Librarians have a stiff upper lip

TIME had a great editorial about the famous British stiff upper lip. This was a great quote in that same tradition from the Washington Post today. A neighbor of one suicide bomber said, "They are selfish, inconsiderate cowards." I think that is a fair description of someone who violently imposes their metaphysical beliefs on a crowded rush-hour bus.

So, yesterday I had a plumber come by to fix the toilet and look at the growing puddle in the front yard. Well, today they are going to do a $2500 repair job on our connection to the city water lines. Oh, the joys of homeownership! So since I am sitting here and waiting for various people to come spray paint my lawn, I thought I'd take up Joel and Tom's challenge and write up the five books I chose as the most personally life-changing.

1) D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths
This charming book was written by a husband and wife team and has wonderful illustrations. It is the official primer for the National Mythology Exam and is probably the best way to introduce 9-13 year olds to mythology. I read it in Middle School and thoroughly enjoyed it. It opened up for me a whole new world of pre-modern historical imagination, which only continued to grow as I studied Latin and Greek.

2) Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series
I started reading Isaac Asimov in Middle School, and I believe I read all of his science fiction books that the Wheaton Public Library and my school library had. His "hard" science fiction appealed to my somewhat incredulous mind, especially in my atheist/agnostic, communist phase of life. However, Asimov's unapologetic humanism and benign view of technology have greatly effected the basic assumptions of my worldview. That's why I can never see the movie, I, Robot, ever.

3) Point Counter Point (Aldous Huxley)
As Tom mentioned, the book of Ecclesiastes is particulary profound, in that it opens one to the possibility that the world is a wonderfully messed up place. Huxley uses the word "pervert" in this book as we might use the word "geek" or "aficionado." What he is attempting to criticize is someone who puts something out of its place in the universe--I might even dare to call it "idolatry." For instance, he suggests nobody should be a "politics pervert," a "relationship pervert," or even a "Jesus pervert." Although I may take some exception with the last one, his point is well-made. His thoughts follow logically from Unamuno.

4) American Sphinx (Joseph Ellis)
I find the South to be much more emotionally claustrophobic than the Midwest. On top of that, I live in TJ's hometown--there is even a Unitarian Church named after our patron saint. Therefore, there is a tremendous amount of ridiculous energy expended in considering Jefferson's legacy. Hating on TJ is just another way for me to maintain my Yankee pride in a sea of Confederates. However, more seriously, both Adams and Jefferson majorly screwed up in many ways, but both managed to make some pretty impressive contributions to our North American Republic. Also, the unexamined life isn't worth living. Plus this book's sequel is just as good.

5) Libro de Buen Amor (Juan Ruiz?)
I read this book in my Medieval Iberian Literature class last fall. I consider the Modern Era to be a Dark Age of faith, creativity, and imagination. This was another bridge for me to cross from a world of absolutes and Scottish Common Sense Philosophy to a place where unicorns, demons, and sultry shepherdesses lurk behind every rock and tree. I used the word "numinous" in my paper for that class approx. 4 billion times.

These choices were written in order of consumption. However, I'd like to share an honorable mention that I read while I was an undergrad...
Honorable Mention) The Pilgrim's Regress (C.S. Lewis)
This book woke me up to the fact that the whole time I thought my relationship with God was being ruined by my increasing fascination with paganism, I was totally wrong. I can't express in words how profound reading this book was to me. All I can say is that it took me from an intellectual boy to an intellectual man. Now I'm just waiting for my sense of humor to catch up.