The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis

The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The basic premise of the book makes sense - pain has many positive purposes. He focuses on the religious and spiritual purposes and ignores, for example, the clear evolutionary purpose of pain. Additionally, many of his side points have a very weak premise that Lewis takes for granted and therefore the overall argument fails. Worth reading if you're Christian or borderline. It would probably be a waste of time for nonbelievers or agnostics.

Finally, in my opinion, Lewis skips the most troubling kind of pain- the pain sick children suffer. That's a pretty big oversight.

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Beyond This Horizon by Robert A. Heinlein

Beyond This Horizon by Robert A. Heinlein
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This reads like a draft by an exceptionally interesting though potentially dangerous teenage boy.

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Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow

Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I didn’t think I was interested in this book because I figured I knew the basics about the #metoo movement but this book blew my mind. It’s All the President’s Men + Bad Blood + pick your favorite true-crime thriller.

I honestly think I need to reread this because it covers so many important topics. 1) The importance of ethical and dedicated journalism, 2) the power and often evil of the good-old-boys network, 3) the inequality of a justice system that allows for SLAPP suits and countersuits to burden people with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their claims, 4) the deep shadiness of Non-Disclosure Agreements and the general harm they cause to our society, 5) how impossible it is to get people to believe women were sexually assaulted even when EVERYONE KNOWS they were sexually assaulted.

Also, I didn't think it was possible for me to hate Matt Lauer more than I already did, but, yeah, it's possible.

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An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was very good and I definitely recommend it. It just sort of missed being one of my favorites this year because it lacked a little something. While I really became invested in Roy and all of Roy's parents, Celeste and her entire family lacked the same kind of depth. Andre was a decent enough character but I just didn't feel his significant connection to Celeste. Maybe I just didn't believe enough in Celeste as a character to believe in her relationships generally.

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Life Undercover by Amaryllis Fox

Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA by Amaryllis Fox
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There is some stuff, particularly when she is in high school, that is difficult to wrap my mind around. But overall a very interesting book that inspires a lot of thought about what our foreign policy and how much we ask of our intelligence agency public servants.

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The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The writing is 5-star writing, but to me, the message of the book is 1-star. Noboru espouses a very non-Judeo-Christian view of the world, and while I am a student of languages, cultures, and foreign relations, a world view that privileges Greek and Roman-style daring and machismo above basic Golden Rule-type goodness -- is precisely the reason that I have become philosophically Christian. To my mind, the sailor Ryuji Tsukazaki is an admirable man. But to Noboru, and indeed likely to the author Yukio Mishima, he is soft and romantic and deserves what he gets. What a horror. Add to that the book's little dash of misogyny, like a cherry on top of the murder sundae.

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Extra Lives by Tom Bissell

Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter by Tom Bissell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tom Bissell is an excellent writer, and I found myself riveted by all but the 5th chapter and the appendix, despite never having played the games he is discussing. Sadly he fails to draw any deep philosophical conclusions about the act of playing video games. He was very close to doing so but failed to give us an important conclusion or conclusions to wrap our mind around. Maybe he feels that's as unnecessary as justifying making or consuming art of any kind, but it seems like a cop-out.

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I Think You're Wrong (But I'm Listening) by Sarah Stewart Holland

I Think You're Wrong (But I'm Listening): A Guide to Grace-Filled Political Conversations by Sarah Stewart Holland
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Somewhat interesting, but not terribly deep. Worth considering some of the cooperative spirit discussed in this book and I'm interested in listening to the podcast, "Pantsuit Politics." I recommend "The Righteous Mind" by Jonathan Haidt which is also about understanding the other side of the political aisle but with scientific research.

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All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin

All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This isn't literary, but it's very readable and topical and does it engage the reader to think about parenting, and what it means and requires.

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Political Reading 2019

In honor of tomorrow's Democratic primary debate, here's some of what I've been reading.

The 7 Democratic Candidates in the December Debate, By Polling*:

1) Joe Biden, 76, Vice President, former Senator from Delaware, read Promises to Keep (also wrote Promise Me, Dad)

2) Bernie Sanders, 77, US Senator from Vermont, read 1) Bernie Sanders Guide to Political Revolution, 2) Our Revolution (also wrote a million more books)
2) Elizabeth Warren, 69, US Senator from Massachusetts, read 1) This Fight is Our Fight, 2) A Fighting Chance, 3) All Your Worth

4) Pete Buttigieg, 37, Mayor of South Bend Indiana, read Shortest Way Home

5) Andrew Yang, 44, founder for Venture for America, read The War on Normal People
6) Amy Klobuchar, 58, US Senator from Minnesota, read The Senator Next Door
7) Tom Steyer, 62, Billionaire former hedge fund executive, not in the debates, (he doesn't have a book, he only wrote the foreword in Drawdown)

Remaining 9 Candidates by Alphabetical Order:
Michael Bennet, 54, US Senator from Colorado, read The Land of Flickering Lights
* Michael Bloomberg, 77, former Mayor of New York City, Billionaire media executive (Climate of Hope) (joined race Nov. 24)
Cory Booker, 50, US Senator from New Jersey, read United
Julian Castro, 44, Cabinet Member, HUD, Mayor of San Antonio, read An Unlikely Journey
John Delaney, 56, Congressman, Maryland 6th District, no book?
Tulsi Gabbard, 38, Congresswomen Hawaii 2nd District, (book coming in 2021, Is Today the Day?)
*Deval Patrick, 63, former Governor of Massachusetts  (joined race Nov. 14)
Joe Sestak, 67, former Congressman, not in debates, (Walking in Your Shoes to Restore the American Dream)
Marianne Williamson, 66, founder of Project Angel Food and author, lots of books I won’t read

Dropped out:
Bill de Blasio, 58, Mayor of NYC, no book
Steve Bullock, 53, Governor of Montana, (My Name Is Steve Delano Bullock)
Kirsten Gillibrand, 52, Senator from New York, read Off the Sidelines
Mike Gravel, 89, Senator from Alaska (38 years ago), not in the debates, (two books I won't read)
Kamala Harris, 54, US Senator from California, read The Truths We Hold (also wrote Smart on Crime)
John Hickenlooper, 67, Governor of Colorado, read The Opposite of Woe
Jay Inslee, 68, Governor of Washington, (Apollo’s Fire)
Wayne Messam, 44, Mayor of Miramar, Fl, not in debates, no book
Seth Moulton, 40, Congressman from Massachusetts 6th District, not in debates, (Called to Serve)
Beto O’Rourke, 46, Congressman from Texas 16th District, (Dealing Death and Drugs)
Richard Ojeda, 48, former West Virginia state senator
Tim Ryan, 45, Congressman from 16th district, (A Mindful Nation)
Eric Swalwell, 38, House representative from California's 15th

Republicans:
Donald Trump, 73, current President
Joe Walsh, 57, former Congressman from Illinois
Bill Weld, 74, former Governor of Massachusetts

Dropped out:
Mark Sanford, 59, former Governor of South Carolina

* To see all the books I read tagged Election 2020 click the link. I got my polling information here: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2020-primaries/democratic/national/

Books about Election Topics of Importance:

Climate Change:
Please drop everything and read: 1) The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells
2) Green Metropolis by David Owen
3) The Ends of the World by Peter Brannen
4) Unstoppable by Bill Nye

Protecting Democracy:
1) Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election by Robert S. Mueller III 
2) Facts and Fears: Hard Truths from a Life in Intelligence by James R. Clapper
3) How Democracies Die: What History Reveals About Our Future by Steven Levitsky
4) Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger by Rebecca Traister
5) The End of Power: From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to States, Why Being In Charge Isn't What It Used to Be by Moisés Naím
6) 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari

A subset of Protecting Democracy- Campaign Finance/ Financial Abuse/ Income Inequality:
1) Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World by Anand Giridharadas
2) Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy by Joseph E. Stiglitz
3) The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis
4) The Trillion Dollar Meltdown: Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great Credit Crash by Charles R. Morris

American Healthcare:
1) Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks Out on How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans by Wendell Potter
2) An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back by Elisabeth Rosenthal

Guns: 
1) Fight like a Mother: How a Grassroots Movement Took on the Gun Lobby and Why Women Will Change the World by Shannon Watts
2) Parkland: Birth of a Movement by Dave Cullen
3) American Gun by Chris Kyle