In a culture in which algorithms control the content we consume—what movies to watch, what goods to buy, what news to listen to—the choice to read a book whose philosophy opposes our own and questions our sacred assumptions is nothing short of revolutionary. “I choose novels that let me turn my brain off,” a student [...]
To read is to become a seraphim, a polyglot, a beneficent hydra. We become more ourselves. We become better selves, better souls. We transcend being merely thinking machines or gluttonous beasts but transform into creative creatures who love, give, and are nourished by beauty. “If you don’t read good books, you will read bad ones,” [...]
A rare breed of humans knows the limits of its time and is less concerned with its immediate relevancy and more with what it leaves behind. If we are to cultivate a similar vision, we must learn to be such “dinosaurs”… Edward E. Ericson, Jr., was a dinosaur. When I call Ericson a dinosaur, I’m [...]
Flannery O’Connor’s fiction teaches us the need for charity toward other points of view, our personal tendency toward blindness, and the benefit of stories to enhance our vision… In 2014, I spoke at the American Embassy in Prague at a symposium on the civil rights movement in America. I made the mistake of offering Flannery O’Connor’s story [...]