Is reading a chore for you?
Do you find it difficult to sit and focus on a book for an hour?
The following excerpt is from Deep Attention, Lauren Winner’s thoughtful, thorough reflections on the new Alan Jacobs book The Pleasures of Reading in the Age of Distraction: (more…)
This Thursday at Seattle Pacific University, in the Library’s “Thursday Food for Thought” program, I’ll be sharing some thoughts on the nine films nominated for Best Picture in this year’s Oscar race. (more…)
In the new issue of Seattle Pacific University’s Response magazine, which is focused on matters of science, faith, and imagination, I recommend some of my favorite movies about the future. (more…)
February 1 is the birthday of Anne M. Doe Overstreet.
If you’d like to do something to celebrate, pick up a copy of her book Delicate Machinery Suspended and give it to yourself or someone who loves to read slowly.
It comes highly recommended… (more…)
One of my favorite movies of 2010 was Lucky Life.
Never heard of it? I’m not surprised. It was never released in the U.S. It only played a couple of festivals, if I recall correctly.
But it needs to be seen. It’s the newest film by the director of 2007′s awe-inspiring film Munyurangabo. You may remember that I was particularly excited about that film, and that I interviewed the director, Lee Isaac Chung. (The Interview: Part One, Part Two)
Lucky Life arrived before The Tree of Life, and I thought about it often when Malick’s film arrived. The films have a lot of similar things on their minds.
I wholeheartedly recommend it to you.
And now, thank God, it’s streaming for free on Hulu.
Listening to music is, for me, a treasure hunt. The whole journey is worthwhile, with highs and lows, unforgettable discoveries and a whole lot of unremarkable scenery.
What I love most is an album that just keeps opening up, like a house full of secret doors, so that ten years later I’m still enjoying it like it’s brand new.
Here, for example, are ten albums from 2001 that I’m still playing frequently and finding new reasons to appreciate… (more…)
Part of me is saying, “Oh, brother. Wes Anderson’s style is becoming so familiar that I couldn’t tell the difference between a parody and the real thing.”
Another part of me is saying, “This looks like all kinds of fun.”
What am I looking forward to in 2012? Surprises. There are quite a few of them in my Favorites of 2011 list.
But I was fairly confident at the beginning of the year that Certified Copy and The Tree of Life would be major events. This year, I see a lot of very promising titles on the horizon. I hope that none of them are in my final list of favorites, because that would mean I have ten big surprises on the way.
Still, I’m rather confident that this one will be near the top of the list: (more…)
I just discovered that this month marks the important anniversary of one of my favorite books.
And so, I recommend that everybody read this testimony about the book. …
Then, pre-order a copy of the 50th anniversary edition for a young reader that you know.
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