So, I read a few stinkers in 2020 also. Here's the worst of the worse... The Soul of an Octopus, Sy Montgomery. I'm not sure what genre to put this in. Nature? Romance? The author somehow combines scientific and experiential narrative regarding octopuses with uncomfortable erotic imagery. So weird. What cool things I learned about … Continue reading Worst Books of 2020
Best Books 2020
I did not read as much in 2020 as I thought I would. In part, I'll blame it on mental fatigue and in part on picking very long books! Here's the best, and worst, books I read this year in various categories with one or two sentence reflections. Best Fiction Frankenstein, Mary Shelley. Pride/hubris leads … Continue reading Best Books 2020
City of God, Book 15: Urban Sprawl in the Two Cities
I'm convinced writing these summaries is beneficial, but I'd have been done with Augustine's tome long ago if I wasn't writing these. But I am benefiting from writing these, if for no one but myself. Book 15 traces the progress of the two cities, the "two societies of human beings, one of which is predestined … Continue reading City of God, Book 15: Urban Sprawl in the Two Cities
City of God, Book 13: Better than Adam ever was
Book 13 is given to the topic of man's mortality and the nature of death. Augustine dissects the difference between angels and men, "The condition of human being was such that if they continued in perfect obedience they would be granted the immortality of the angels and an eternity of bliss, without the interposition of … Continue reading City of God, Book 13: Better than Adam ever was
City of God, Book 12: Good and Bad Angels
Augustine continues a discussion of a topic we rarely consider - the nature, creation, and destiny of the angels, good and bad angels. The two cities which find their origin in man can already be seen, Augustine posits, in the angels. Good and bad angels did not have a different source, creation or nature, but … Continue reading City of God, Book 12: Good and Bad Angels
