November

Science and the Modern World (1925) by Alfred Whitehead

This book is part of the Great Books of the Western World ten year reading project.  "It is in literature that the concrete outlook of humanity receives its expression"

The First Four Book of Poems (1995) by Louise Glück

The poems in this book, of her earliest poems, progressed into her expected brilliance. As a poet, she can slice through to the center, to the essence of life.

Caste: The Origins of our Discontent (2020) by Isabel Wilkerson

This book is now on my recommended books of a 'must read' book. Wilkerson's in-depth research of India, Germany, and the US brings together an understanding of caste systems. We in the US have failed to acknowledge that we live in a caste system; Wilkerson's research pulls the curtain aside. Wilkerson is an excellent writer, and though the topic makes the book challenging to read, her writing styling is compelling.

Rising Strong (2015) Brené Brown

Recently I received an email, and I was upset by how the sender had not answered my questions. As I told a friend about the email, he said, 'don't you think that is the best he can do?' Then the next day, I read that section in Brown's book. It made me stop in my tracks and evaluate my views. Brown's book made me check in with myself with the emotional topics of vulnerability and shame. Becoming aware of those in one's life is never an easy process, at least for me.

Some of the word choices in the book seemed contrived, for example, the word 'rumbling.'