Articles about fiction and non-fiction books and how they can help us live a better life.
Books being the original internet, I’ve followed an analog hyperlink from Ray Bradbury’s lovely Zen writing manifesto to discover another treasure trove of wisdom — Dorothea Brande’s (1893–1948) altogether indispensable “Becoming a Writer.” I’ve ravenously devoured all of it and want to share one fragment that seems to me of profound importance, for it not … Read more
In one of the episodes of “On Being” podcast, the climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe told a story that may resonate with many of us who feel helpless in the face of the environmental crisis facing our shared home. “I was talking with a pastor [in Texas] just recently,” Hayhoe said to the podcast host, “and … Read more
“Get into bed in a comfortable position, make sure the light is inadequate enough to cause a slight eyestrain, choose a book that is either terribly difficult or terribly boring … and you will be asleep in a few minutes,” writes Mortimer Adler (December 28, 1902-June 28, 2001) in his famous manual How to Read … Read more
“We call spirituality a journey and speak in metaphors of travel, yet many of us never leave the neighborhood. The journal becomes the metaphor made real, a travelogue of the mind,” Christina Baldwin writes in the opening chapter of her book Life’s Companion: Journal Writing as a Spiritual Practice. “On days when I’m not sure … Read more