Book Reviews:
Although the heading for this section is Book Reviews, there is much more here than that. Think of
this more as a section that reviews and critiques literary work of many sorts. Since human thought
is not just oral repetitions passed down through history, but is mostly a tangible record independent
of memorization, literature and the things that have developed out of literature are what we are
concerned with in this section. As a result, we are not just studying books (in the sense of
intellectual materials on a printed page). We are going beyond that since our present world goes
beyond that.
There has never been a time in history when intellectual information has been made more widely
available to the average reader, thinker, student, auto-didact, or even persons not willing to read
much, but still interested in learning more about their world.
The title of this section, Book Reviews, is obviously somewhat anachronistic, implying typed words
on paper bound between two covers. Still, we find ourselves continuously referring back to that
definition, and redefining it anew. After all, we now have ebooks, and email, and text messaging,
all of which really are the same thing as the old hard-copy books, but capable of nearly endless
redistribution at very minimal cost and maximum benefit. (Some would say the "benefit" is the dumbing
down of our entire culture. I disagree, since any idiot can take five more minutes to find a contrary
opinion on a search engine. Stupidity starts with a failure to engage all of the facts.)
Since modern literature, and to some extent even ancient literature, tends to be developmental, and
often-times written for the very purpose of further development and interpretation, we need to expand
our concept of literature to include those more interactive and interpretive developments. We have
already mentioned email, and ebooks, which lean heavily on the written page. Obviously PDF, Word,
Deja Vu, and similar forms of electronic media relate closely to that same "written page" concept.
On the other hand, the concepts of development and personal interpretation of written literature is
very old indeed. It goes at least as far back as the Greek and Roman stage, where literature developed
into the performing arts. The Greek-Roman tragedy-comedies developed literary interpretation to a
degree far beyond the strictly literary multi-voiced poetry of the ancient near east (for instance,
Song of Solomon in the Old Testament Bible). Early Christians in the Patristic and Medieval
eras developed this further as morality plays. During the modern era, stage-craft took "center stage" so
to speak in the writings of William Shakespeare.
In the post-modern world, we had our start with Henrik Ibsen and a host of others. Broadway, and
off-Broadway, Hollywood, Bollywood, stage and screen and everything in between; and now advance the
novices posting their erudite (or not) vids to Facebook, Youtube, and so on. And for good
measure we ought not forget that the interactive gaming industry begins with someone's written concepts
reinterpreted into an audio-visual form of communication. It is really all just books rewritten
in the language of their consumers.
Below, I break down my reviews into several different categories. But they are all literature in one
way or another. Most are books on paper. Some are books on line in various file formats. I also review
some short stories and articles, in both formats. Next, I am interested in plays and screenplays,
cinematography, including fictional and nonfiction movies, documentaries, etc. Last, I am interested
in games, interactive videos, dvd's and instructional materials.
I have no idea where technology will take us next, but I am fascinatedly awaiting the next step. My
new “smart” phone interacts with all these modern versions of the written and interpretive word. Maybe
in the near future my nanobot "tribe" (a group of microbiological robot cells specific to the individual,
similar to designer genes) will be able to do all the tedious research work for me so I won't have to!
Kind of like "scrubbing bubbles"! (Probably won't happen soon.)
Click any of the links below to read my review.
Book Reviews
From 2016
From 2015
Learning Spanish
From 2014
The Adolescent Pessimism of Modern Literature.
From 2012
Studies in Irenaeus: Against Heresies, (Five Volumes).
Book I. Review, Part 1.
From 2011
Solomon Among the Postmoderns by Peter J Leithart.
A Review and Critique by Douglas W Jerving
Against Christianity by Peter J Leithart.
A Review and Critique, Part One: Christianity and Politics. by Douglas W Jerving
Against Christianity by Peter J Leithart.
A Review and Critique, Part Two: Theology. by Douglas W Jerving
Against Christianity by Peter J Leithart.
A Review and Critique, Part Three: Sacraments or Ordinances. by Douglas W Jerving
Against Christianity by Peter J Leithart.
A Review and Critique, Part Four: Ethics. by Douglas W Jerving
Against Christianity by Peter J Leithart.
A Review and Critique, Part Five: The Church and the State. by Douglas W Jerving
Short Story Reviews
From 2008
A Critique of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Benjamin Button
Plays, Screen-plays and Movies
From 2012
The Angel Levine
From 2011
A Critique of Robert Frost's A Masque of Mercy
Games and Apps
Instructional Materials: CD, DVD, and Online
From 2015
Learning Spanish
Stuff that doesn't fit the Above Categories
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