tbjohnston

Anna Karenina jumped to the top as favorite novel; Brothers Karamazov as best novel...The difference between the two adjectives tells more about me than anything else. :-)

Man's Search for Meaning by Frankl The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Hobbit/LotR by Tolkien

Gentle note - I participated in one of the Catherine Project's events - a two hour session on Genesis 1-5. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Everyone involved came prepared, asked good questions, and listened thoughtfully to what others had to say. I'd cheerfully participate again.

I don't understand the skepticism either. If people want to engage a great text with a community, what's the harm?

Thank you for sharing this. Great reading!

Sadly, no. Many B-schools focus more on analysis than on communicating the results via longform written documents.

1. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius - practical advice on how to arm yourself every day.

2. Man's Search for Meaning by Frankl - no matter how bad you think you have it, it can be worse, and you can find meaning.

3. The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen - it's the journey (not the destination) and <i>pay attention!</i>

Ok. Your preference is your preference - and I don't think anyone's going to suggest that you shouldn't watch X-Men if you want to. At the same time, one might reasonably read your comments and come to the conclusion that nuanced stories are better than ones that are not.

There is evil in the world. Auschwitz was evil. The Famine-Genicide in the Ukraine was evil. The Gulags were evil. The death of (tens of) millions of Chinese during the Great Leap Forward was (the result of) evil. One could go on. Many people, and I'm one of them, would reject any nuance that tried to diminish and explain away these evils. Do I want to understand what I can do to prevent them? Sure.

There should be room for both nuanced stories and grand narratives.

Hmmm. What in the Tolkien canon, or in his letters, suggests that any of his works are propaganda?

It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on Marcus Aurelius. I read the Ancient Art of Stoic Joy and moved on to Seneca next.

Just finished:

The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen (as did pdevr) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Snow_Leopard

A Guide to the Good Life: the ancient art of Stoic joy by William Irvine - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5617966-a-guide-to-the-g...

Now Reading:

Seneca's Dialogues & Essays - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1933080.Dialogues_and_Es...

Thank you for this post and helping to get the word out.