Sunday, August 24, 2014

No Man is an Island


It took me almost a year to get through this book.

Originally published in 1955, I have the book like the one pictured above, which is the 2003 edition. Here are some of my favorite quotes:

"It is in loving others that we best love ourselves" (3).

"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time" (34).

"Everything we love is uncertain: when we are seeking it, we fear we may not get it. When we have obtained it, we fear even more that it may be lost" (111).

"There are times, then, when in order to keep ourselves in existence at all we simply have to sit back for a while and do nothing. And for a man who has left himself be drawn completely out of himself by his activity, nothing is more difficult than to sit still and rest, doing nothing at all. The very act of resting is the hardest and most courageous act he can perform: and often it is quite beyond his power" (123).

"If we wait for some people to become agreeable or attractive before we begin to love them, we will never begin" (169).

"Some men are only virtuous enough to forget that they are sinners without being wretched enough to remember how much they need the mercy of God" (209).

This book was very contemplative, which I appreciate, but it was not something I could just sit down and read. It was more of a book to include in spiritual disciplines.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Dad is Fat


Lately, I've found myself in need of lighter reading material. Several people who saw me reading the book asked my thoughts on it: BUY IT! This man is hilarious + clean.

I have been bugging my dad for a few years to write me a book of wisdom, and although Jim Gaffigan is writing to his young children, I am sure they will appreciate it later in life.

Jim shares the struggles of raising five children in NYC. Everyday's an adventure and he shares with the reader his successes (like getting the kids to bed each night in a two bedroom apartment) and struggles (taking his family out in NYC).

His advice for parents is valuable (not being a parent yet, I would THINK this is valuable advice). He talks about fun things to do with kids in the city, the hassle of putting sunscreen on his extremely pale offspring, and the challenge of having small kids while trying to attend a church service.

Great gift idea for Father's Day or a new dad. I even appreciated it as a 20-something single female.

Thanks for the laughs, Jim.

I reviewed this book for Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers Blogging for Books. I received this book for free in exchange for a review of the book.