Books in September (2023)

Sometimes less is more

Continuing my promise to read fewer books. (List of all book reviews.)

92. The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoevsky, (Audio)

    1. Everyone (well, maybe not everyone) talks about how great Dostoevsky is and his novels, for their insight into human nature and character, and the clear Christian motifs and themes. I have read a bit of Dostoevsky before, but struggled with the novels, until I decided to tackle this. A full 40hrs of listening were required! So it was no mean feat, but it was worth it. I enjoyed the story, and the narrator's voice worked well for this book.

93. The Centre, Ayesha Mazanar Saddiqi, (Audio)

    1. If you told me that I could go to an exclusive, invite-only, 'retreat', and in 10 days I would emerge as a fluent native speaker of a language, for $20,000, I would sign myself up. That, my friends, is the premise of this book, and 'the Centre' that lies at the centre of it all. Anisa, the protagonist, is a 35-year old Pakistani immigrant in England, and I won't spoil anything in this book except to say it was a real treat. Thanks to Alyssa for another great book recommendation.

94. Amish Grace, Donald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt, David L. Weaver–Zercher, (Review)

95. The Art of Gathering, Priya Parker. (Review)

    This is a great book, all about how to make gatherings (from the smallest to the largest, of all sorts) excellent. Highly recommend

96. The Witchwood Crown, Tad Williams.

    So, having finished Williams’ Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series I have turned to his more recent continuation of the same. Thoroughly enjoyable fantasy novel.

97. How Far to the Promised Land, Esau McCaulley.

    Long time readers will know that I’m quite a fan of McCaulley’s work. This is a memoir, covering not his whole life but really his early life, family of origin, and the central role of his mostly absent father. It’s a window into another world. And such a contrast to read McCaulley’s account of growing up in the South in contrast to Beth Moore’s. It’s refreshing too to hear a Black man speak about his particular Black family and experience; not generic, not someone else telling his story.

Photo by Cameron Stewart on Unsplash

Bonus reading from around the web:

Myles Werntz on Bruce Springsteen and friendship, and

Clare Coffee on Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen