A Nonfiction Summer

 

The lazy days of summer - travel, home, beach, family. While there tends to be a lot of coming and going in summer time as kids are out of school, there is also a decent amount of down time. I don't have summer like a student, but I fully embrace the down time and using that down time for reading. It's too hot outside to really do anything out there, and even if you are out there at the pool, beach, or backyard, the best way to spend leisure time is reading! 

Grab a cold drink, or a cup of tea if you are inside, and learn, grow, think, ponder, dive into a story. The options are limitless, whatever your interest. I seem to have been engrossed in nonfiction lately, so here's some recent reads if that strikes your fancy.

If you like art, To See Clearly: Why Ruskin Matters is so interesting. John Ruskin was an art critic, thinker, advocate for beauty in architecture and art. He was a genius. I read this book on my travels to Atlanta and back, it was a perfect intro to Ruskin on a high level. I will be digging into much more of Ruskin's writings.

Speaking of beauty, I'm studying the transcendental "beauty" with my dearest friend, and we are reading Beauty in the Light of the Redemption, as part of our studies, which is a short intro to Hildebrand's deep philosophical understanding of beauty as being objective, not something subjective and up to each person. Beauty is important-in-itself. I've written about Aesthetics by Hildebrand in a previous post, which is his main masterpiece on this. This is a condensed explanation that is very much worth reading as it will change the way you think about beauty. 

If you are interested in religion and the differences, follow along the journey of faith with Peter Kreeft in his life, From Calvinist to Catholic is a very approachable tale of his spiritual journey. Kreeft has such a down to earth way of writing that's easy to understand, even if he is talking about something complex or philosophical. His concise explanations are so helpful.

Along those lines, I've read through The Early Church Fathers Collection to read the actual letters and documents from the first and second centuries to hear from the men who knew the Disciples, who built up the Church, who passed on the traditions from what they were taught, and who record important pieces of the Church that Jesus started, before there was a New Testament.

If you like history and learning about quirky characters, and you love Britain, Alice Loxton is your author. She's fun and full of facts from history, told in a playful telling of tales. I picked up Eighteen: A History of Britain in 18 Young Lives when I was in Oxford listening to her talk, and had her sign this copy. She takes young 18 year olds from history and tells their story, especially what they were doing at age 18. She includes witty tales from Bede to Geoffrey Chaucer to C.S. Lewis, and many others I had never heard of.  

Lastly, A Dish of Orts, is a collection of random (odds and ends) essays by MacDonald, but they don't feel like odds and ends. Many of the essays are on Shakespeare and they have opened up Shakespeare to me - I had no idea MacDonald was such an expert on Shakespeare. Also, a couple of good essays on the imagination. I feel he has the best insights about imagination as truth bearing, which is where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien learned from. 

Reminiscing Rain

 

I insert a couple of rainy Oxford photos from this Spring because I think Oxford glistens and is most beautiful in the rain. As I sit here now in the tropical heat of Florida (in months of drought) I am dreaming of the cooler air and chilly rain of Oxford. I'd love to go take a walk along the Turl and through the Bodleian Library quadrangles as the gentle pitter patter of raindrops splash onto my umbrella, or my jacket hood. I will turn the corner and duck into a coffee shop to read with a coffee for a bit.

Reminiscing Rain

Recent days have been stark and drear
Recalling desert lands not near
On a particularly grey scale sky day
I dreamily reminisce the hours away
Recalling gentle raindrops falling
Chorus of a cloudburst heard the calling
Joining in the landscape symphony
As all of nature rises to see
This utmost essential gift from above
Fills nourishing elements to all we love
And can remind us in a spiritual sense
Gifts inviting us into transcendence. 

Quick Atlanta Adventure

 I was recently in Atlanta on a short business trip where I was asked to be part of some meetings. Any travel can be a little adventure, so in the little time I had on my own, I tried to enjoy it like it was my own little holiday away.

I flew into Atlanta around lunchtime, which I had never done before. Anytime I've ever been in Atlanta, I've driven in, and had my car to get around. The Atlanta airport is huge, but I must admit, it was pretty efficient. Very crowded, though. The summer travel was certainly in full swing, and the terminal halls and seating areas by the gates were always too small. People spilling over, lines at the bathrooms, packed food court area. 

The area I was staying was in Northeast Atlanta, so I took a car from the Southwest airport across the whole city, to a more smaller city feel in Buckhead. I arrived and had several hours before my first gathering to attend. It was already very hot when I arrived at the hotel. It was a nice hotel, set amongst some leafy green trees, stylish, and comfortable. My room wasn't ready, and I was hungry, it was into the afternoon now. 

Thankfully a local pizza spot was just 2 blocks away and I could walk there. I was so glad they had gf/df pizza options and I was able to get a very yummy pizza, sit there and eat, read my book, and take my time. When I was done with lunch, it was really too hot to walk around anywhere, so I went back to the hotel (my room still wasn't ready) so I went up to the rooftop restaurant, which opens up to an outdoor terrace with views all around. 

Way too hot to be out on the terrace, I sat inside and ordered a latte, sat there and read my book on John Ruskin, did some work on my laptop, and then my room was ready an hour or so later. The room had a cute deep green velvet couch that curved from the bed headboard around to the window. I ended up nestling there doing work and reading in the time I had. 

This book on John Ruskin, I picked up in Oxford at the Ashmolean Museum (it's signed by the author) as I have been wanting to read more of Ruskin. He was a prolific writer on art, beauty, aesthetics, and was hugely influential. I've read some of his essays, but wanted to dive deeper. This book was a great introduction to him overall so when I pick up more of his writings I will have a broader understanding. He was rather fascinating, so this book was my travel companion for this trip. 

The next morning, they had breakfast for us on the covered section of the outdoor terrace. The sun shown brightly and the sky was summer blue - hot and bright. I think I sat in one of the only shady spots. It was a scenic spot up there - I really liked looking out and seeing all the very green leafy trees whilst in a big city.