Summer Reading

No matter where I am or what season it is, the book I read determines to some degree the way I view the world around me. Perhaps this is the way it is with all people. When a person is reading a book about birds, they would naturally pay more attention to the birds in the vicinity. They will spend brain cells in the tens of thousands pondering birds, flight, and the like. They will notice birds in grammar, advertising, literature, history, and every aspect of life. The topic that person is reading upon effects their entire worldview. This is all assuming the bird book is a good read.

I have read nothing directly concerning birds this summer. However, I have just finished two books that have profoundly influenced my worldview, shaping the way I watch tv, talk to people, even my consciousness. One is a biography, the other is a classic of world literature.

Let the Trumpet Sound: The Life of Martin Luther King Jr. by Stephen B. Oates is an examination of the civil rights leader, non-violent activist, prophet, preacher, theologian, orator, organizer, and human being that was instrumental to redefining freedom, equality, and peace in the American context, but also on a global scale. The book narrates King's life from birth to martyrdom, describing the gargantuan efforts he undertook to allow an opportunity for a free life to exist between both whites and blacks together. I walked through the man's life astounded by his commitment to non-violence, his humble obedience to God's work through his giftings. King had a dream, a different reality he strove for. In the midst of incredible emotion, physical, mental, and spiritual torture by segregationists, McCarthy followers, the FBI (especially the corrupt director, J. Edgar Hoover) and fellow blacks, King spoke into the heart of people to create change. Though the book did not try to hide his mistakes, I am even more astounded by King's work than ever. I highly, highly recommend this biography.

At the same time, I read Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. I marvel at Russian novels. I am moved by Russian writing. It is allowed to be insane in a Russian novel. Insane in love or guilt or nobility. Especially Dostoevsky's works. This was my third work from him (I have read The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov) and I am still reeling from the psychological and philosophical themes of the story. The main question asked is "Are there some men who are so brilliant, moral laws established before them do not apply, as they are actually the lawmakers?" Another story I ardently recommend.

Read these books.