Category: Culture

Hitler in Fact & Fiction, Philosophy, History, and Backyard Birds: Favorite Reads of 2025

~ Peggy Haslar ~ Leave a comment

One of January's simple joys is looking back at last year's book list and planning the reading year ahead. The list I plan bears little resemblance to the list I complete, due mostly to the special merging of time, circumstance and interest along the way, telling me a particular book is the one I must … Continue reading Hitler in Fact & Fiction, Philosophy, History, and Backyard Birds: Favorite Reads of 2025

Killing Contempt in a Kingdom Divided

~ Peggy Haslar

Every kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. (Mark 12:24) Harvard Professor Arthur Brooks delivered a speech at Utah Valley University just two weeks after Charlie Kirk was assassinated on its campus. He spoke on one of his favorite themes: we must learn to love our enemies if our nation is to heal from the polarizing … Continue reading Killing Contempt in a Kingdom Divided

He May Be A Complete Unknown, but Dylan’s Spiritual Heart Still Sings to Me

~ Peggy Haslar

The biopic A Complete Unknown may bring Bob Dylan’s music to a new generation, but I wish it had given at least a nod in the direction of Dylan's spiritual side. While Timothée Chalomet evokes Dylan's enigmatic persona impressively, one doesn’t feel particularly drawn to the young Bob Dylan, but rather to Pete Seeger, endearingly … Continue reading He May Be A Complete Unknown, but Dylan’s Spiritual Heart Still Sings to Me

Pointing Past Polarization: Matthew Becklo’s The Way of Heaven and Earth

~ Peggy Haslar ~ 8 Comments

While division has always marked the human experience, "the speed, frequency and intensity with which we can now share ideas has brought us to a crisis of polarization - one that more and more threatens the future of civilization." Matthew Becklo had me from the opening of his new book, The Way of Heaven and … Continue reading Pointing Past Polarization: Matthew Becklo’s The Way of Heaven and Earth

Learning to Love in the Great Crowd that Can’t be Numbered

~ Peggy Haslar ~ 4 Comments

Back in 1927 Dorothy Day, a passionate social activist who was beginning to awaken spiritually, attended a Catholic Mass. Noting the presence of every strata of society gathered for worship in the same place, Day was especially impressed "by the egalitarian and inclusive way people gathered for the liturgy," writes Bishop Robert Barron. What impressed … Continue reading Learning to Love in the Great Crowd that Can’t be Numbered

Help Children Understand Mimetic Desire with this Perfectly Pink Picture Book

~ Peggy Haslar ~ 2 Comments

“Vivi is dizzy with wanting pink. The kind of pink Merilee, Miranda and Wanda have.” We’ve all been dizzy with wanting something. The opening of Pink, a picture book by children's author Nan Gregory, is completely relatable. But notice: Vivi doesn't want just any pink. Her working class parents, who live in a brown apartment … Continue reading Help Children Understand Mimetic Desire with this Perfectly Pink Picture Book

Highlights from 2024’s Reading List

~ Peggy Haslar ~ 2 Comments

“It’s all been said before,” a charming English professor from my college days commented so often that the words surface each time I remember him. “But you can add your grain of sand," he'd add with a twinkle in his eye. Oh, those grains of sand! Where would our lives be without writers who take … Continue reading Highlights from 2024’s Reading List

Whoever You Are and However You Voted, You Are (Still) My Neighbor

~ Peggy Haslar ~ 6 Comments

What if every word we sayNever ends or fades away,Gathers volume gathers weigh,Drums and dins us with dismaySurges on some dreadful dayWhen we cannot get awayWhelms us till we drown? Poet Malcolm Guite's words ring a solemn warning while post-election analysis, rife with bliss and blame, weighs the heart. There is so little grace in … Continue reading Whoever You Are and However You Voted, You Are (Still) My Neighbor

Joy: God’s Utterly Uncontrollable Glimmer

~ Peggy Haslar

"Joy" is a bright, simple word. It tugs on the heart. The mere mention of joy reminds us of a deep lack in our lives. We live without joy more often than we'd like to admit. So I don't have anything against the political planner who came up with the notion of employing "joy" as … Continue reading Joy: God’s Utterly Uncontrollable Glimmer

Five (Plus Five) Favorite Audible Narrators

~ Peggy Haslar

When I'm talking with friends about a book I enjoyed, I sometimes catch myself sheepishly confessing, "Well, I listened to it," as if listening didn't count as reading. I still believe that reading a printed copy of a book, pen in hand, is the most satisfying and enriching reading experience and that reading a book … Continue reading Five (Plus Five) Favorite Audible Narrators