"Waking Up"

 

That face looks like clouds.

"Waking Up" was a book group read by proxy: I added it to my list after one of the participants in our discussion of "Zen Mind, Buddhist Mind" recommended it. Author Sam Harris presents spirituality as a psychological need distinct from religious belief and its associated rituals, a search for meaning outside the mundane.

"Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing"

My most offbeat book group read yet

"Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing" is at least as odd as implied by its title. The book is structured as a fictional autobiography, irreverently describing guru Jed McKenna's time leading a Zen-inspired retreat in, wait for it, rural Iowa.

"Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind"

 

"In the beginner's mind there are
are many possibilities; in the
expert's mind there are few."

I initially heard about "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" on a podcast I listened to a while back. The book sounded kind of interesting, but I promptly forgot about it until this year, when a book club I follow added it to their list. I'm glad I participated – it turns out that virtual book club discussions on Zen Buddhism attract really interesting people. But first, the book.

"The Fire Next Time"

"God gave Noah the rainbow sign.
No more water, the fire next time."

"The Fire Next Time" had been recommended to me several times in the past, and 2020 is the year I finally read it. Baldwin's work is a powerful personal account of race and civil rights, told in two essays. First, a letter written to his nephew on the 100th anniversary of emancipation; second, Baldwin's observations about religion and race in America.

"The Alchemist"

"To realize one's destiny is a
person's only obligation."

"The Alchemist" is a story about Santiago, a Spanish shepherd boy who travels the world in search of his personal legend, or purpose in life. The book was a birthday gift a couple years ago and is currently a top bestseller¹ on Amazon. Having finished it, I understand why – it gently pokes at the ideas of meaning and purpose many people begin pondering in young adulthood.

A few minor plot details below.

"Angela's Ashes"

Ireland but sepia

It took me about four months to read "Angela's Ashes" – averaging perhaps two chapters a week – not because it was incredibly long or I found it boring, but because parts of the book were so poignant or heart-wrenching I had to put it down for the day. A few details and thoughts below.

"Till We Have Faces"

"Exerts, far beyond most novels,
that combination of ... wonder and
attraction." — The New York Times

C.S. Lewis's "Till We Have Faces" is a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche, but while the original Roman myth depicts Psyche's fall, trials, and ultimate ascendance into godhood, C.S. Lewis's version describes her sister Orual's redemption from disbelief.

"The Gardens of Light"

Prophet, painter, conscience-waker

"The Gardens of Light" introduces Mani, a third-century Babylonian prophet who founded the now-extinct Manichean religion and who preached nonviolence and tolerance across the Middle East. Very little about him has survived the passage of time, so Amin Maalouf dramatized his life and times in this work of historical fiction:

This book is dedicated to Mani. It [tries] to recount his life, or what can still be made out after so many centuries of lies and oblivion.

Minor spoilers below.