives with his confidant Pylades. This was a really neat alternative reality tragedy play with a someone happy ending.
This was a very interesting set of plays by Euripides and contained a mix of tragedy and satyr plays.
Alcestis is a tragedy with comedic elements. The This was a very interesting set of plays by Euripides and contained a mix of tragedy and satyr plays.
Alcestis is a tragedy with comedic elements. The tragic portions deal with Alcestis giving her life for her husband and the comedic elements around Heracles who gets drunk the the house of those mourning Alcestis' death.
The Children of Heracles interestingly enough deals with the children of Heracles. Death is at their door as Eurystheus, who put their father Heracles through the Labors, seeks to snuff out potential revenge Brough about by Heracles' children. There are wonderful themes of fate, sacrifice, and courage in this tragedy play.
Heracles is present in all of the plays except for Cyclops, which takes us to the Odyssey story of the cyclops Polyphemus. This one is a satyr play, defined by translator Robin Waterfield as tragedy at play. These plays exist in the middle between tragedy and comedy. They would have been performed after three tragedy plays to apparently lighten the mood. They deal in scandalous behavior, phallic jokes, and great bouts of drinking. This is essentially a more humorous take on the Odysseus and Polyphemus story than what is found in the Odyssey....more
An incredible set of four tragedy plays by Euripides. He wrote over 90 and seventeen survive. My favorite of this set was Medea. My main thought whileAn incredible set of four tragedy plays by Euripides. He wrote over 90 and seventeen survive. My favorite of this set was Medea. My main thought while reading these is just how incredible it is that all of these stories connect. In Heracles, we read about about the bow and arrow that Heracles unknowingly uses to kill his own wife and sons. It will later be that same bow that Philoctetes uses to kill Paris in the Trojan War. This bow that brought such pain and sorrow in the life of Heracles will one day kill the person most at fault for the entire war. Hecabe, the widowed wife of Priam, experiences similar devastation in her own family, though she is not the cause. And Electra is another telling of a part of the Orestes story, taken up by both Aeschylus and Sophocles as well....more
Incredible. My third reading of the epic in the past 13 months. I had never read it before then and now it's my favorite. I read it this third time foIncredible. My third reading of the epic in the past 13 months. I had never read it before then and now it's my favorite. I read it this third time for leading a local reading group covering the Iliad. It was fun to read it for the purpose of leading a discussion and then learning from others in the group. It's helpful to read it with others. ...more
I loved reading about the history of the American bookstore. Evan Friss travels back in time and around the nation to show the history and current staI loved reading about the history of the American bookstore. Evan Friss travels back in time and around the nation to show the history and current status of the bookshop. It amazing how much has changed but how much more has stayed the same. It seems as though there has always been an imminent disaster awaiting bookstores in the form of new technology, declining readership, and bigger and badder competitors. I was struck at the importance of organization for a store, how placement can literally change how "people thought about books, they way they related to one another, and which books customers discovered." I thought the most helpful information was in looking at the failures of Amazon to start their own string of bookstores. They shuttered them all in March 2022. This book made me reminisce about my various bookstore visits across the USA over the past 30 years. It brought back fond memories....more
I kept seeing this story pop up in other Greek myths, so I wanted to know the story. I wasn't expecting it to be this exciting. I really enjoyed this I kept seeing this story pop up in other Greek myths, so I wanted to know the story. I wasn't expecting it to be this exciting. I really enjoyed this story. It also references a ton of other myths and Greek gods, so it's a great story to learn about the Greek myths. Jason and his Argonauts are tasked with recovering the Golden Fleece. They embark on a journey full of heroes (and fathers of those found in the Iliad), encounter troubles similar to Odysseus, and come out with the help of the "mistress of drugs," Medea....more
We have seven surviving plays from Sophocles out of a potential 130 total. This book considers the 100+ plays that didn't survive. They are a mix of tWe have seven surviving plays from Sophocles out of a potential 130 total. This book considers the 100+ plays that didn't survive. They are a mix of tragedy and satyr plays (satyr plays were a mix of tragedy & comedy and contained a number of body part humor). It's so neat to consider different lines from plays and how they would have fit into the whole work. It's also incredible to think that Sophocles created so much during his lifetime. I'm holding out hope that we one day find some of these missing plays. It would be amazing to discover these after being lost for 2,000+ years....more
What an incredible memoir. It was so good. So interesting. An extremely difficult childhood, an unbelievably long-suffering mother, and a Pulitzer-priWhat an incredible memoir. It was so good. So interesting. An extremely difficult childhood, an unbelievably long-suffering mother, and a Pulitzer-prize winning author. I got teary-eyed at the end. I didn't know about Rick Bragg before this book. I hope to read more of his books....more
It was such a neat experience to read this book. I just saw the author, Debra, at my grandparent's funeral. I'm a first cousin to Debra, once removed It was such a neat experience to read this book. I just saw the author, Debra, at my grandparent's funeral. I'm a first cousin to Debra, once removed (she is my dad's first cousin). Debra grew up on a farm in Wisconsin that I visited as a child. I met her father and mother and could picture some of the scenes she described on her farm. It was so interesting learning about Debra's family, seeing my own family members mentioned in the book (father, grandparents, aunt), and learning about the farming life of Norwegian immigrants living in Wisconsin. It was interesting to learn that Debra's great-grandfather moved to Wisconsin from Norway in 1858 to almost immediately begin serving in the army for four years during the Civil War.
The descriptions of rural farming life, community engagement, and Debra's own hopes and dreams were very interesting. This is how many in my family line lived. It was a life of hard work, deep family connection, joy, appreciation, and rootedness. I loved reading this book....more
Helpful book about current social media trends and how to make use of the main platforms. I found the shift to the Interest Graph the most interestingHelpful book about current social media trends and how to make use of the main platforms. I found the shift to the Interest Graph the most interesting idea. That means the social platforms are prioritizing showing content by interest instead of by who you follow. The other idea that was important was that traditional Google Searches are losing their prevalence and consumers are using other methods such as AI, social media, and voice search that access different databases....more
I heard John Eldredge speak in 1998 and it changed my life. In fact, I would not have this reading project were it not for the desire sparked in me byI heard John Eldredge speak in 1998 and it changed my life. In fact, I would not have this reading project were it not for the desire sparked in me by Eldredge to read the classics. This book is a short recap of his main points from other books. It's broken down into the Four Acts of the story of God. He says we're currently living in Act 3, so it's important to know what happened in Acts 1 & 2 and what's coming up in Act 4....more
This is an important book. I knew social media was impacting kids, I just didn't realize it was this bad. The biggest shock was how it affects societyThis is an important book. I knew social media was impacting kids, I just didn't realize it was this bad. The biggest shock was how it affects society as a whole. It's not just impacting the mental health of individuals. It's setting a direction for everyone whether or not they use social media. There are obviously benefits to social media, but there is a dark side....more
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