The Golden Age of Mystery and Detective Fiction stretched from the 1920s to the 1940s. Think Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, Dashiell Hammett, and Raymond Chandler. Or, at least that’s what students and scholars of the genre have always said. Not so fast, says Otto Penzler. Maybe it’s not that clear-cut. See his article at CrimeReads.
According to scientific studies, which may or may not really be scientific, reading fiction can actually make you nicer. Or perhaps just a little nicer. Maybe. Walker Caplan at Literary Hub has a brief wrap-up. Follow the science!
It’s really no surprise, but the habit of reading the Bible, as in daily devotionals, have changed considerably over the course of the history of Christianity. For the first 1,500 years, most Christians couldn’t afford scrolls, manuscripts, and books. Gutenberg’s printing press changed that, but even then it took a couple of more centuries before books, and Bibles, were broadly accessible to most people (and don’t forget the history of literacy rates). Tim Challies has a thoughtful reflection on Bible-reading habits, and how it might change yet again.
More Good Reads
American Stuff
Living In the Myth: A Review of Jason Stacy’s 'Spoon River America' – Benjamin Myers at Front Porch Republic.
You are a White Livered Soul – Chris Heisey at Emerging Civil War.
Life and Culture
The Language of Totalitarian Dehumanization – Clifton Ross at Quillette.
Faith
Christians, Beware the Blame Game – Carl Trueman at First Things Magazine.
Trusting God in the Midst of Tragedy – Jamie Strickland at The Gospel Coalition Canada.
Have You Tasted Heaven? – Tom Challies.
Unspoken: Remembering a grandfather – Kristin Couch at The Palest Ink.
British Stuff
The Story of 18th Century England’s Booming Graverobbing Industry, and the Man Who Inspired ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ – Sam Kean at CrimeReads.
Writing and Literature
Unhuman Communion: Tolkien on What Lies Near the Heart of Fairy Stories – K.J. Pugh at The Rabbit Room.
The Mournfulness of Cities – David Searcy at The Paris Review.
Poetry
‘Kilkenny Castle’ and 'Presently' – Lucia Haase at Society of Classical Poets.
Something to Give – Seth Lewis.
Mary Magdalene: A Sonnet – Malcolm Guite.
Gumshoe – Matt Pitt at The High Window (H/T: Paul Brookes).
News Media
Obscured by bias and opinion: When the news no longer feels like the news – Ben Cobley at The Critic Magazine.
When Music Sounds – Daniel Elder
Painting: Woman Reading, oil on canvas (1910) by Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940).
No comments:
Post a Comment