inside of a dog

Thursday, October 26, 2006

New eyes

New eyes
This is the link to Ian's blog in Rwanda. Didn't even know he was keeping one but saw the address on their most recent newsletter. Thought-provoking stuff...

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Vote for the book in March

Dear all,

Sorry this is a bit half-baked - I have sent a wee email about the options for March and all that there is to do here is vote. Maybe next month we will all be a bit more organised... or, maybe I'll just go back to picking the book myself (just kidding)...

Crawford.

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Book suggestions for March

Use the "comments" link at the end of this text to submit a suggestion for a book to be in next month's 'vote'. You can use the "annonymous" user option so that folks don't know who is suggesting which. In addition anyone whose book was not selected this month and feel free to re-enter it for March. I week or so before the next meeting I will take these books and turn them into a new 'poll' on the front page - please write a short paragraph about each suggestion and, where available, give the Amazon link page.

Thanks,
Crawford.

Monday, January 23, 2006

A book for February

A reminder of the new plans for running Inside of a Dog this year - as discussed in some emails in the run-up to the last meeting.

The biggest change is that each month's book will not 'belong' to anyone. Instead folks can make suggestions of books to be added to a 'pool' from which be will pick (vote on) each month. I hope to get the web site to automate this in due course but for the moment here are the four books that have been recommended for next month. (Would be hard to pick four more different books if we tried!! A Christian 'commentary' on the place of women in society; a fantasy novel; a recent fiction by one of the greatest living American novelists; and some autobiographical short stories by one of the most well-know British writers).

Rebekah (Doug Sparks)
"The Church has not solved the problem of the role of women in leadership. Pretending we have will not help, ignoring the dilemma will not help, continuing in our hypocritical double standards will not help. Only the truth of God's word will give the answers. Rebekah reveals what God, Jesus and Paul all meant when they addressed the issue of women's worth, value and role. It's revolutionary!"

Find more at this Amazon link
Rebekah

Lord Foul's Bane (Stephen Donaldson)
Thomas Covenant is a successful writer working on a sequel to his best-seller. He has a young, beautiful, loving wife, and a little child. He lives in the country in a home he sees as his haven. He has it made. And then, he is diagnosed with leprosy. His wife leaves him because she fears he will contaminate their child. He spends months in and out of hospitals. He is shunned by his neighbors. Thomas Covenant is outcast, and deeply depressed. He withdraws into himself and builds a wall around him as thick as he any castle or fortress.

Suddenly, he is in an entirely different world. There is no leprosy, he recognizes no one, he recognizes nothing of where he is, and everyone identifies him as the reincarnation of an ancient, semi-mythical hero, who was foretold to return to The Land to heal it with his magic. Covenant doesn't believe any of this, and assumes, despite the apparent impossible reality of everything around him, that he is in a delirium-induced delusion. He is named Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever.

He called himself Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever, because he dared not believe in this strange alternative world in which he suddenly found himself.

Find more at this Amazon link
Lord Foul's Bane

The Plot Against America (Philip Roth)
"When the renowned aviation hero and rabid isolationist Charles A Lindbergh defeated Franklin Roosevelt by a landslide in the 1940 Presidential election, fear invaded every Jewish household in America. Not only had Lindbergh publicly blamed the Jews for pushing America towards a pointless war with Nazi Germany, but, upon taking office as the 33rd President of the United States, he negotiated a cordial 'understanding' with Adolf Hitler. What then followed in America is the historical setting for this startling new novel by Pulitzer-prize winner Philip Roth, who recounts what it was like for his Newark family during the menacing years of the Lindbergh presidency, when American citizens who happened to be Jews had every reason to expect the worst."

Find more at this Amazon link
Plot Against America

Untold Stories (Alan Bennett)
"'Untold Stories' is a sort of autobiography by reflection, through reflection. Bennett talks you through his experience of family life and social life, delivering short story anecdotes of his parents and relatives, painting elusive little portraits of the people in his life and his changing understanding of their roles and import. Alan Bennett is a master both of language and of observation. He can make telling statements about individuals in a few words, can deliver incisive insights into the human condition with a twist of a phrase..."

Find more at this Amazon link
Untold Stories

Monday, April 04, 2005

Some random questions on "Silence"

My feelings about the book could be summed up as : "Not a book I would have chosen in a bookshop, but I'm glad I read it". How would you describe your reaction to the book?

The Japanese apostate,Kichijiri, is a puzzling figure.
What did you make of him? Did he seem realistic? (in as much as we can judge characters in such a foreign culture)
What do you make of his assertion that if he had lived in a time without persecution, he would have lived a normal life as a faithful Christian?
The unanswerable question – how would YOU react in these circumstances?

I left the book with a feeling that although I had learned a lot, I had not really understood what made the various characters “tick”. Do you feel the same? If so, do you think it is a deliberate ploy by the writer, or simply a Japanese approach to writing? What did you make of faith as a driving force for the Portuguese priests? I would have liked to know more about the Japanese Christians and how they felt. Did the book give you much insight into the persecuted church?

What did you make of the assertion by the Japanese that the "tree of Christianity would never flourish in the swamp of Japan"? Was this answered satisfactorily by the Portuguese?

Thursday, March 24, 2005

You've read the book, now look at the pictures

Following the "Bookseller of Kabul", I thought you might be interested in this photoessay...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/05/south_asia_the_darkness_within/html/1.stm

Friday, February 25, 2005

Not original

had a look at Amazon last night and when I looked at Annie Dillard, I found that "people who bought this book also bought books by....frederick Buchner, Philiip Yancey (and Rowan Williams!)". Seems like someone has been here before us, using "Soul Survivor" to explore new authors?

Anyway, after the fascinating but depressing Bookseller, I wondered about Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. I quote from a review :

"Annie Dillard is more alive than anyone I have ever known including myself. Her words are captivating as they create images of a natural world that pulses with spirituality even in its moments of raw cruelty. She does not pontificate about nature, admitting that she is only writing as an observer. Nonetheless, her writing is wise, reminding us that events as simple as changes in the light or the unexpected sight of a muskrat for a second is like a gift from the universe. For the first time in my life, a warm fuzzy feeling of wonder and gratitude for simple existence filled me when I read this book".

I would even volunteer to do questions. What do others think?

Monday, January 31, 2005

Prejudices.....

I just got "The bookseller of Kabul" from the bookseller of Castleview and one of the copies had a sticker on the front saying "Recommended by Richard & Judy's book club"!! I've never seen this pair in action, but I quickly realised that I had some prejudices about them. (so last Thursday has done me some good, it appears).

Nevertheless, my first skim through the book suggested that at least their book club appears to have good taste.

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Soul Survivor - Robert Coles

I think that this chapter was the one I found most personally challenging, at times almost painful to read. It seems to me there are 3 main issues to address

The "problem of privilege"
Our attitude towards those who are in a different social group from us
Engaging with real people instead of causes and campaigns

For the sake of brevity, I have put together some questions for the first 2 only.

<>“The most dangerous temptation of all is the temptation of plenty…. Wealth curses what it blesses………….being privileged tends to stifle compassion, curtail community and feed ambition”.

Do you agree with this from what you have observed happening in the world at large and around you?
Elsewhere in the book, Yancey points out that anyone who has bought the book is automatically counted among the privileged of the world. Do you see the temptation of plenty in your own life? Can you discern the effects of privilege as Coles describes them? What can be done to lessen or counteract these effects?

“I used to look down on blacks, now I look down on racists. I used to avoid the rich, now I avoid the poor. So much of history careers along in polarity..”

This is very topical for us in Scotland. As a nation we are addressing the issue of religious sectarianism, but do we look down on those who are bigoted?
Where does this human tendency to look down on others come from? Is it inevitable? Do you have any personal stories to share about this?

<>I realise that there is probably already too much for us to cover here, but there is a bonus question – the quotation was just too provocative for me to let it pass by!! <>

Freud is quoted as saying “When you begin to ask about “the meaning of life”, you are already sick”. What is your reaction to this?

Sunday, November 28, 2004

some questions for Thursday night

Crawford’s questions to get us thinking: The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)

Well here are a few ideas I have come up with at long last. It was not easy and I now appreciate more than ever the effort Lorna put in last month – but don’t let this put you off suggesting a book, just make it more straightforward than this one ;-) Given the structure and content of this book I genuinely worry that some of my points sound like English exam questions – that was not my intention, though I wish I had found English as interesting a subject while at school!! But as Lorna reminded us there are no ‘correct’ answers nor will any marks given out for them…

You will probably find some of these questions don’t interest you (and/or make much sense!) but pick out some that do and also feel free to bring a paragraph from the book that really ‘grabbed’ you and talk about why with the group. (Whatever your reaction to the book I hope you will agree that in places it is beautifully written and that you can find something to bring.)

Did you have any idea what the book was about before you started? If so, did it fit your expectations? (And those who were reading it for the 2nd time – how did it differ from what you remembered?)

Kingsolver uses an unusual style to tell the story with Orleanna beginning each main section with a personal ‘meditation’ and then each of the four daughters telling the story. Did this work for you? What did this style bring to the telling of the story?; What did it take away?

In her author’s note at the start of the book (pX) she says of her parents,

they brought me to a place of wonders, taught me to pay attention, and set me early on a path of exploring the great, shifting terrain between righteousness and what’s right.

(For those with us last month, I personally was struck that this seemed very close to the type of sentiment Brand might have expressed about his parents?) How do you feel the “terrain” she is talking about is explored in the book and in what senses is it “shifting”?

Before becoming a full-time novelist Kingsolver was trained as a biologist and anthropologist, more frequently writing scientific essays or research grant proposals than fiction. Do you feel that the book reveals any of her prior history or areas of study? (If so, how?)

In many ways this book is a sad and tragic tale. However, there are some moments of hope and happiness. What was the most joyous moment in the novel for you? And, what was the most poignant?

Those who get heavily into such things have referred to this novel as a “post-colonial” novel – i.e. as reflecting on the way in which Africa was treated as a place for conquest for the West in the last century. In what ways, if any, did you think the story read as a ‘political’ tale or commentary?

In some ways this book could be seen as quite anti-Christian, most obviously in the character of Nathan and by extension ‘missions’, but also in the way the Bible is used in the text (and indeed the title). Do you think it would be fair to assume that Kingsolver is anti-Christian or at least anti-religious?

Well, so much for the Higher English questions!! Perhaps more interesting would be to hear how people responded to particular characters/incidents in the book – so come prepared. In such a large and complex book it will be impossible to cover all the key moments in any one of our views, but it would be great if you felt like putting up one or two over the next few days.

Here are a few of the things that stuck out for me:

You’ll say I walked across Africa with my wrists unshackled, and now I am one more soul walking free in a white skin… I trod on Africa without a thought, straight from our family’s divinely inspired beginning to our terrible end. (p10)

What do these images of Orleanna and her family project for you? Are we/is she being too hard on herself?

Some of us know how we came by our fortune, and some of us don’t, but we wear it all the same. There’s only one question worth asking now: How do we aim to live with it?… I know people. Most have no earthly notion of the price of a snow-white conscience. (p10)

What do you think are the things that we might be ignoring to ensure that we or others, “sail through from cradle to grave with a conscience clean as snow”.

Father stared at the trees, giving no indication he’d heard his poor frightened wife, or any of this news. Father would sooner watch us all perish one by one than listen to anyone but himself. (p193)

Do you feel this rather flippant assessment of Rachel’s may in fact not be pretty accurate?

He meant personally to save more souls than had perished on the road from Bataan… and all other paths ever walked by the blight of mankind. (p226)

There seems something very guilty about Nathan’s all-pervading sense of righteousness – what is/are the source(s) of that guilt?

There is something very sad about the way that Adah refers to Nathan as “Our Father” – what a picture to portray of God! Which are Nathan’s worse characteristics and are there any redeeming ones?

What comments would you make on the way in which Nathan uses the Bible – which appears to become bangala in his hands?

When Leah tells Anatole that they should never have come to Africa he says,

No, you shouldn’t. But you are here, so yes, you should be here. There are more words in the world than no and yes. (p354)

What is Anatole getting at? Are there situations in ours lives, in our world, to which such a view might be a wise response?

The substance of grief is not imaginary. It’s as real as rope or the absence of air, and like both these things it can kill... As long as I kept moving, my grief streamed out behind me like a swimmer’s long hair in the water. I knew the weight was there but it didn’t touch me. Only when I stopped did the sick, dark stuff of it come floating across my face, catching my arms and throat till I began to drown. So I just didn’t stop. (p433)

What were the main causes of Orleanna’s grief? Do you think she comes to terms with it or finds any forgiveness in the end?

Saturday, October 30, 2004

suggestions for December

As promised here is a posting to which anyone can add a comment about a book they would like to nominate for December - or indeed some other month if we get lots of suggestions. I know it may feel a little 'threatening' to select a book (will others like it, etc.) but it would be nice if everyone within the group who wishes to could get the chance to nominate a book. There are NO rules/restrictions on this but I would suggest that you had read the book before (or parts of it, or perhaps had it recommended from a highly reliable source). I have read one too many 'excellent' reviews of a book only to be badly disappointed when I actually got into it - which is bad enough when only your own money/time is involved and you don't need to talk about it for an hour with your friends!!

Happy hunting for those rare books (Pearls of great Price - oops, I'm back to this month's choice again!)

book for November

It was decided on Thursday night that we will read Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible during November (Crawford's choice). I have ordered a few copies and will try to introduce the book this Sunday and next (up and down-stairs). The night for our next meeting looks like being Thursday the 2nd December but this will be confirmed nearer the time.

I will try to give a bit of background to the book and think of some discussion topics in the near future. And remember, it is never too soon to be thinking of a suggestion for the next book (maybe with a 'Christmas' link - however tenuous! - as it will be for reading in December, and probably a bit of January). I will place a message with an appropriate subject title on the blog and folks can post 'comments' to that if they have ideas...

Tuesday, October 05, 2004

so - how was it for you?

We met last Thursday for the first time as a group. There were 5 of us and not everyone had got the book in time to have a good 'go' at it. We agreed to just chat about why we wanted to be in such a group, about what kinds of books we liked and about how to organise ourselves in the future. It was relaxed and fun and we got to know each other a little better.

We agreed that we would meet next on Thurday the 28th of October (in fact the last Thursday in the month will be our 'default' day - did you know lots of non-computery people don't know what the word "default" used in this context means?). We will discuss The Gift of Pain on the 28th as it will be our first 'real' meeting. However, to avoid the delays in getting the book out for the next month we agreed that we should fix on a choice at least a week before that and have copies of the next book available then. Some suggestions on the table so far are The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown - see here) or The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver - see here). If you are planning on joining us next month let me know what you think...

Wednesday, September 29, 2004

evening before - prematch nerves

We start our Book Group tomorrow evening. Will it be what we expect? Do we know what that might be? As usual with my organisation not everything had gone to plan and so while we may get an introduction to the book (Gift of Pain) in this first meeting - I reckon that we will leave off discussing it properly till the October meeting when everyone has had a decent chance to read it (the last copies only arrived this weekend!).

We may get a chance to talk about what motivated us to 'sign up' for Inside of a Dog (though most people weren't 'sold' the idea under my mad title!) and how we would like to see our group organised. Made me think about what had motivated me? I guess it was partly to have some impetus to keep reading - I can be a lazy reader. Also I feel that there are loads of important issues that people really care about and sometimes a book provides the catalyst to get us talking. I refuse to believe that the human spirit has been reduced to the level of 21st century TV dross and celebrity trivia, but sometimes we need a context to lift our interactions with each other onto a more meaningful level. For me, books can provide that opportunity in a natural and non-manufactured way.

So I look forward to enjoying a few good books over the next year - just for the pure pleasure of reading them. I also look forward to discussing how the themes and issues raised challenge my notions of who I am and how I should act in the world. I would like to see what a range of authors, Christian and non, have to say to me that can enrich my life and help me gain a better understanding of my faith... if that's not all too much to hope for!!

Friday, September 24, 2004

what's in a name?

So why - inside of a dog? Well it is a bit of a Groucho Marx quote, shamelessly stolen from a W.H.Smith book vouchure some friends gave to me. The full quote: "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." Sadly this is the kind of humour that the rest of the book group have to put up with from me but with a start like that at least we know "things can only get better"...

we are about to get started

The book group linked to St Andrew's chruch in West Kilbride is about to kick off... We (whoever that may be) will meet for the first time on Thursday the 30th of September. Our first book was chosen by Lorna Reid and is entitled The Gift of Pain (Paul Brand and Philip Yancey). However due to my inability to get properly organised not everyone got the book in time. Next Thursday we'll just get together to chat about what motivates us to be in a book group and maybe start chatting a bit about the book itself (we will discuss it properly at the October meeting). [Find our more about the book here]

That's just a bit of background to get the blog launched (and to claim the name!) - will try to add a bit more about the 'philosophy' etc over the weekend...