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Matt’s Recommendations

The Life of the Mind: On the Joys and Travails of Thinking, by Fr. James Schall.

Most years I begin with a list of books I want to read over the year, and this was no exception. As normal I read some that were on the list, neglected others, and read several that never made it to the list but providentially crossed my path. One of my favorites for this year was The Life of the Mind: On the Joys and Travails of Thinking, by the late Fr. James Schall. Fr. Schall taught for decades at Georgetown University. His most famous student was Bill Clinton, although Schall didn’t proudly acknowledge that honor. Fr. Schall was a philosopher in the best sense – he simply delighted in wisdom. Not only did he want to grow, he wanted to help others grow in the joy of life as God created it. His classes were packed and he was a good speaker, but his greatest gift was in his writing.

This book is for those who want to grow, not just intellectually but to broaden their souls. It’s all about the delight of wisdom, beginning with Scripture and continuing in every area of life. Fr. Schall is a guide, like Socrates, who reveals new paths before you but never forces you to take them. Reading him is like hearing from an older friend who knew Plato, Samuel Johnson, G.K. Chesterton, and Augustine personally. If you need help in knowing how to delight in wisdom, this is the book for you.

Excerpt:

“What we really want is to both behold and respond to truth, to what is, not because we made it, but because it is given to us. There is no joy without challenge. There is no joy without actually seeking for, and possessing, the highest things – among which, in some degree, we already live.”

Smoke Hole by Martin Shaw

The second book I read this year that left an indelible impact is Smoke Hole by Martin Shaw. Shaw is a professional storyteller and right-of-passage guide who lives in the backcountry of Wales. Over the years he has collected myths from all over the world and when he tells them they come alive, like someone who brings a wild live animal into your living room.  This son of a Baptist pastor was the only one of three children to forsake the faith of his parents, who nevertheless loved and showed abundant grace to him while he was flailing.

About a year ago he had a dramatic conversion to Christianity at the end of a wilderness vigil and is now a faithful member of the church. But this book isn’t about any of that. It was written before his conversion, during the middle of the Covid crisis. It consists of three stories, “The Handless Maiden,” “The Bewitched Princess,” and “The Spyglass,” and includes Shaw’s commentary on each story. But that boring description doesn’t give it its proper due. He introduces each story and walks the reader through it, commenting on portions throughout, the way we might if we were telling our children a dense story. But please note these stories are not intended for children. Like many of the Grimms brothers’ stories, they are rough in spots and need a parent’s softening touch if you read them to your kids, though they have much to teach all ages. Suffice to say, this ain’t Narnia. But if the stories really get inside you, they will reshape the way you look at things. If you can spare a few seconds, say a prayer for the young Christian Martin Shaw. And if you are feeling a bit daring, pick up Smoke Hole. It won’t disappoint you.

Excerpt:

“The reality is that many of us are lonely, disoriented, sometimes afraid. There was no ceremonial announcement for the initiation we were falling into, but I want to offer three navigational tools for moving forward. Growing Your Hands Back – we’ve been encouraged to touch nothing this last period of time. How do we move back out into the world in a new way? Breaking Enchantments – many of us have spent far too long in our own head, stewing in fantasy not imagination. This has to stop. And finally, Kicking the Robbers Our of the House – apprehending social media and the internet not as an influencer or savior but as a tool. Three roads, three strands, three stories.”

Daron’s Recommendation

Alexandre Dumas, The Three Musketeers (Wordsworth Editions Ltd, 1997)

The Three Musketeers is a swashbuckling tale of four musketeers and almost no muskets at all, first released as a newspaper serial in 1844.  Dumas penned this historical fiction at the height of French romanticism and set his story in the mid-1600s when Louis XIII was battling both England and his arch-political rival, Cardinal Richelieu. Melancholy Athos, vain Porthos, flirtatious Aramis, and brave D'Artagnan spend nearly 600 pages picking fights, crossing swords, licking wounds, planning their wardrobes, wooing mistresses, losing their horses in frequent wagers, and above all else, defending their honor. And countless bottles of wine lubricate the non-stop action. 

Excerpt:

You do not understand me, gentlemen, said D’Artagnan, throwing up his head, the sharp and bold lines of which were at the moment gilded by a bright ray of the sun. I asked to be excused in case I should not be able to discharge my debt to all three; for Monsieur Athos has the right to kill me first, which I must abate your valor in your own estimation, Monsieur Porthos, and render yours almost null, Monsieur Aramis. And now, gentlemen, I repeat, excuse me, but on that account only, and--on guard! 

At these words, with the most gallant air possible, D’Artagnan drew his sword.

The blood had mounted to the head of D’Artagnan, and at that moment he would have drawn his sword against all the Musketeers in the kingdom as willingly as he now did against Athos, Porthos, and Aramis.

It was a quarter past midday. The sun was in its zenith, and the spot chosen for the scene of the duel was exposed to its full ardor.

The characters are hilarious and the plot is elaborate, but if you’re looking for a deep message or profound application to your life, you’ll be disappointed. This isn’t that kind of book. Dumas does take sides in political positions of the day, but these nuances are lost on my ears. As soldiers in the King’s guard, the musketeers inhabit a culture that is quite foreign to us: duels to the death over mere glances, young women married to older wealthy men who engage in frequent affairs and significantly fund their lovers, and church leaders who hold high political power.  

But we can identify with one central and famous feature of this classic: the loyalty that binds inseparable friends.  The famous slogan “All for one and one for all!” adorned Dumas’s coffin in 2002 when it was relocated to the Pantheon in Paris.  These four musketeers are one of the world’s most famous bands of brothers, with mutual trust and unfaltering loyalty built through high and dangerous adventure. So if there is one central message in this famous story, it’s that relationships drive everything. Wars often begin at the personal level. Politics is personal. And of course, friendship is personal.

Other book recommendations

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