'Billiken Bookmarks': Summer Reading Recommendations

 Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2015)

Between the World and Me is a wonderful, poignant book about a father's advice to his adolescent son relative to understanding his African-American roots, and learning to live in America of the present and future as a Black man.

 I was drawn to Between the World and Me by the many similarities between the past and present struggles of minority communities such as Blacks and Jews living in a White, Christian America.

This book relates to my experiences over the years as a Jewish faculty member at a Jesuit, Catholic University. An illustrative example of the spirit of respect, understanding and tolerance which pervades Saint Louis University that greatly impressed me was when I sent an email to the University community inviting them to a Jewish ceremony whereby I would affix a "mezuzah" to the right door post of my office at the Medical Center. Many people came; among them were several University Jesuit priests. They thought it was wonderful that I was inviting them to this meaningful ceremony; knew more about the symbolism and biblical origins of the "mezuzah" than I did; and offered their own blessings.

In his own words, Grossberg describes his story,

You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit by James K. A. Smith (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2016)

I’d describe the book as consisting of profound yet highly entertaining meditations on what it means to be a human living in the postmodern condition, and how we can access and maintain our humanity despite the rapidly changing contexts we face every day. Smith is terrific at using the work of theologians, philosophers, literary giants, and other heavyweights in refreshing and fun ways as illustrations—along with frequent short bursts of pop culture analysis (The Bachelorette; American Beauty; True Detective).

His analysis of such mundane activities as going to the mall, or attending contemporary weddings, is brilliant and very revealing.  To boil it down, what we “love” is the central question of our lives as humans.  But postmodern culture is trying to capture us and colonize us with other false “loves” that we need to identify and resist.  Here’s the good news: we have a means of resistance, and the moral agency to shape our hearts, through the power of habit and the liberating force of spiritual disciplines.  We’ve also learned a great deal in recent neuroscience to corroborate some of these claims, which is fascinating.

It’s difficult trying to name a single book for such a large and diverse community of readers.  This book is the distillation into a very accessible and fun-to-read form of the impressive work of one important philosopher’s life work. 

In my own teaching, and in my personal life, I have discovered the power of habits and the disciplines to be a means for great liberation and joy. That might seem counter-intuitive, since discipline has gotten such a bad rap, these days.  Smith expertly shows how crucial “discipline” is in the shaping of our hearts and minds (which, he shows, must happen simultaneously).

I’m drawn to this book because it speaks deeply to me about the meaning and purposes of “spirituality.”  When I teach spirituality and literature, the majority of students on the first day identify themselves as “spiritual.”  But when I ask them to define the term, they are generally clueless.  Smith gives us a practical and concrete way to think honestly about our own spirituality, including those things that we really do love.

One major reason I chose this book is precisely because it will go out to the SLU community, a Jesuit-inspired group that is currently in the process of sweeping curricular and strategic planning for the future. I know this book can be a valuable commodity in that pursuit. 

I also think Smith is one of the key voices today speaking the message that I try to develop in my own work in the humanities. 

Finally, the “power of habit” as a deeply humanizing activity is a major theme of my own writing, including my novel The Hemingway Files, which came out this summer.

Harold "Hal" Bush, Ph.D., is a professor of English and has conducted intensive studies in the field of 19th and 20th Century American literature. These studies have become major "habits" in his life and during the course of this research, he has written or edited seven books. Bush's most recent book is Continuing Bonds with the Dead:  Parental Grief and Nineteenth-Century American Authors (University of Alabama Press, 2016). His other works include The Mark Twain – Joseph H. Twichell Correspondence (University of Georgia Press, 2017) and Above the American Renaissance: David Reynolds and the Spiritual Imagination in American Literary Studies (forthcoming in 2018 from the University of Massachusetts Press). Bush's first novel, The Hemingway Files, was published earlier this summer by BlankSlate Press.