Unhappy reading vs. happy reading

On the shelf Unhappy reading vs. happy reading

Books, books, books, and more books. same problem in reading Orthodoxy, his •••

After a long hiatus, in the last month book about Christianity and faith. Long ago In the midst of this storm of books and books have again become my daily compan- I read some of his Father Brown short sto- reading, I saw online that on March 25 Larry ions. I set aside at least an hour every day, ries, and Chesterton is in my opinion one of McMurtry had died. A prolific writer and a put on my glasses, and take up a book. the greatest aphorists who ever lived, but I lifelong lover of the printed word — he once

A couple of weeks ago, I finished the find his non-fiction equivalent to walking up owned an antiquarian bookstore with over Constance Garnett translation of a steep hill against the wind. I believe I’ll lay 400,000 titles — McMurtry was most Dostoevsky’s Devils, his novel about Russian this one aside for a while, come back to it, famous for his novel of a Western cattle revolutionaries 150 years ago. Their radical and try again. drive, Lonesome Dove, which was later ideas of social jus- made into a tice, a perfect state, wonderful and communism miniseries read like today’s starring headlines. At times, Robert Duvall the parallels between and Tommy then and now became almost humorous: the discussions of the death of God, the utopian Jeff Minick Writer Lee Jones. Over the years, I’ve read several of decrees, the declara- McMurtry’s tions of independence from duty and obliga- books, both tion. Devils is almost a thousand pages long his novels and was at first a slog, in part because of the and his Russian names, but after about page 200, essays. His when the conspirators begin to reveal them- Lonesome selves and their ambitions, the story took Dove, my off, and I had some fun. favorite, I

So now Devils joins Ivanhoe on my list of consider an old books read. American

To that same list I have added Eleanor classic. Porter’s American classic, Pollyanna, which I Another read for another writing assignment. After novel, trudging through Dostoevsky, I polished off Moving On, I Pollyanna in just a couple of days. And after read many the gloominess of the Russian novel, years ago and Pollyanna with her Glad Game — she took that one encourages those around her to look on the to heart as sunny side of life — was a breath of fresh well. I have air. Like Devils, this book to caused me to just picked up reflect on the current mess in our country. my copy of Maybe if we all started to look for the good Moving On, in our lives, even the small things that make and read a us happy, we might improve the dreary state bit, and the of our nation. writing is as

Then there was Tom Papa’s You’re Dong fresh and fine Great!: And Other Reasons You Should Stay as I rememAlive. This comedian’s reflections on our ber it when I current stress and dissatisfaction when “we first opened live in an amazing time filled with airplanes, this book 40 scooters, and peanut butter cups” brought years ago. some much-needed humor. Jordan Peterson’s Beyond Order: 12 On the same day Larry McMurtry died,

Lance Morrow — an essayist I have More Rules for Life sits on the table beside Beverly Cleary, beloved children’s author, admired for 30 years — wrote God and the La-Z-Boy recliner in the living room, a passed away. She was 104 years old and pubMammon: Chronicles of American Money, book mark in place on page 28. The first lished her first book in 1950, Henry through which I am slowly working my way. chapter, “Do Not Carelessly Denigrate Social Huggins, and then wrote dozens of other Morrow’s prose is to be savored rather than Institutions or Creative Achievement” again books aimed at children. Ninety-one million gulped down. He reflects on current events taxed my powers of concentration, but I copies of these have found young readers, — the pandemic, the death of George Floyd have scouted out the rest of the book and making Clearly one of the best-selling — but at the same time draws again and have determined it will be a pleasure to read. authors in our nation’s history. again from figures and stories of the past to More on this one in another column. Thank you, Beverly Cleary and Larry make his points. Meanwhile, on the floor in front of the McMurtry, for the wisdom and joy you

G.K. Chesterton’s What’s Wrong With book shelf beside my desk are stacked 16 brought to readers everywhere. the World is proving a tough journey. I’ll books, some of them from the library, some (Jeff Minick reviews books and has written four read a page, and sometimes two, and realize my own, and all demanding some sort of of his own: two novels, Amanda Bell and Dust I have already lost the thread of Chesterton’s look-see. A quote attributed to singer-song- On Their Wings, and two works of nonfiction, argument. Is it age? Or just that I simply writer Frank Zappa, “So many books, so lit- Learning As I Go and Movies Make the Man. don’t enjoy the book? I’ve encountered this tle time,” nicely sums up my situation. minick0301@gmail.com)

1DAY2EVENTS

MAY 1ST

10AM

DISCUSSIONDISCUSSION

with Neal Hutcheson,

author of The Moonshiner

Popcorn Sutton

(hosted by SMN’s Cory) for more info please call 828-456-6000

1PM

MEET & GREET

with author

Darryl Bollinger

signing his newest book,

The Healing Tree