February 28th, 2007 | Published in Astronomy, Existentialism, Humor and Satire, Quotes, Truth
Can we actually “know” the universe? My God, it’s hard enough finding your way around in Chinatown.
–Woody Allen, Getting Even (1971) in The Complete Prose of Woody Allen, 170
February 27th, 2007 | Published in Morality, Quotes, Region, Work
The standards of our behavior must be derived, not from the capability of technology, but from the nature of places and communities. We must shift the priority from production to local adaptation, from innovation to familiarity, from power to elegance, from costliness to thrift. We must learn to think about propriety in scale and design, as determined by human and ecological health. By such changes we might again make our work an answer to despair.
–Wendell Berry, Life is a Miracle: An Essay Against Modern Superstition (2000), 12
February 26th, 2007 | Published in Books & Reading, Interviews, Literature
Part of the The Reading Interviews series.
Could you tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Jeremy A. and I live with my wife Rachel and my one year old daughter Darcy in Judah, Indiana. I am an accountant working in the financial reporting department of a nonprofit. After spending the first quarter of our lives as Pentecostals, Rachel and I joined the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in January 2004.
What are your favorite books? What do you like about them and how have they influenced you?
Anything by Wendell Berry, but What Are People For? remains dear to me as the first book of his I read. His work has given me a more humane view of life. Berry rescued me from a descent into crass anarchocapitalism, a political philosophy where the free market represents the supreme good in society. Reading Berry is as refreshing as a beautiful summer day. Living as he does is not always possible for some of us, but we need to listen to him and honor him for his rooted wisdom.
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. These books have opened my imagination and given me joy with every reading. I really do know what C.S. Lewis meant when he said of the series, "here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron. Here is a book which will break your heart."
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Sometimes you just need a good romance – and this is one of the best. To quote Peter Leithart, "Real men read Jane Austen."
Loyalty: An Essay on the Morality of Relationships by George P. Fletcher. As I witnessed the betrayal of some friends of mine I came to the conviction that loyalty was a much neglected virtue. In typical fashion I went looking for a book to see if anyone agreed with me. This book confirmed and clarified my belief. Its philosophy is fundamental to the way I view the world.
Ecclesiastes by The Qoheleth. Here is some hard-bitten wisdom. The guy may be grouchy, but at least he’s honest.
Who are your favorite writers?
Wendell Berry for the reasons given above. Scott Russell Sanders is a writer akin to Berry, with the added bonus of being an English professor at Indiana University, near my home. Gerhard Forde is an excellent Lutheran theologian and a clear writer. Anthony Esolen, a contributing editor for Touchstone Magazine, is a bold soul who always helps me see in new ways. C.S. Lewis – for all the usual reasons. N.T. Wright is one of those rare scholars who combines erudition with readable prose. And when I weary of the weight of these writers’ thoughts I’ll pick up P.G. Wodehouse to lighten the mood.
What is the best non-fiction and fiction book you have read recently?
Non-fiction: Justification by Faith: A Matter of Death and Life by Gerhard Forde. This book not only reignited my interest in theology but also presented fresh ways of thinking about justification. Forde has clarified several issues for me.
Fiction: How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn. Llewellyn’s prose is forceful and full of emotion. I was drawn powerfully into Huw Morgan’s world of Welsh coalminers. It is a book I will be reading again and again.
Why do you think reading is important? What has led you to make it a priority in your life?
My wife has asked me this same question but in a more mockingly exasperated form. I always answer, "I want to understand." "What?" "Well, everything." Now, while I don’t really expect to realize my goal, I am thoroughly enjoying the attempt. Where else but in books can we have access to the greatest minds of our race? Reading is like participating in a discussion that was already well under way at the time of the Old Testament patriarchs. I want to understand that discussion and, if I feel extremely hubristic, contribute a word or two.
Are there any other books you would like to recommend?
How many books do you normally read at a time?
No more than two. Reading multiple books simultaneously distracts me. If something else catches my attention or I am bored with the book I am reading I simply stop and pick up something else. I used to think it was a mark of virtue to finish every book I picked up. Not longer. Reading should be enjoyable.
Do you mark and take notes while you read? If so, how?
The thought of marking in my books horrifies me. I insist on clean pages. I do, however, take notes occasionally. Usually this will take the form of a blog post, either as a simple quotation or a more extended reflection.
Do you have any advice about reading that others might find helpful?
Jeremy A. blogs at Eating Words.
February 26th, 2007 | Published in Agrarianism, Agriculture, Culture, Quotes
…the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man. When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization.
–Daniel Webster
February 25th, 2007 | Published in Humor and Satire, Quotes, Writing
Humor can be dissected, as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the pure scientific mind.
–E. B. White, “Some Remarks on Humor” (1941) in Essays of E.B. White (1977), 243
February 24th, 2007 | Published in Finances, Humor and Satire, Quotes
Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.
–Woody Allen, Without Feathers (1975) in The Complete Prose of Woody Allen, 63
February 23rd, 2007 | Published in Life, Psychology, Quotes, Religion
Saturday forenoon, July 27, 1722. When I am violently beset with temptation, or cannot rid myself of evil thoughts, [I resolve] to do something in arithmetic, or geometry, or some other study, which necessarily engages all of my thoughts, and unavoidably keeps them from wandering.
–Jonathan Edwards, “Diary” in The Works of Jonathan Edwards, lxxii
February 22nd, 2007 | Published in Agrarianism, Agriculture, Animals, Food, Health, Quotes
In the current regulatory environment, the rules make small-scale traditional food production and distribution almost impossible. Selling home-baked bread, or any food prepared in a home kitchen, is prohibited by most, if not all, health codes in the United States. Livestock for sale (with the exception of poultry, in most places) may not be slaughtered by the farmers who raise them; instead they must be trucked to anonymous factory-like commercial slaughterhouses. Milk and other dairy products may not be sold without pasteurization, which diminishes nutritional quality, digestibility, and flavor. Cider, too, is nearly always required to be pasteurized or irradiated. In other words, real food, increasingly illegal, is being replaced by processed food products. Laws dictating food standards are driven by the model of mass production, where sterility and uniformity are everything, rendering much of the trade in local food technically illegal. Eating well has become an act of civil disobedience.
–Sandor Ellix Katz, The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved: Inside America’s Underground Food Movements [source].