All posts in Books

The Need to Be Whole is, by Wendell Berry’s own admission, a “pondering and ponderous book.” Approaching 500 pages, the ponderousness comes in part from Berry’s abhorrence of shadowy language that might allow some assumption to crawl under the back fence and set up shop. Any word with the suffix –ism calls for a page or two…

Without bothering to read the blurb or scan the book, I checked out from the public library Backcast: Fatherhood, Fly-fishing, and a River Journey Through the Heart of Alaska by Lou Ureneck. I expected something easy; some quasi-philosophical reflections on fly-fishing, perhaps a handful of insights about parenting. The Alaskan wilderness is always ripe for such comments.…

I had a piece of toast in one hand and a book in the other when I realized that, as a bookmark, I was using a delinquent vehicle tax notice. Illuminating realization: So this is who I have become. In a former life I paid all bills early. What shifted so that I not only fail to pay…

Not only did Aldo Leopold know what he was talking about, but he also knew how to say it. There are several books that have significantly shaped the way I see the natural world, and this skinny book has done some heavy lifting. Not once but several times.  While on a road trip in the…

Pound for pound, a book is the best return for your money. Forget Wall Street and the investment portfolio; let’s go for walls lined with books. The investment will be in experience and knowledge and not in the wallet of course, but the love of money is the root of all evil and the love…