A Complex Delight | by Margaret R. Miles

A Complex Delight: The Secularization of the Breast, 1350-1750 by Margaret R. Miles
(University of California Press, 2008, 196 pages)

This is an interdisciplinary study of early modern European depictions of the breast. Miles charts the changing contexts of these images from their place in religious art to representations of the breast in medical and pornographic literature of the early modern era. Miles tells a story about the secularization of Europe through a historical and theological study of religious, anatomical, and erotic images. This book should be helpful to those with interests in art history or theology.

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Writing Faith and Telling Tales | by Thomas Betteridge

Writing Faith and Telling Tales: Literature, Politics, and Religion in the Work of Thomas Moore
by Thomas Betteridge
(University of Notre Dame Press, 2013, 272 pages)

Thomas Moore is best known as an intellectual and political figure that ran afoul of King Henry VIII. Beyond his conflict with and execution by Henry, Moore is an important figure bridging the gap between medieval and modern Europe. Betteridge offers a close reading of Moore’s most important political and religious writings, as well as many late medieval texts that help to contextualize Moore’s work. This is a very helpful book for those interested in the intellectual climate of Tudor England.

When Breath Becomes Air | by Paul Kalanithi

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
(Random House, 2016, 228 pages)

You come to Paul Kalanithi’s book, When Breath Becomes Air, knowing that it’s going to have a sad ending. Paul was a neurosurgeon at Stanford who was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Suddenly he transferred from the role of doctor to that of patient and recognized that his previously abstract way of understanding death had suddenly become very real.

After the diagnosis Paul made the decision to begin writing this book, in addition to making the decision to become a father. Paul doesn’t shy away from his life simply because his death is imminent. As a doctor he was always facing how close death is to all of us but the inevitability of death can’t keep you from living the life you you want.

This book definitely made me think, and tear up while I was reading it. Facing your mortality is something we’ve become conditioned to try and avoid. Death is scary. Especially when you consider what and who you’ll be leaving behind. The part that got to me most was when Paul wrote about his daughter and what he wanted her to know about the role she played in his life even though their time together was almost unbearably brief.

This small, contemplative book will definitely keep you thinking about it long after you finish. It’s obviously not a light read, but it is a good one.

The New Testament | by Jericho Brown

The New Testament by Jericho Brown
(Copper Canyon Press, 2014, 73 pages)

The poems in The New Testament deal with themes of family, friendship, ethnicity, and sexuality. Brown wrestles with the biblical tradition, reinterpreting the stories and the language of the Bible to create a truly new testament or witness to life. “Hebrews 13” contains some beautiful imagery, as Brown describes a time when “My lover and my brother both knocked / At my door like wind in an early winter”:

They drank with a speed that must have
Burned their tongues one hot cup then
Another like two bitter friends who only
Wished to be warm again like two worn
Copies of a holy book bound by words to keep
Watch over my life in the cold and never ever sleep

Here and elsewhere, the imagery is a powerful reimagining of a scriptural text. I also love the rhythm of these poems, especially “Host,” which pokes fun (I think) at the superficiality of online hookups and reads like a freestyle rap.

The Sense of an Ending | by Julian Barnes

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
(Knopf, 2011, 163 pages)

At the outset of the novel, Tony Webster reflects that “what you end up remembering isn’t always the same as what you have witnessed” (3). The Sense of an Ending is Tony’s attempt as an older man to sort out what he remembers of his younger days from what he actually witnessed. In the first half of the book, Tony thinks back to key events involving the friends of his teenage and college years (with many qualifications about the unreliability of his memory). In particular, his relationship with Veronica, his college girlfriend, is the source of many the weightiest and most troubling memories of his early life.

Now divorced, retired, and seemingly content with this life, Tony finds events and people from his past once again pressing into his life. This causes him to scrutinize the memories he has long taken for granted. In this second half of the book, unexpected circumstances lead Tony to reinitiate contact with Veronica. As he learns the circumstance of her life, he is given cause to reevaluate their entire shared history.

As Barnes reflects on the nature of time and memory, he captures the malleability of remembrance and the fluctuations of time. The story is concisely and simply told, with no real earth-shattering occurrences. However, Barnes maintains a dramatic tension which gives the story a sense of mystery and urgency right from the first page. I’m looking forward to Barnes’ most recent novel, The Noise of Time.

Winger | by Andrew Smith

Winger by Andrew Smith
(Simon and Schuster, 2013, 439 pages)

Ryan Dean West is a 14 year old high school Junior. He attends Pine Mountain Academy, a boarding school with students whose families have the kind of money you would need to send your children to boarding school. Even though Ryan Dean is constantly struggling with his “outsider” status (being the youngest in your grade will do that to you) he’s found his place on the school’s rugby team. He’s made some great friends from the team and he’s on the varsity starting line-up.

One of the main things Ryan Dean is struggling with are his feelings for his best friend, Annie. She’s also a Junior but she has two years on him and he’s convinced she’ll only ever see him as a little kid. While Ryan Dean battles with these feelings he’s also dealing with lots of other things that will impact his life and the way he sees himself in ways he never could have imagined.

This was a really good book. I laughed out loud a number of times while I was reading it and I see why so many people gave it such good reviews. The chapters are short which makes the book read quickly and there are comics interspersed in the text, drawn by Ryan Dean to “accurately” depict what he’s thinking or sharing with others. Don’t go into this thinking it’s all fun, though, because there are some serious issues brought up. If you’re into YA or have a teen in your life, this is definitely a book I’d recommend.

Black Magick Vol. 1: Awakening | by Greg Rucka

Black Magick Vol. 1: Awakening by Greg Rucka; illustrated by Nicola Scott
(Image Comics, 2016, 128 pages)

Black Magick Vol. 1: Awakening is the first five issues of a crime series mixed with the occult. Rowan Black is a detective, but she’s also a witch. The latest crimes in Portsmouth seem to be linked to her and her identity, but she can’t reveal this to her colleagues. With the help of a fellow witch, she tries to unravel the clues to find who is responsible for the murders and who know so much about her.

This is a great story which I read in one night (not like me). I have been reading the Lazarus series, also by Greg Rucka, which I love, so I had high hopes for this one. It did not disappoint. The coloring is also interesting. Most of it is black and white (or sepia and white) with touches of color on some pages. I don’t usually prefer black and white comics, but with the excellent shading and pops of color, I didn’t even notice until halfway through the book. Good story + cool art = high recommendation from me. I look forward to the next five issues!