BOOKS I FINISHED - MAY 2013

The Gospel in Ten Words, written by Paul Ellis

Kindle freebie.  Easy reading with lots of good stuff, plus a few things I'm not sure about.  I like that, though - some encouragement in things I know to be true and some challenges to my thinking.

Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door, written by Lynne Truss

I read another book by this author several years ago when I determined to get back in the habit of reading for fun, then blogged a couple weeks ago about a few books she's written for kids.  This particular book made some great points and had me cracking up multiple times.

p. 4, It does, however, have to be admitted that the outrage reflex ("Oh, that's so RUDE!") presents itself in most people at just about the same time as their elbow skin starts to give out.  Check your own elbow skin.  If it snaps back into position after bending, you probably should not be reading this book.  If, on the other hand, it just sits there in a puckered fashion, a bit rough and belligerent, then you can probably also name about twenty things right now, off the top of your head, that drive you nuts.

p. 14, Manners are based on an ideal of empathy, of imagining the impact of one's own actions on others.  They involve doing something for the sake of other people that is not obligatory and attracts no rewards.

p. 18, Basically, everyone else has bad manners; we have occasional bad moments.  Everyone else is rude; we are sometimes a bit preoccupied.

p. 24, Manners are about imagination, ultimately.  They are about imagining being the other person. 

p. 30, Criticism is treated (and reacted to) as simple aggression.  And this is very frightening.