“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”

                                                                                                Jorge Luis Borges                                                                                             

The pitfalls of making a reading list

     Time for an update on my autumn reading list (see here).  So how much progress did I make on my reading list?  Practically none!  I started reading “Down the Great Unknown”, but quickly set it aside and picked up “Spain to Norway on a Bike Named Reggie” by Andrew P. Sykes instead.  After that, I downloaded book #6 of the Expanse series, “Babylon’s Ashes” by James S.A. Corey, on to my Nook.  When I was finished with that I started “On My Own Two Wheels: Back in the Saddle at age 60” by Irish writer Malachi O’Doherty.

     At first I was a little frustrated with myself for not following through on my reading plan.  I was bewildered by my resistance to reading the books on my list.  Obviously the books interested me because I purchased them.  So what gives?

     It took a little introspection but I finally figured it out.  I am not usually in the habit of making such lists.  I realized my reasons for not doing so is two-fold.  One, my reading habits tend to follow whatever I happen to find interesting at that point in time.  Today my interests might be Civil War history, whereas next week I might be in the mood for a mystery.

      The second reason is because a reading list conjures up in my mind too many connotations of the mandatory reading assignments we were given in school.  I read because I get pleasure out of reading.  Thus I have no desire to start reading a book just because it’s on some sort of self-imposed homework assignment.  Life is too short for that shit.

     So will I ever read the books I put on my list?  Absolutely.  When I am damn well good and ready.

Book Review:  “Heretics and Heroes” by Thomas Cahill.

     “Heretics and Heroes” is book VI in Thomas Cahill’s Hinges of History series.  Mr. Cahill is a “popular historian”, meaning his books are not scholary tomes but history for the masses.  Mr. Cahill’s books focus on different periods of Western history, such as the Irish monks after the fall of the Roman Empire (How the Irish Saved Civilization) and the impact of the Jewish diaspora on Western Civilization (Gift of the Jews).

     “Heroes and Heretics” covers the people and events of the Renaissance and the Reformation.  Mr. Cahill goes into great depth of the personalities and egos of this historical period.  While he focuses the genius of these individuals, he also delves into their flaws and weaknesses.  This makes the reader aware of just how amazing such figures at Donatello, da Vinci, the Medici’s and other really were.  For in spite of their all too human failings, they were still able to create such amazing masterpieces.

     In addition to the biographies of the major players in the era, Mr. Cahill goes in to great detail about the changing mores and culture that led to the explosion of artistic creativity and religious reforms.  This helps the reader to understand how Western civilization went from a God-centered universe to a Man-centered one.

     Thanks to “Heretics and Heroes”, I finally have a fuller appreciation for the arts and literature of the era and why they still have such a profound effect on our own culture even to this day.

     Now for the caveat:  I wanted to give this book four thumbs up, I really did.  But Mr. Cahill commits a sin that seems to becoming all too common in modern non-fiction.  He just had to inject his personal political opinions into his work.  Several times throughout the book he strains mightily to compare situations of several hundred years ago with current events and political controversies.

     This has the jarring effect of pulling you out of the past into the modern era, and it also immediatly makes the book dated.  Imagine somebody 20-30 years from now wanting to learn about the Renaissance and picking this book up.  He or she will be scratching their head trying to figure out who Dick Cheney was and why he appears in this book.  That would be like one of us picking up a book to learn about the rise and fall of ancient Egyptian dynasties and in the middle of the book the author going on a rant about President Eisenhower preventing the British and French from seizing the Suez Canal (true story).  It’s gratuitous and unnecessary.

     So, even with the political bullshit, I still give “Heretics and Heroes” three and a half thumbs up.  It’s a very informative and entertaining read of one the most fascinating periods of Western history.

What I’m Reading Now: “On My Own Two Wheels: Back in the Saddle at age 60” by Malachi O’Doherty.

     I have found a kindred bicycling spirit in Malachi O’Doherty.  Both of us were avid cyclists in our younger days.  Both of us took up cycling again in our “golden years”.  Both of us approach cycling as something to enjoy and savor, and not worrying how fast or how far we ride (he calls this type of riding “tootling”).

     The first part of this book were actually a bit of a slog.  The reminisces of bicycle riding in his younger days, while helpful exposition, goes on too long and isn’t really all that interesting.  I don’t mean to sound harsh, but a lot of it feels like filler.

     But now that I have reached the part of the book where he details the joys and pitfalls of getting back on the bike after decades away I am enjoying this book immensely.  I’ll do a review when I finish it.

What Really Grinds my Gears:

     A big problem that has developed over the past 20 years in the science fiction/fantasy genre is huge, multi-book epics that never seem to reach satisfactory conclusions.  The author of the “Wheel of Time” series, Robert Jordan, died before he completed his epic and another author had to be brought in to finish it.  George R.R. Martin’s “Game of Thrones” series has ground to a halt; so much so that the HBO’s T.V. series had to strike out on it’s own to film the series finale.

     Worst of all, Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden series seems to have sputtered out as well.  I love the Dresden novels but in a few months it will have been 5 YEARS since the last book in the series was published, and I am starting to lose interest in continuing on.

     This is what grinds my gears:  if authors are going to start these huge multi-tome epics, they owe it to their readers to finish them.  Whatever happened to writing one book about something and then moving on to a different story?  Not every book in the genre needs to be the next Lord of the Rings.

     O.K., rant over.

Epilogue:

     So that’s it for this week.  Comments, suggestions, tips and recommendations are always welcome.  If you don’t wish to post comments on this site, feel free to email me at:  Mrvintageman2@gmail.com.