Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin Books, 2006) – Despite being an Oprah book, I found that this memoir about a woman’s search for “pleasure, devotion, and balance,” while traveling through Italy, India, and Indonesia respectively, held some deep truths—and explained a lot about the goals of meditation. If you can make it through the first 30 pages of chick-lit melodrama, you’ll be well-rewarded.
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Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott (Random House, 1999) – Lamott isn’t afraid to be vulnerable with her readers—in fact, she has a knack for explaining her seemingly petty anxieties and general quirkiness in a humorous way that makes the reader feel better about being human. By describing real-life situations where people are struggling with addiction, grief, illness, and other gritty situations, she guides the reader down the imperfect path to hope. Truly a joyful read.
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Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller (Thomas Nelson, 2003) – The book jacket describes Miller as the male Anne Lamott; and this may be accurate. They’re both confessional, but where Lamott wears her feelings on her sleeve, Miller spends more time—perhaps too much—in his head. Gender arguments aside, his book spends less time arguing about doctrine and more time pondering how Christianity should be practiced (i.e., “loving people just to love them, not to get them to come to church.”) A refreshing contrast from the politicized version of Christianity we often get in mainstream media.
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The Accidental Buddhist by Dinty W. Moore (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 1997) – Moore has written a nice primer for those who are curious about the many American styles of Buddhism. He invites the reader to live vicariously as he attends Buddhist retreats, meets with Zen teachers, and tries to integrate this ancient practice into his modern daily life.
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The Active Life: A Spirituality of Work, Creativity, and Caring by Parker Palmer (Jossey-Bass, 1990) –Written by a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) and founder of the Center for Courage and Renewal, this book explores the idea of “contemplation-in-action.” The only non-memoir on the list, Palmer’s storytelling draws from several traditions (namely Taoist, Jewish, Christian) and compels the reader to engage the world rather than retreat from it.

-Taryn Chase

Richard Dawkins
Houghton Mifflin Company
2006

In his latest book, The God Delusion, British author Richard Dawkins claims he is using logic and science to argue against the existence of a supreme being, primarily God as worshipped by many modern Conservative American Christians. Rather than providing a coherent argument in favor of—or in defense of—atheism, Dawkins provides an elitist rant against all who consider themselves even remotely religious. (more…)

Kristan Accles Morrison
State University of New York Press
2007

In her brand-new book, Free School Teaching, Radford University Assistant Professor of Educational Foundations Dr. Kristan Morrison explores her personal and professional journey through an educational system that she feels is not running on all cylinders. Obviously an intriguing read for educators, or for those who might want to become educators, the book holds enough interest for those outside of the academy to be a pleasant read.

Morrison begins by contemplating her premise in the Preface of the book. Morrison writes, “Very few people, most particularly those who were the ‘winners’ in the school game, ever take the time to contemplate if our schooling experiences may have molded us in negative ways, ways that run counter to our society’s highest intellectual, political, and moral ideals.”

Noting that she was indeed such a “winner,” Morrison still asks the question, “Am I, or other ‘successful students,’ really okay? Or would I be a different, better person had it not been for how school shaped me?” While making her way through school with relative ease as a student, as a young teacher Morrison began to see more flaws in the system. She talks about grading, writing that what she “didn’t like about grades was that they turned the students’ focus away from learning and seeing school as a place in which ability could be developed and improved on, to one involving performance and just trying to look good on the surface so one could avoid negatives and reap positives.”

Realizing some problems but unsure of answers, Morrison immersed herself in educational literature and theory. While ideas on progressive education began to churn in her head, she wanted to see a first-hand example of a progressive model of education in action. Through her research, she discovered the Albany Free School in Albany, NY.

Morrison took time to study the Free School, keeping notes in a field journal and interviewing teachers. She realized that the school had a “very different setup” and a “very different curriculum.” After examining her experiences with the Free School, she allowed those experiences to transform her as a teacher and look for options to reform or revolutionize teaching in general.

With extensive notes and a solid bibliography, Morrison provides more details for those who want to delve further into this exploration of education. For those who simply want to take the book at face value, you can ignore the notes and bibliography and still feel that you’ve gained some knowledge about public education.

Tim W. Jackson likes to read books; he just unfortunately struggles finding the time to do that. He holds an M.F.A. in Creative Nonfiction from Goucher College.