Want to read a book with me?

There's this new book coming out soon by Rob Bell. If you're not familiar with him, he's a guy who likes to challenge Christians to think in new ways (at least some might describe him as such, and I'm all about and feel we need more of it) but sometimes I feel like he must enjoy smirking at the way he gets his points across more (this is just my opinion, and I've not read or listened to close to everything this guy has to say - it fits with what I've seen/read). To be sure, he's very deliberate about the way he chooses what he has to say, and I can appreciate someone who spends time thinking about not only what he has to say, but also how he wants to say it.

Anyways, the book is called Love Wins (link at amazon). In certain circles, it's started quite the conversation about the afterlife and Bell's theology in general (example 1, example 2). Some commenters, with varying degrees of familiarity with the upcoming book, have said The book doesn't hit shelves until March 29th, but I'm interested in reading it for a couple of reasons.

1. There are too many books that are easy for people to read without ever having to think. If a book is talking about that which you value most, it should make you think about, not just agree with, what it has to say.
2. Rob Bell's delivery/arrogance/confidence/whatever else you want to call it places him in some sort of magical middle ground that seems to make a startlingly high percentage of people who encounter what he has to say think about what they really believe about the potentially outrageous things Bell has just said (and while sometimes this results in polarization in his crowd, few of those, at least in my experience, just find themselves in one crowd or the other... for the most part, they've thought about what they believe, thought about what Bell's said, and decided from there... That result of the conversations he initiates I happen to really like...).
3. The folks who may have spoken out of turn (let's face it, it's not always wise to make sweeping comments about hot topic issues and notable personalities without reading everything that's been said, i.e. the whole forthcoming book) about what's allegedly in Bell's book seem to be motivated by a desire that resonates with me: not only are there are things that are right and things that are wrong, but those things are worth talking about and in many ways demand that we talk about them (or at least if we're not talking about them, we have something to say about them that's rooted in more than what we've heard).

So here's the part where I'm going to pretend that I'm somebody famous and people will actually do this... Heh... I like to entertain myself...

Here's a "book trailer" for Love Wins. After I've read the book, I'll be better prepared to say whether or not it's a solid intro or not, but for now, it's what's there.

While I don't always agree with his answers, I'm often intrigued by many of Rob Bell's questions. This book is no exception.

If you're interested in reading this book, talking about these things, thinking about these things, let me know. I'm going to read the book and be thinking about it, but the more people who help that along with conversation, the better.

I read these books

For the first time ever, I kept track of the books I read throughout an entire year. I'm sure this is as many books as I've ever read in a year, and I'm pretty pleased with the list I came up with. In no particular order (because of the infuriating way this thing makes me insert and adjust images), here's what I read.

Matterhorn and Lemuria Books

It's when I'm reading something else that I'm most often inspired to write something of my own. Unfortunately, there's not much I can add to this post over at lemuria's blog. Matterhorn should be on your list of books to read this summer.

Also, if you haven't seen this bookstore (which is likely given that I live something like 10 hours from it...), you should check out their website. Their first editions club has guided me to several books and new authors I wouldn't have found otherwise.

Also, check out the little border that exists at the top of their pages. So much that's good there...

book talk: Beatrice & Virgil

Yann Martel's new novel, Beatrice & Virgil, is rather fantastic. However, it's a "the less you know going into it, the more fun you have figuring things out on your own" type of novel, so no lengthy chit chat here.

Fans of Life of Pi will enjoy seeing animals at the center of the storytelling again. The novel is worth your time, and it shouldn't take too much of it to complete. However, while the novel is just short of 200 pages, it promises to be a conversation starter. I'm looking forward to discussing the novel and figuring out what I missed on my first read.

That's all I'm saying. Well, that and this: do NOT go looking through the reviews and such that are out there already. Some of the reviewers have no concept of what spoilers are...

What I should have chosen first...

A while back, I posted a few books that I was considering reading at the time. Let the Great World Spin fizzled out about 80 pages in. I enjoyed Plainsong but not enough to go out and buy Eventide immediately. Tonight, (or this morning or whatever) I found myself hooked on this fantastic novel by Jeffrey Lent, In the Fall.

Before I continue, here are two facts you need to know about me. After something like 8 or 9pm, books make me sleepy. Really sleepy. Also, books that come highly recommended or with loads of unbelievable praise don't so well with me. I like to find things on my own instead of refinding what someone else just found... Whatever...

Now that you know that, know this: In the Fall has me up reading until 4am. I've not read nearly as widely as many of my friends, but I can count on one hand the books I've been this excited about recently. Seriously.

Do yourself a favor - grab a copy of this book.

Fair warning - The novel doesn't have some sort of earth shattering opening. (well, the prologue has me thinking still, but that's not the point...) The first of the three "books" brings the narrative that's been picking up steam over 150 pages to a full boil. If you agree to pick up this book, you agree to read through the end of the first book. Also, apologies to those of you who have read this book and are much better suited for writing this sort of endorsement... Feel free to fill in any cracks I've left/correct any mistakes or places I may have misled people...

The Future of Publishing

As a Kindle user, I've had the thoughts about if in X amount of years, all my students will walk into class with something like that.

In some ways, that would be great.

In others, well... I'm not so sure.

I like the feel of a book in my hands, and that sensation is definitely lost during the Kindle (or any ebook) experience. This video takes an interesting look at some of that future.

The clip is likely to have some place in a classroom about making snap judgements or assumptions about others. Be sure you watch it all.

Also, to be fair, I found this video at Lemuria's blog (here). Lemuria books is a fantastic little independent bookstore in Jackson, MS which, one day, I will have the privilege of entering. Until then, I visit here. Thanks to them for the video.

McCarthy Covers

I know there are a few people who read this who are also big Cormac McCarthy fans. This link, shown to me by a good friend, is all about the new set of covers that McCarthy's books are being reissued with (maybe just in England? I'm not so sure...).

I tend to agree with the some of the commenters who voiced concerns about dropping the subtitles for Blood Meridian, and the covers are far from perfect; if nothing else, they're something pretty to look at and tempt you to rebuy copies of books you already own.

Also, I tend to like the covers more for the books I've not read. Not sure what that means, but it's something to think about.

Enjoy.

Edit: I like this cover for The Road better than the eventual design...

two things... eh, sorta three

First thing.

I've continued to support my problem of buying more books than I can possibly find time to read by purchasing an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) of Yann Martel's Beatrice & Virgil (the one that won't be in bookstores until sometime in mid-April). I'm really looking forward to reading it for a couple of reasons. Despite the fact that I was annoyed when given Life of Pi in my freshmen English class in college (I wanted something I had already read. You know, to prevent me having to do much work...) I actually enjoyed reading the parts of it I read to write the paper. I wasn't on the English teacher track at that point, and I'm now a little bit disgusted with myself for not reading this a little more closely. Oh well.

Not sure which is the actual coverart. Or which I like more. Guess I'll just be surprised. :)

The book is fairly short, but it promises to leave me thinking for a good, long while afterwards (which I prefer greatly to the tome that's answered all its questions 50 pages before the author stopped writing...). It'll also be nice easy reading after the other stuff I'm trying to tackle this spring break.

Second thing.

N. T. Wright's book, After You Believe, is not easy reading. It's much different from the two previous books in the same line of thought in both density of information (is this even a thing? it's the best way I know to describe what I see on the page... nearly every paragraph begs to be read and reread to start to move towards understanding his point) and his decision to express his point with much more theological language than I'm used to encountering these days. I'm getting acclimated again, it's just taking a little while.

However, this is not what I really have to share.

Amid the dense, theological language, Wright turns to Hamlet to help illustrate one of his points in the second chapter. While discussing how living a life of "virtue," or Christian character as he has carefully constructed thus far, often requires readjusting our nature to what we may be comfortable with at the moment, Wright quotes this passage from act 3, scene 4:

Refrain tonight;

And that shall lend a kind of easiness

To the next abstinence; the next more easy;

For use almost can change the stamp of nature,

And either curb the devil, or throw him out,

With wondrous potency. (lines 165-170)

Wright's inclusion of this quotation allows him to draw connections to what's going on in the "religious world" (I hate this term, but can't come up with an applicable alternative at the moment...) at the time Shakespeare penned these words and to offer encouragement given the difficulties of beginning to engrain this a type of life into our daily schedules until it becomes second nature.

Undoubtedly, I have misrepresented some of what I understood Wright to have said and am likely to have simply misunderstood some of what he intended in these passages. His book is challenging me to think more about how I think and how I live, and I can't recommend it highly enough. Hopefully I haven't scared anyone off from it. The best thing for both of us would be to talk about what he's mentioning in the book and figure it out together.

Anyone have any insight on extra application of the passage from Hamlet? I'm very interested in any additional perspective (literary/theologically/whatever). He seems to stick to a few stories that he continually references, so your help will really help me as I continue through this. Thanks.

also, this Thursday, March Madness vs. Incredible books on my shelf. Not sure who's going to win that fight...

Books that aren't for English class/New thinking excitement

Through several of the talks over the past three weeks at Church and in our comgroup, I've really felt like it's time I started reading about how Church happens again. Starting around this time of year during my sophomore year in college, I began to think about how Church traditionally happened around me and how that lines up with the models depicted in the New Testament (see Acts 2 as a good starting point).

Tonight, I started reading N. T. Wright's After You Believe.

I'm excited about the challenges the book is sure to bring about in me and the opportunity to write about how I'm being changed.

Hopefully it'll spur me on to some good topics to blog about as well.

teacher stuff

Trying to explain this to people is complicated and doesn't lend itself to the blog very well. Also, at some point, I started to address my co-workers in the second person. If that's not you (read- if you just asked yourself what second person is), then sorry.

I teach with a fantastic group of people. They are a creative, insightful group individuals who care about both their subject matter and their students. They manage to successfully earn students' trust while continuing to challenge their classes to excellence. Furthermore, they're a blast to hang out with.

In general, I enjoy my job and feel like I'm keeping up my end of the bargain as a teacher.

However, I'm worried about a few things. I'll try to explain.

Reality #1: I've taught two new classes this year. When I'm not teaching the class I taught five times a day last year, (and sometimes even when I'm in front of those students) I'm generally afraid of what might happen. One of those anything and everything can and will go wrong situations...

I'm not sure why, but it genuinely freaks me out to tackle new material for the first or second time in front of 15 year olds.

Reality #2: I'm pretty sure that most of the people who occasionally offer me a flattering comment have no idea how unsure I am of myself when teaching my new classes this year. (And for those scoring at home, this applies to both courses I've taken on this year that aren't about American lit...)

Also, I'm well aware that I'm the guy who's always bugging someone with questions about this and that or how this happened or what went well a certain part of today and all that sort of thing. I don't know any other way to learn how to do this job.

Reality #3: If I had fallen into some other situation where the people around me weren't willing to explain lessons to me over and over, I would have quit. A long time ago, I would have walked and never thought twice about it.

That's not ok.

How can so many fantastic teachers exist around me and I not have a good way to learn from them?

(I suppose some witty/ironic thing about how there is now way for the teachers to teach the new teachers how to teach well should appear here... I'm not feelin it right now, but know that it should be said. )

Beyond looking at a calendar or sacrificing a planning period to watch someone else teach, there aren't many good ways to figure out how all that great teaching that happens in your classrooms comes to life.

In a meeting today, discussion went round and round about the merits and ills of submitting written lesson plans. I've seen fewer topics divide people and spur on pessimism like this one.

So, what's in it for you to write lesson plans?

If nothing else, they would help me learn to be a better teacher. If you write them how they make sense to you, it will help me learn to think differently. I would love to look through the notes my friends have made about how they teach The Road, Catch-22, Midsummer, Romeo & Juliet, 1984, Huck Finn, and a host of other works to see not only what my students may have discussed in the past that I could draw connections to with my units, but also to get ideas about what I might be able to adapt from other courses or levels to fit in my own classroom.

It's no big deal to me what the administration might do with the lesson plans developed by our department. I'm interested in looking at how you convince students to learn in your classroom. I don't want to know every gory detail about how class went or see some foolishly complex documents completed about what's happening in your room. What I'd enjoy seeing want to see is how you move from one thing to the next. I want to see the connections you make and the discussions you love having with certain literature. When I get stuck, it's the kind of resource that could both help my attitude and predicament.

What should I read next?

So what should it be? I'm stuck with several good books around and not an incredible amount of time to read at the moment.

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

The Missing by Tim Gautreaux (he's the author of the novel I just finished, The Clearing)

Woodsburner by John Pipkin

In the Fall by Jeffrey Lent

Plainsong by Kent Haruf

Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon

Another good book

Check out The Clearing by Tim Gautreaux (pronounced go-trow according to my dad who was born in the same city in south Louisiana as this author...). Again, I found a little preview for this one, too.

This is the first book I will have read entirely on my favorite present from this Christmas. Snazzy, eh?

two fantastic finds

Check out these two things (well they sort of become one here shortly...) that I've found recently.

The first discovery is this little app that will let you sample a book (thanks to Spiefel & Grau).

The second is Philipp Meyer's first novel, American Rust, which is available for you to sample below. I stumbled across this book at a fantastic bookstore in Austin which you should visit any time you are near there. (Go after eating at East Side Pies.) The only unsettling element to Meyer's novel is that people actually behave the way that he's characterized them in the novel. And it's not set back in the wild west or in some other detached era. It's set in the present, and people really behave that way.

I'm aware that this is fairly vague, but I can't offer you a more enticing snipet of the story that the first chapter. Read it.

Church Talk 1 - Fall Festivals (or how we serve ourselves...)

Disclaimer: Churches do a great deal of good in most communities. On nights like tonight, if churches weren't putting things together for kids, many kids would end up in unsafe places or go without candy. I get that. However, I feel like these events reveal a few unhappy trends in which the modern church finds itself entrenched. So, with that out of the way, here we go...

Fall festivals irk me.

If you're unfamiliar with the concept, it's often billed as some sort of safe version of Halloween that's put on by a church near you. The idea seems innocent enough, but is often a bait and switch where attendees are offered candy and entertainment only to be force fed a sermonette (and that's the best case scenario... it could end up being much more torturous than that...).

Many things with the Church rub me the wrong way naturally, but I'm particularly frustrated/confused by the Halloween alternatives offered on October 31st in church parking lots. If the Church is designed to be a group of people who make it their business to go out into the world and find ways to love the people who they come across, why, on the one night of the year that it's perfectly acceptable for you to offer candy to your neighbor's kids who you've never met are so many Christians all huddled together in parking lots at fall festivals? Not only are those people not in their neighborhood with the people who pass by each day, but they've likely either left a bowl of candy (which the first kid with no parent watching over his shoulder will promptly empty) or nothing at all on the welcome mat. Way to make a good impression on the neighborhood.

The Church has honed its skills at this approach to outreach. It's quite common for those in charge to default to an approach that asks what events will bring the most people to the building (or other strategically chosen location) so that we can interact with them there. Events like these are a common response as an alternative for parents and their kids when faced with the ills of the world.

Why is that?

Why has it become ok to gather together on nights set apart to be in our neighborhoods?

The more disturbing reality is that many church-going-folks expect this type of event to come together so that their kids have something fun (but not too much fun), safe (meaning isolated from those evil influences), and cost effective (aka free) to do on All Hallow's Eve. It also doubles as a place where kids can bring their friends (who aren't "saved") to get candy and have a good time. It looks like something for others, but is really an event for the members.

Unfortunately, the issues I see with fall festivals are only a symptom of a greater issue that's crept into the church.

The larger issue revolves around this set of problems:

• We've transformed membership in the church into something that more closely resembles membership in a country club than a group of like minded followers of Christ.
• We've made the church into a place we bring people who have problems.
• We've neglected the conversation about how we go about being the Church together.

Each of these areas of concern needs its own post for further exploration, but those will come quickly.

Tonight, on arguably the most neighborhood friendly night of the year, ask yourself why it is that things like fall festivals seem like such a good idea.

And remember, I know that there are good things that are happening there, but there are questions that are worth asking here, too. Join me in figuring all this out and continuing the conversation.

This might be the funniest thing I've heard in a while...

In a conversation with my sister, who's in Argentina at the moment, this came up:

then, i knew i had no other option so i went into my host parents bedroom and told them in spanish that my poop was stuck in the toilet

i said 'caca' and everything

they started rolling laughing

i told them i was going to go to my room and die

then i heard my host dad go into the bathroom and fill a bucket of water and poor it down the toilet

then he yells in broken english "goodbye! it's swimming!"

Fantastic.

The post about another future post...

For a long time I thought a lot of things about the way Church happens.

Then things changed. I'll get into that another day.

For a lot of reasons, I've kept quiet about many of the things I think about for a couple of years now (save for a couple of occasions in which the conversation was initiated by others around me), but I feel like I'm ready to talk about these things again.

There's a big part of me that doesn't know where to start with this and, in many ways, doesn't know where exactly it's going to end. In fact, that's one of the few things that I'm certain of with this whole deal: I've got no idea where this is going. I can see some of where we are, and I'm great at complaining about how where we've been has screwed up where things are now (I know what a charming quality, right?), but as for where things are headed, I'm not sure. Maybe that's why I'm so interested in these questions. I feel like this is going somewhere significant, but I'm not sure where yet.

In the midst of all those qualifiers, what I do know is that it's time for me to start talking about this again.

Wherever you find yourself, I'm interested in what you've got to say about these things.

If I haven't completely scared you off at this point and you're interested in a little more reading, check out this article by a guy named Michael Spencer. I don't agree with everything said in that article by any means, but I do like the questions he is raising for the Church. And just so you know, the ideas Spencer is discussing do represent many of the more radical viewpoints present in the discussion in which I've found myself.

I'll stop for now. I'll post thoughts about and reactions to the article sometime soon(ish).

Fantasy Football: Free League

Across the country, it's that happy time again. For me, it's the first time it's been that happy time. Today, I completed my very first fantasy football draft. 16 rounds. 2 hour and 20 minutes. Several pizzas and plenty of wings. You get the idea.

Here's the team I've drafted. I've got no clue how good they will be, or even if I have a decent team going. The cheat sheet I grabbed from ESPN seems to say that I'll be alright. I've included position, round drafted and team as well...

Here we go:

Round 1 - Matt Forte (RB - CHI)

Round 2 - Larry Fitzgerald (WR - ARI)

Round 3 - Calvin Johnson (WR - DET)

Round 4 - Matt Ryan (QB - ATL)

Round 5 - Thomas Jones (RB - NYJ)

Round 6 - Derrick Ward (RB - TB)

Round 7 - Jonathan Stewart (RB - CAR)

Round 8 - John Carlson (TE - SEA)

Round 9 - Kevin Walter (WR - HOU)

Round 10 - Matt Cassel (QB - KC)

Round 11 - Chicago Bears Team Defense/Special Teams

Round 12 - Domenik Hixon - (WR - NYG)

Round 13 - Ernest Graham (RB - TB)

Round 14 - Tony Scheffler (TE - DEN)

Round 15 - Lawrence Tynes (K - NYG)

Round 16 - San Diego Chargers Team Defense/Special Teams

That's how things shook out. Hopefully it'll work out well for me in the end. Wish me luck!

Music music

Thanks to BigRedPoet, the last stop is now equipped with pleasing tunes to accompany your reading experience. You have to click it to get it going over there, but hopefully it's worth the minimal effort.

Enjoy the new tunes!

Should Taco Bell be called Taco Bell if they've got no tacos?

Attention Taco Bells around the world: if you intend to market 4th meal as a viable option, have a healthy supply of taco meat on hand at any and all times. Apparently, one Taco Bell in town needs this message. After asking for two tacos tonight, I was informed that "we don't have no more taco meat," and I would need to select something off the menu that didn't require this essential ingredient.

If you run out of the central ingredient for nearly your entire menu, someone didn't order something or forgot to start "cooking" it up or whatever. Fix it.

how going to the dentist got worse...

Ok, it's no stretch to say that most people don't especially enjoy going to the dentist. It's not much better if you often find yourself as the lucky recipient of a return trip to fill cavities as I frequently am.

Today, though, there were no cavities. Great, right? No return trip, no paying more money for expensive, painful, time consuming procedures. All is well. Until they decided I needed a "fluoride varnish" applied to my teeth. This is where things go down hill. (And keep in mind, I had three cavities on my last trip to the dentist and fully expected to match that this go around... And also, I own a toothbrush and am well aware of how to use it. Genetics doesn't work in my favor here...)

So, back to the fluoride varnish. When the hygienist and the dentist started throwing around terms like varnish that I only associate with staining wood and the accompanying horrendous odors, I should have prepared myself for the worst. Instead, I laid there waiting to get this last little formality out of the way so I could move on with my cavity free day.

Then, it began.

There were new tools involved (never a good situation at the dentist... I want to recognize what's there on the table for the hygienist to clean my gums... I mean teeth with... new is not good). With the new tools, she begins to paint (as best I can describe it) this terrible gunk onto my teeth. It feels somewhat similar to when you put a piece of gum between your teeth and your upper lip. The only difference is that this kind of has the texture of a melted gummy worm with dirt mixed in. Not cool.

About the time she finishes up, she starts in with the rules. No eating/drinking for an hour (fine, whatever...), and no brushing until late tonight (Are you kidding? You tell me this after you slopped glue all over my mouth???). I've never wanted to brush my teeth more in my life. If you asked me whether I'd rather participate in fluoride varnishing again or eat a dirt sandwich, there's really a 50/50 shot that I'd take either option.

6 hours to go...