Beautifully written story, even if belief has to be suspended a bit for the plot line. Wonderful characters that are alive and vibrant. Unfortunately, I hated the ending. It may be paralleling an operatic tragedy, but it didn’t sit right with me.

A series of lectures by the author that describe the essential characteristics of nine major world religions. Much more than just an academic lecture, these feel like very personal stories he’s sharing, stories that he’s been drawn to discovering by his lifelong desire to seek out wisdom wherever it can be found.

Fascinating story of a crossing of the Atlantic in 1904 by four men in a covered lifeboat. The inventor is an ancestor of mine, which makes it more compelling.

When I first picked this up, it appeared that it might be something of a cross between Howard Zinn and Colman McCarthy (I’d Rather Teach Peace) – something like “A Peoples History of Nonviolence”. It now looks to be more complex than that. Jonathan Schell seems to be one those incredibly broad-ranging thinkers who can bring forth patterns that others never see, or at least don’t tend to mention.

Beautiful writing on the place of ourselves in the world, especially in a world largely unknown to most.

Moving stories of rich characters and the paths that led them to resist the dominant culture around them. One of the best books I’ve read in a long while.

Interesting modern-age story of a Father who claims to be descended from Don Quixote. Having not read Cervantes, I’m not sure how much I’m missing from it, but there are references enough to it that the parallel is probably important but not the sole point of the book.

Once past “The Sound of Music” portion of the story, which only takes about 50 pages, you can settle back into the story of the Trapp Family beyond the idyllic world of Austria. Maria’s religious faith pervades the telling of all of their trials and triumphs, but with enough stories of silliness to keep it from being too heavy.

Sara and I will see is we can get through this one together with weekly reading. We’ve been stalled on “Long Life, Honey in the Heart” for the last couple of years, so time to be more deliberate (and not forget the story between readings!)

The first John Cheever I’ve read, and while it’s clear how good the story telling is, the story itself never really captivated me.