I've been wanting to do several blog posts for weeks now, but I'm in Menard, and our computer at home no longer goes on the internet (it just freezes as soon as you bring it up), so there won't be a whole lot of blog posts coming I'm afraid (or emails). Only when I can get down to the library (which hasn't been open a whole lot this break either). So it goes.

Here's a post I've been wanting to do for a while. I got it from Emily's and Kayla's blogs. You might have noticed, but I tend to like books.

A book that didn't change my life: The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. I guess it’s not a bad book, and it is short. Still, it seems that a book that has been popular for around four hundred years and has this promising a title should have more than a couple of platitudes to offer. The way to practice the presence of God: try praying. Not bad advice. It seems a little obvious, though, and the book doesn’t go much beyond saying that. Maybe I was expecting too much.

A book I’ve read more than once: The Moviegoer by Walker Percy. If you know me, you’ve likely heard of this book. I read it six times in one year.

A book I would take with me if I were stuck on a desert island: I always respond to this question by saying The Idiot’s Guide to Building a Boat, but I’m not going to say that here. I’d take The Tempest.

A book that made me laugh: I have a whole list of these. Recently though, I’ve been recommending Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore to a lot of people recently. It hasn’t disappointed yet.

A book that made me cry: I have a list of these, too. I think the one most likely to make me cry (at least almost) is one that isn’t even all that sad as a whole. The story’s just so beautiful though. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.

A book that I wish I had written: I’m continually in awe of Annie Dillard’s For the Time Being. She takes on the most difficult subject of all subjects--God and the problem of evil--and she handles it with remarkable grace and wisdom. I would like to be the sort of person who could write a book like this. Of course, having written Harry Potter wouldn't be that bad either.

A book that I wish had never been written: Beneath the Underdog: His World as Composed by Charles Mingus. The CD is much better than the book.

A book I’ve been meaning to read: There’re a ton of these. One is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. A professor of mine at Tech bought this for me before I left, thinking I’d like it, and I definitely want to get to it soon. Also, I want to read The Brothers Karamazov. I’ve never read anything by Dostoevsky, even though pretty much everything suggests I’d love anything written by him.

I’m currently reading: Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense by N.T. Wright. Supposedly the new Mere Christianity, and by a scholar I respect. Not bad so far.

Boycott the NFL

I'm just announcing that I'm not going to buy any merchandice from the NFL for the next ten years or so. Maybe for life.

The reason: Right now, the Cowboys are playing. For the first time in my life, I cannot see the game because it's on the NFL network, which you have to pay a whole lot for to see. And I'll definitely never pay for the NFL network. I live within three hours of the Cowboys' most important game so far of the season, and I can't see it. This is unjust.

I'll keep being a Cowboys' fan. But it will be a long time before they ever see any money from me again.

Thankfully, nobody who reads my blog cares anything about football, so I'm sure that y'all can join me on this historic boycott as well.

The Fifty Novels I'd Sort of Like to Read in the Next Few Years or So (Let Me Know If You've Read Any and They're Terrible).

1. Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro*

2. Arthur and George – Julian Barnes

3. Offshore – Penelope Lively

4. The Secret River – Kate Grenville

5. The Echo Maker – Richard Powers

6. Confederates – Thomas Keneally

7. Cat’s Eye – Margaret Atwood

8. Atonement – Ian McEwan

9. Three Cheers for the Paraclete – Thomas Keneally

10. The World According to Garp – John Irving

11. A Prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving*

12. Middlesex – Jeffrey Eugenides

13. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay – Michael Chabon

14. On the Road – Jack Kerouac

15. Suite Francaise - Irene Nemirovsky

16. A Long Way Down – Nick Hornby

17. Saturday - Ian McEwan

18. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini*

19. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz

20. The Thirteenth Tale – Diane Setterfield*

21. Everything is Illuminated – Jonathan Safran Foer*

22. Reluctant Prophets and Clueless Disciples – Bob Darden

23. Bee Season – Myla Goldberg

24. The Doctor’s Wife – Brian Moore

25. Precious Bane – Mary Webb

26. March – Geraldine Brooks

27. Winter’s Tale – Mark Helprin

28. Last Orders – Graham Swift

29. Slapstick – Kurt Vonnegut

30. The Baron in the Trees – Italo Calvino

31. Lying Awake – Mark Salzman

32. Coyote Blue – Christopher Moore*

33. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – Jonathan Safran Foer*

34. Haroun and the Sea of Stories – Salman Rushdie*

36. The War of the End of the World – Mario Vargas Llosa

37. Quarantine – Jim Crace

38. The Ball and the Cross - G.K. Chesterton

39. The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor – John Barth

40. Independent People – Halldor Laxness

41. An Artist of the Floating World – Kazuo Ishiguro

42. The Samurai – Shusaku Endo

43. The Diary of a Country Priest – Georges Bernanos

44. Ahab’s Wife – Sena Jeter Naslund

45. Foucault’s Pendulum – Umberto Eco

46. The Master and Margarita – Mikhail Bulgakov

47. Love in the Ruins – Walker Percy

48. Jayber Crow – Wendell Berry

49. Brendan – Frederick Buechner

50. The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse – Louise Erdrich

Just Thought I'd Share...

since that's what this whole blog is about anyway, right?

Here's some more evidence to prove that left-handers are superior.

One Final Down...

and one to go.

Thank goodness. The first final is over. I wrote 15 full pages in a little over two hours. Five of those pages were about a topic that I had very little knowledge going in on (the literary and historical issues concerning the Book of Deuteronomy), but as I wrote, I kept remembering stuff that I hope was accurate, though frankly, who knows? I could have been remembering things about the literary and historical issues concerning the book of (this is where I would put in something uproariously funny if I were either (A) a person whose brain hadn't been fried by just writing a fifteen page final in a little under two hours and studying for it beforehand or (B) a very clever person to begin with--you can fill in something funny if you want). Who cares though, I guess? I five pages down, at least.

Now, to Greek.

Reminder #27

I really don't think I agree with this one. But my mom and my dad and my sister were quite insistent on it when they showed up. If everyone says it, maybe it is true. I'll add it to my collection of wise wisdom:


Don't wear a moldy shirt. Even if it has been washed.

Reminder #26

It's ok to not take so many showers.

Reminder #25

Do not invade Iraq.

Reminder #24

If you're going to go ahead and be born, make sure that your mother is not Brittney Spears and that your father is not Kevin Federline.

It's difficult to know what people need. That's the hard thing.

One of my students. Definitely missed too many classes to pass the course. I informed this student of the fact.

And he pleaded. He made a good case; it's been a hard time.

I saw two things, I guess. This student needed both (1) some sort of reasonable limit and (2) a break in this life. He needed those to come together. My power was limited though. I couldn't give both.

Typically, my rule is "when there is doubt, show mercy."

I didn't this time though, and I guess I'll never see how things turn out in the end.