The Books We Read

C.S. Lewis and Elon Musk views of the universe and humanity differ widely, but we find both to be worth considering. We look at Musk's view of the world through Walter Isaacson's biography called "Elon Musk," and C.S. Lewis' through "Out of the Silent Planet. Elon Musk: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/122765395-elon-musk Out of the Silent Planet: https://www.goodread...

After Reagan says, “Can we get a little more nuanced?! Can we have a more interesting conversation than ‘the sky is falling!’ We’re not political commentators, because that would be boring and lame.” in response to Jaran's report on Rod Dreher’s "Live Not by Lies,” we muse on Jordan Peterson’s “12 Rules for Life,” prolonging our 35 perilous minutes of talking out loud about books by two c...

“Buy a copy right now and go read it,” says Reagan about Frankl's “Man’s Search for Meaning.” After his enthusiastic review and recommendation, we morphed into a conversation about Douglas Adams’ "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy” which questions man’s existance and proposes that it’s meaning is “42,” or something like that. Perhaps an epistemological dead end, but at least it has...

It turns out that the serpentine course of Ahab and Ishmael’s hunt for a whale illustrates "man's search for meaning in a world of deceptive appearances and fatal delusions.” Furthermore, Ishmael's taxonomy of whales merely demonstrates "the limitations of scientific knowledge and the impossibility of achieving certainty.” In other words, the book is too long for a good reason. A...

Jaran and Reagan are back to talk about Steven Pinker’s "The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined" and Alan Kreider's "The Patient Ferment of the Early Church: The Improbable Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire." You might hear us being unsure what to do with the arguments in these books. We’d love to hear your thoughts. The Better Angels of Our Natur...

We read many worthy books that didn't make it onto the podcast last year. This episode mentions 15 books that we love but didn't mention to you until now. Proper Confidence by Lesslie Newbigin - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/273775.Proper_Confidence  The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36072.The_7_Habits_of_Highly_Effective_Pe...

Jaran and Reagan are back to talk about Marx's "Communist Manifesto" and Will Durant's "The Lessons of History." We are interested in and somewhat skeptical of the Manifesto, but we're big fans of Durant's book. The Lessons of History: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/174713.The_Lessons_of_History  The Communist Manifesto: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30474.The_Communist_Manifesto&n...

"That Hideous Strength" by C. S. Lewis is the topic of this episode. We compare "The Space Trilogy" to "Lord of the Rings" (the two trilogies aren't remotely the same), discuss the perils of seeking the inner circle, and jabber about numerous other issues surrounding the book. That Hideous Strength: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/100933.That_Hideous_Strength. Get it on Amazon: https://amzn.to...

Reagan and Jaran talk about a book that was all the rage during their childhoods, "Wild at Heart" by John Eldridge. We try to resist the fashionable move of critiquing this book, but we can't help but conclude, as Reagan said, "Oh boy. I think you might have taken this a little too far."

Reagan talks about Cal Newport's "Digital Minimalism," and Jaran talks about "Amusing Ourselves to Death" by Neil Postman. We resolve that both "doomscrolling" and "doomsday scrolling" aren't  good for us (nuclear war isn't either). Find our website: https://thebooksweread.info/ Visit kingdomoutpost.org to find our friends’ podcasts. Find Jaran on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/jaranmil...

"Where was this book my whole life?" asks Reagan as he encounters human depravity in "The Gulag Archipelago." Jaran then reflects on what he's learning about some of the reasons for human disagreement from Jonathan Haidt's "The Righteous Mind." Find our website: https://thebooksweread.info/ Visit kingdomoutpost.org to find our friends’ podcasts. Find Jaran on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/j...

No. The Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository is in fact not in Canada or South America, nor is it an edition of macOS. Our cultural literacy is being weighed in the balance. Should it be found wanting, we are committed to recovery. In this game show, Sara and Trish guide Jaran and Reagan through a random selection of entries in E. D. Hirsch's New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. Visit kingdomou...

Reagan and Jaran both recently read "Jesus and John Wayne" by Kristin Kobes Du Mez. This podcast consists of both hosts responding to this book. We offer a little bit of critique, but mostly interest and appreciation. Jesus and John Wayne: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53121662-jesus-and-john-wayne Visit kingdomoutpost.org to find our friends’ podcasts. Find Jaran on Goodreads: https://www.g...

Reagan talks about "Tintin in the Congo" by Georges Prosper Remi, better known as Hergé. Jaran talks about Brian Zahnd's news book "When Everything's on Fire." Both books are problematic. One embodies a problem and the other points out problems. We raise several questions in this episode and would love to hear your thoughts. What do you think? Tintin in the Congo: https://www.goodreads.com/book/sh...

What do Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" and Cal Newport's "Deep Work" have in common? First, both address threats to our attention and maximum capacity and both have been given airtime on the latest episode of The Books We Read. Brave New World: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5129.Brave_New_World Deep Work: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25744928-deep-work Visit kingdomoutpost.org to f...

Jaran talks about Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness,” and Reagan talks about Kevin Horsley’s “Unlimited Memory.” Though “Heart of Darkness” is one of the most studied books in academia, many such as China Achebe believe that it is harmful. How have you experienced this book? We want to hear from you. Visit kingdomoutpost.org to find our friends’ podcasts. All the music in this episode is from Blu...

Reagan and Jaran wax esoteric. Reagan has been been reading N.T. Wright's translation of the New Testament called "The Kingdom New Testament: A Contemporary Translation," and Jaran has been musing about a book he read a long time ago, James Davidson Hunter's "To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World." The Kingdom New Testament: https://www.g...

Reagan and Jaran are back! Jaran talks about a book that influenced him several years ago, Rod Dreher’s “The Benedict Option.” Reagan talks about a book that he recently read called “Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon. Visit kingdomoutpost.org to find our firends’ podcasts. All the music in this episode is from Blue Dot Sessions at sessions.blue. Find Jaran on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/jar...

E. D. Hirsch's "Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know" has inspired Jaran and Reagan to check up on each other, ensuring that they're appropriately culturally literate. In this episode, they quiz each other's cultural literacy by going through lists of questions on a website designed for this purpose. For the quizes, we used the website "The Literacy Company": http://www.readfaster....

Reagan and Jaran read widely. When they sat down to plan their next sequence of episodes, they realized that they've been reading books that cannot be paired in any coherent way. Consequently, in the coming episodes, our dear listeners will be blessed with commentaries on very diverse books. Jaran talks about Harold Bender's "The Anabaptist Vision" in light of Stephen Dintaman's "The Spiritual Pov...

Jaran and Reagan talk about books they've been reading. Jaran read "Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis" by J. D. Vance (he read it a long time ago but is only now talking about it), and Reagan read "Thirst: A Story of Redemption, Compassion, and a Mission to Bring Clean Water to the World" by Scott Harrison. Basically, from this podcast, you'll learn that we admire ethical...

How would WWII have ended differently without the influence of methamphetamine? We don't know, but we can be pretty sure that it made a serious difference. In this episode, Reagan tells us about Norman Ohler's "Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany," and Jaran uses Shaunti Feldhahn's "For Women Only: What You Need to Know About the Inner Lives of Men" to remind us that men tend to feel insecure. Blitzed:...

We at The Books We Read care about humanity. Yes we do. That's why we keep you, dear audience, informed about matters like William Shakespeare and Michelle Obama. Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure," probes into the painful ethical choices that humans must sometimes make, and Michelle's "Becoming" sheds light on the humanity of those in power. Becoming: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38746485...

Reagan Schrock and Jaran Miller discuss the books that they’ve been reading. Despite the weighty (and sometimes unpleasant) issues it raises, reagan discusses William Rycroft’s “All Quiet on the West-End Front” quite positively. Despite it’s prominent place in the Protestant literary tradition, Jaran discusses John Bunyan’s “The Pilgrim’s Progress” with a small dose of negative critique. He may no...

In this episode of The Books We Read, Reagan Schrock and Jaran Miller discuss two books that they've been reading. Jaran talks about George MacDonald's dark book Lilith , and Reagan tells about Randall Munroe's delightful book What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions . What If : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21413662-what-if Lilith : https://www.goodreads.com/boo...