Happy New Year, friends! I am seeing other lists of books on Facebook and in Christmas letters that my friends have read in 2023. I am always interested in what others are reading. It gives me a wider list from which to pick what I read next. I am still working on my year in books/documentaries/articles and podcasts till the end of January. I am way behind on reporting on the books I have continued to read. The books, documentaries and podcasts in this report are # 25-30. I am currently reading #’s 45 and beyond. I have resumed my habit of reading several books at the same time, which isn’t a great habit!
Book #25 was two podcasts on gun control. The podcasts were created by Curtis Chang of Good Faith. The first was “Gun Culture and Control” with David French and Curtis Chang (https://open.spotify.com/episode/21GRsWoJpge2kYZYgmeZnJ). This podcast demonstrated a productive and civil discussion between two different viewpoints. David French grew up with “gun culture,” which he defines as a culture where gun ownership is considered normal and guns are owned for specific purposes (target shooting, hunting and security) and used carefully according to strict safety rules. Curtis Chang did not grow up with guns and believes that gun ownership should be limited for the common good. David French proposes gun control laws which target specific dangers of gun ownership, rather than prohibiting access to guns in general.
The second podcast, entitled A Christian Response to Gun Violence, (https://open.spotify.com/episode/593k9XiACavmhc8V5x1b6M) showcased an organization in Chicago founded by Michael Allen, a black pastor and David Dillon, a white businessman, called Together Chicago. Allen and Dillon created and co-lead Together Chicago and cooperate with Chicago police and other organizations (Christian and non-Christian) in an effort to reduce gun violence in the city. One of the most notable parts of their program is “visitation” of known gang leaders. Another notable feature of the organization is positivity about bringing together co-laborers of all races. The organization acknowledges the structural disadvantages of communities of color in Chicago, advocates for the empowerment of leaders of color, but also advocates for action in which people of all ethnicities co-labor.
#26 was This Tender Land. This is a fictional account by William Kent Krueger of an orphan growing up in a boarding school for Native Americans in the 1920’s. Krueger researches extensively, making this historical fiction which accurately reflects real life events of the time and place. The school where the story begins, like many real life boarding schools for Native American children, is Christian. However, its leadership abuses power in various ways, and harbors some staff who harm the children. Later on in the story, a Christian evangelist is also a prominent figure in the plot, in a far more positive way. Krueger chose not to present all Christians as hypocrites, and the book ends on a hopeful, even redemptive, note.
#27 was To Spank or Not to Spank. I read this as a follow up to John Rosemond’s book The Well-Behaved Child. Since that book was aimed at children 4-13, I was hoping this book would give instructions for younger toddlers. It did not. It is a short book, under 100 pages, and was written in 1997. Rosemond was addressing the strong anti-spanking messages parents receive from psychologists, and more broadly an ideology which opposes parental authority, promoting instead a democratic view of parents and children, that they are equals. Chapter 2 does briefly flesh out specifics of discipline, but refers to his book on how to make the terrible twos terrific. Rosemond himself views spanking as occasionally necessary, but not the backbone of successful parental discipling. His main point in writing the book was to lament the direction of the psychological community to weaken parental authority in a way which he believes is ultimately harmful to children. Now 26 years after its publication, anecdotal evidence I have observed seems to validate his fears.
#28 was Becoming by Michelle Obama. (I also watched her documentary, covering some of the same themes.) Becoming is a memoir of Michelle Obama’s life up to 2016. I had great appreciation while reading it because it provided such a thorough chronicle of her family’s experience in Chicago, at Princeton University and in the White House. I gained great respect for Barack and Michelle Obama for their vocational lives as public servants. Michelle Obama sounds a call to young people, and particularly young women, to work hard as students because of her belief that education and hard work were crucial elements of her pathway to a successful life, for her own good and the good of many others.
#29 was a documentary called Seattle Is Dying. It showed vividly the crisis of homelessness in Seattle, which the producers say is a misnomer of the problem. The real problem is drug addiction and mental illness which causes people to live illegally on the streets, coupled with a lack of enforcement by the criminal justice system. The police allege that their efforts at enforcement have not been backed up by the courts and mayor of Seattle: even repeat offenders perpetrating crimes such as selling drugs are released without prosecution within days of their arrest by police. Residents of Seattle feel unsafe in the downtown area. After describing the problem, the news team making the documentary shifted to showcase a successful program in Providence, Rhode Island which couples “enforcement and intervention” with a positive outcome.
#30 is the Barbie movie. I saw on Facebook that many of my friends took their daughters to the movie. That surprised me, because I know of other parents of young girls who won’t buy Barbie dolls for their daughters. Initially I wasn’t very interested in seeing the movie. But because I work with college women, many of whom have seen the movie, I thought I should go. Afterwards, my fellow staff women and I had a discussion about it with women students. Everyone agreed that the movie is a great conversation starter. The movie is very funny, possibly even more funny for women my age, because we remember the original Barbie, Ken and Midge, etc. The movie sends various and sometimes contradictory messages. Two strong takeaways: a world run by women would be a nicer, more affirming, collegial and intelligent world, and humans have authority to choose who and what they want to be. Men might find the movie interesting, hearing in it an articulation of common complaints women have about how they are treated, and about unrealistic expectations of them coming from society, men and themselves.
I hope this recent trend of sharing book lists spawns a desire to understand people, discuss ideas with them in civil and respectful ways and to grow in capacity for kindness and action for the good of our world!