By: Jer Swigart on January 13, 2020
Ten days after the 2016 Presidential election, I was invited to Washington DC to offer an analysis of white Evangelicalism in America. Throughout the polarizing election season that had just concluded, many had found themselves dumbfounded by the adamant support for Donald Trump by white Evangelicals. As the months unfolded, it seemed as though the…
By: Darcy Hansen on January 13, 2020
It was cold and wet. Quiet permeated as the sun gently rose over the tree-lined ridge. The trails were muddy at the Abbey. The flow of air into my out-of-shape lungs was shallow and swift as I climbed the hill that, at the moment, felt like a mountain. I took the first right turn off…
By: Shermika Harvey on December 20, 2019
The alarm on the iPhone goes off on the nightstand as Cheyenne frantically reaches to shut it off. However, once it is in her hand, notifications for work emails and social media flood her screen. Without hesitation, she unlocks her phone and immediately begins to check the onslaught of distractions greeting her before one foot…
By: Shermika Harvey on December 19, 2019
Many years ago, I found my voice and passion for writing in the theatre. The ability to create works of fiction that imitates life without the complication of reality was fascinating. It was exhilarating to become a different version of myself without fear of rejection. Being trusted to lead the audience on a journey of…
By: Shermika Harvey on December 19, 2019
Rethinking History! The Shocking Reality of History In the Making Reading The Silk Roads: A New History of the World by British writer and historian, Peter Frankopan, sparked intrigue and bewilderment on this new interpretation of a pivotal time in history for the West. Moreover, in the book Frankopan provided a challenge to the reader…
By: Simon Bulimo on December 5, 2019
IMPORTANCE OF A TITLE IN WRITING Having an attractive title is vital for any book to be read or to not be read. Convincing people to read your book demands for a title that will make readers inquisitive and to ask questions like: what next, how and why this book is a must for one…
By: Steve Wingate on November 25, 2019
Okay, I have to say this book title sounds just a bit tad more than ironic. The title actually sounds sacrilegious! But, quite the title. As far as a marketing scheme, it is genius. Since I am probably being groomed as a scruffy cultured individual, it’s probably a must-read. So, I read. What the title…
By: Chris Pollock on November 23, 2019
The last few months have been full of all kinds of new learning for me. I have thoroughly enjoyed the books we have not read together. Yes, it has been highly informative the learning from different perspectives, viewpoints of classmates on books they haven’t read and sharing my thoughts (to the best of my ability)…
By: Nancy Blackman on November 21, 2019
https://youtu.be/BacjILwcJf4 PC: @detroitshooting James I stood before my brothers (형제) and sisters (자매) staring into their souls, hoping to hear what I wanted to hear. I have read a portion of their lives in the anthology, “Mixed Korean: Our Stories,” but that is such a small tidbit of who someone is. “The act of reading…
By: Greg Reich on November 19, 2019
We live in a world consumed with knowledge. According to Berrett-Koehler Publishers there were over 700,000 books self-published in 2015. In 2013 over 300,000 books were published by traditional publishers. To date there are well over 1 million books self-published every year. A book has less than a 1% chance of being stocked by a…
By: Jer Swigart on November 19, 2019
In How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read, Paris-based professor of French literature and psychoanalyst, Pierre Bayard, has fused French satire with sheer brilliance. While the title suggests a hack’s guide to reading-by-never-reading, the book is a thoughtful examination of the art of reading. Throughout its pages, Bayard reveals how unrealistic it is for…
By: Dylan Branson on November 18, 2019
At some point, we’ve all be there: We were assigned to read a book and, for whatever reason, we decided we could better spend our time doing something else. Whether it be because we were just put it off for too long, we began the book and were bored to tears once we started it,…
By: Shawn Cramer on November 17, 2019
At first glance, Pierre Bayard’s provocatively titled book, How to Talk about Books You Haven’t Read, appears like a pithy how-to book to help doop others in conversations about literature. In our microwave culture, one might be tempted to situate Bayard’s work along with others that promise the quick, unearned benefits of a life-long pursuit…
By: Darcy Hansen on November 17, 2019
Johannes Gutenberg developed the Gutenberg Press in 1454 by merging two of his key inventions: a printing press and a mold for making reusable, movable letters.[1]In his experimentation of book development, Gutenberg desired to produce letters that were equal in quality to that which expert scribes were able to produce by hand. The first font…
By: Nancy VanderRoest on November 17, 2019
Being an effective leader: what does that mean? According to Walker, the goal of effective leadership is leading out of who you are and helping enable people to take responsibility.[1] This is some pretty powerful stuff! In one of my favorite passages from The Undefended Leader, the author shares that it is a moral responsibility…
By: Mary Mims on November 16, 2019
Marvin Gaye once sang a song called, “Mercy, Mercy, Me”. This song was directed to the ecology of the earth being disrupted by oil spills in the ocean, mercury in the fish, and pollution in the skies. Even in the 1970’s, this soul-singer was concerned by what he was seeing, wondering how things could progress…
By: Tammy Dunahoo on November 16, 2019
Simon P. Walker, author of the trilogy The Undefended Leader, in Leading Out of Who You Are: Discovering the Secret of Undefended Leadership, distinguishes certain leaders as those with moral authority “having been proved trustworthy, usually through trial and suffering.”[1] Walker describes the difference between these remarkable versus ordinary leaders as those with character which…
By: Harry Fritzenschaft on November 16, 2019
Researcher Simon P. Walker, working with his colleague Jo Walker, discovered consistent patterns through repetitive cognitive tests conducted between 2000 and 2015, in studies with over 15,000 individuals.[1] From his research, he coined the term “steering cognition.” Walker proposed that steering cognition crucially aided individuals to self-regulate their mental wellbeing and social competencies. Out of…
By: Joe Castillo on November 16, 2019
“It seems hard to believe that a book called “How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read” would hit the best-seller lists in France, where books are still regarded as sacred objects and the writer occupies a social position somewhere between the priest and the rock star. The ostensible anti-intellectualism of the title seems more…
By: Digby Wilkinson on November 16, 2019
Last evening I attended the graduation dinner for a group of students at a school where I am the chaplain. The keynote speaker for evening is currently a principal dancer in the New Zealand National Ballet. What struck me from the moment I met him was how uptight he was; he later confessed he did…
