Is loneliness our modern malaise? Former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy says the most common pathology he saw during his years of service “was not heart disease or diabetes; it was loneliness.” Chronic loneliness, some say, is like “smoking 15 cigarettes a day.” It “kills more people than obesity.” Because loneliness is now considered a public health issue—and even an epidemic—people…
Epoch Booklist: What to Read
Classics Meditations By Marcus Aurelius It’s doubtful that Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius envisioned his personal notes would shine for centuries. But words are powerful, and his reflections on Stoic philosophy and living a virtuous life offer us a valuable perspective on wisdom, justice, and courage. Random House, May 2003, 256 pages Thriller Black Ice By…
The World, the Flesh, and the Devil: Christopher Marlowe’s ‘The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus’
A member of Congress wakes one night and finds Lucifer standing at the foot of his bed and staring at him. “What do you want?” he asks. “I want to give you everything you desire or could imagine,” Lucifer answered. “You’ll be reelected in every election. You’ll have a fortune beyond your wildest dreams, beautiful…
Milton and the Sublime, Part 3: Enlarging Our Souls With ‘Paradise Lost’
Do we want to be better people? Do we want our character to improve? And do you want your own soul to realize its full potential? If so, then coming into contact with the sublime and specifically sublime literature can change you. Reading Milton’s “Paradise Lost” can show us the way to enlarge our own…
Author Brad Thor Confronts Chinese Communist Threat in Latest Bestseller
What distinguishes a good thriller novel from the best? Brad Thor. He’s been hailed as the “undisputed king of the genre” by a critic. A reviewer once commented, “No one writes a better thriller than Brad Thor.” He is the author of the wildly popular, bestselling Scot Harvath series, including his recently released thriller “Black…
The Fabulous Fable: A Gift for All Ages
In “Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama,” the hefty volume once used by my Advanced Placement English Literature classes, X.J. Kennedy opens with a discussion of the fable. Naturally, he mentions that most famous practitioner of this genre, Aesop (circa 620–560 B.C.) Little is known of the life of Aesop other than he…
Calls to Cancel Chaucer Ignore His Defense of Women and the Innocent, and Assume All His Characters’ Opinions Are His
Spying is a risky profession. For the 14th-century English undercover agent-turned-poet Geoffrey Chaucer, the dangers—at least to his reputation—continue to surface centuries after his death. In his July 2021 essay for the Times Literary Supplement, A.S.G. Edwards, professor of medieval manuscripts at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England, laments the removal of Geoffrey Chaucer…
Book Review: A Curious Melding of Cultures in ‘The Discovery of Genesis’
Anyone with a mild interest in both the Bible and the Chinese language and characters might want to check out C. H. Kang and Ethel R. Nelson’s “The Discovery of Genesis.” This curious but thought-provoking book attempts to explain the possible relationship between the two. “The Discovery of Genesis” blends the origins and structure of…
Where the Wild Things Are: Literature, Boys, and Manhood
Mark Twain ends the “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” with these words: “And so there ain’t nothing more to write about, and I am rotten glad of it, because if I’d a knowed what a trouble that was to make a book I wouldn’t a tackled it and ain’t agoing to no more. But I reckon…
Beyond Books: Independent Bookstores Inspire, Connect Community
“What I say is, a town isn’t a town without a bookstore. It may call itself a town, but unless it’s got a bookstore, it knows it’s not foolin’ a soul.” -Neil Gaiman, English author Enjoy a good read? Many of us do. The written word, whether viewed on an electronic device, listened to on…
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