The Anglo Lutheran Perambulator

Reading

One of my longest lasting pastimes has been reading, and I spend most of my days working at a library surrounded by books. I read less consistently than I would like, but at the end of the day anything is better than nothing. I read many genres, but I more regularly read non-fiction guides, cozy mysteries, and more recently, horror. This page will be a place were I review books I've read, as well as the occasional movie or TV show I enjoyed.

Here are some links:

January 4, 2026 00:30

I just finished my first book of the year (admittedly started last year), and I thought I would lay out some of what stood out in Jenny Odell's "How to do Nothing".

First off, I was intrigued by it's focus on bio-regionalism, and how we can utilize our surroundings as a way to resist the attention economy. By forcing ourselves to slow down and learn about the plants, animals, and ecosystems around us, we open ourselves up to a whole new world, and make it easier to not pick up our devices.

There was also a very interesting analogy made in terms of rendering; when we learn more about our surroundings, things that our brain might have previously ignored can now "render" in our mind's eye as we pass them. If I spend more time walking in the woods learning the names of the plants, my mind will render plants. If I spend more time getting to know my neighbors, my mind will render the people that surround me. If I spend more time intentionally caring for my house, my mind will render the different parts of my shelter. By spending time consciously getting to know our environment, we can become more in tune with the world God created us to live in and care for.

I also was enlightened; it is often easier to communicate with the people physically around us, as they often share much of the context we would otherwise have to explain to someone on the other side of the world. In other words, in order to make real change, you will have the easiest time convincing and talking to the people that surround you day to day, instead of having oft unavailing arguments with strangers online.

Introduced as a way to help communication with those around us, I learned about the social media platform Scuttlebutt, a decentralized format that encourages physical interaction with the people around you. It seems a very interesting way to keep up to date with the goings on of your community, and I think it has good potential if only people could break free from the grasp of Facebook. It's design is blissfully simplistic, and avoids techniques other social media platforms use to keep users engaged as long as possible.

Ms. Odell includes a quote from Aldo Leopold that I found resonated with me; "One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds.". I imagine this is true of many preservation-based fields, and I find when I look at the many small, historic churches around me that helped build my town and country, I often find myself "feeling alone in a world of wounds.". I can only pray that hopefully people will one day return to their roots, if such a thing is even possible now.

Overall "How to do Nothing" was a very thought-provoking book, and I intend to move forward in my environment more intentionally, and learn more about my bio-region.

December 15, 2025 22:30

2025 has been an exceptionally full year for me, so I am glad to have read as much as I did. I very much enjoyed getting to read some foundational philosophy in Plato's Republic as well as Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. I've started reading on the idea of monarchy, and I hope to know enough to have a solid philosophical defense in not too long, so where better to start than Aquinas' On Kingship. Prairie Feast by Amy Jo Ehman was a very interesting read, detailing her journey to consume only local foods. I also believe I read more fiction this year than for the last two or three together, delving into primarily the genre of horror. I've discovered a man who is now among my favourite authors, Steven Graham Jones. I read his "The Buffalo Hunter Hunter" on my trip to Waterton National Park, and seeing those majestic mountains in person truly brought the pages to life. I've read four of his novels, and have started on his Jade trilogy. I also greatly enjoyed reading "The Hunger We Pass Down" by Jen Sookfong Lee aloud as my wife and I drove home from our honeymoon. I look forward to reading in the new year, though I will most likely need to dedicate most of my reading time to schoolwork as I delve back into obtaining my diploma.

Non-Fiction

Self Improvement

  1. Make Your Bed: Ten Lessons from Navy SEAL Training
  2. For Men Only
  3. Do Open
  4. Personality Hacker
  5. Bad With Money
  6. Manage Your Time
  7. Enneagram Tyoe 5: Investigative Thinker

Religion/Science

  1. Plato's Republic
  2. Nicomachean Ethics
  3. On the Duty of the Clergy
  4. On Kingship, to the King of Cyprus
  5. Monk Habits for Everyday People
  6. Who We Are is How We Pray
  7. Why Catholics are Right
  8. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
  9. Plato in 90 Minutes

Food/Lifestyle

  1. Prairie Feast
  2. English Traditional Recipes
  3. Stuff Every Man Should Know
  4. A Return to Sunday Dinner
  5. Thrifty: Living the Frugal Life in Style
  6. The Handbook of Style
  7. You: The Owner's Manual

Fiction

Horror

  1. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
  2. The Road: A Graphic Novel Adaptation
  3. The Hunger We Pass Down
  4. Only the Good Indians
  5. The Baby Sitter Lives
  6. Killer on the Road
  7. The Spire in the Woods

Thrillers

  1. Tripwire
  2. Eve
  3. Die Trying
  4. The Killing Floor