Summer Reads, vol. 4: Callie Tabor and Brady Beard

This week we spoke to our two Graduate Reference Assistants: Callie Tabor, a doctoral student in Theology, and Brady Beard, a doctoral candidate in Hebrew Bible. Callie and Brady are familiar faces at the reference desk, supporting student and faculty research in a variety of areas. They have also been instrumental in the reference weeding project and in planning future instructional offerings.

Callie kicks off this week’s suggestion with Zadie Smith’s 2005 novel, On Beauty. As Callie describes it, this novel is “set on both sides of the Atlantic and is full of witty insights about humans and our foibles – think Jane Austen or E.M. Forster with an eye to our current cultural strife between ‘liberals’ and ‘conservatives.’”  The novel revolves around the families of two art history professors, and via this cast of characters, Callie says “Smith takes on questions of family life, taste, love, race, and education.”

If you enjoy Smith’s novel, Callie would also recommend Elaine Scarry’s On Beauty and Being Just, from which Smith takes the title of her novel. Based on a series of lectures, Callie describes this book as “an eloquent defense of beauty and its importance in inspiring us towards work for justice: each time I read this book, I find it inspires both my intellectual life and my interaction with the world around me.”

Brady continues the week’s literary theme by recommending a book he returns to “time and time again,” namely Mark Doty’s Deep Lane. According to Brady, this collection of poems “explores the earth, life and death, love, joy, grief, and despair.” His favorite parts of the collection are the eight poems entitled “Deep Lane” and the poem “Spent.”

Brady also has a recommendation for readers seeking a book in the field of biblical studies, specifically John Barton’s The Nature of Biblical Criticism. According to Brady, Barton’s book “captures the core of biblical studies.” Indeed, Brady reports that “Barton’s main claim is that biblical criticism is concerned with the ‘plain sense of the text,’ which suggests that biblical criticism is first and foremost a literary and linguistic, rather than a singularly historical-critical, endeavor.” Brady highly recommends Barton’s book as a readable (re)introduction to anyone working in or around the Bible.

Summer Reads, vol. 3: Kwok Pui Lan

This week, we spoke to Distinguished Visiting Professor of Theology Dr. Kwok Pui Lan! Dr. Kwok received the “Faculty Person of the Year” award, bestowed by Candler students on the professor who has most impacted them in the past year. She specializes in feminist and post-colonial theology, but her suggestions for your summer reading demonstrate the breadth of her interests!

Dr. Kwok first recommends Dr. Damon Tweedy’s New York Times best-selling memoir, Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor’s Reflections on Race and Medicine. The book describes Dr. Tweedy’s time as a medical student, resident, and practicing doctor in the VA system—exploring the role of racial prejudice in all areas of medicine.

Dr. Kwok’s summer reading also includes the newest New York Times best-seller from Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Skin in the Game? Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life. Taleb asks readers to consider when, where,and how we take risks, or have “skin in the game”!

The final item on Dr. Kwok’s list joins economics with ethics: Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business, by Whole Foods Market cofounder John Mackey and professor Raj Sisodia. Together, they argue that moral and ethical tenets can help guide economic decision making, resulting in a positive environment.

Summer Reading, vol. 2: Myron McGhee

This week, we spoke with Circulation Specialist Myron McGhee (’95T)! Myron was this year’s recipient of the Candler Black Student Caucus Award for Excellence for a staff member, and has been a vital part of the Pitts staff for many years. As a Candler MDiv graduate himself, Myron has been a source of inspiration and support for generations of Candler students. His duties at Pitts range from managing students at the circulation desk to ensuring fines get paid. Thanks to his tireless work in this area (along with the proceeds from the book sale), Pitts has been able to purchase a new scanner that has been installed in the scanning room!

You may not know that Myron is a musician and  music lover; his office is often filled with the sounds of jazz, classical, gospel, and rock. So, believe me when I say his suggestion for summer listening are sure to live in your headphones for years to come. Although perhaps best known for his time with the Doobie Brothers, Myron suggests that you revisit the work of Grammy award winning Michael McDonald, whose 2017 album Wide Open is his first solo release in two decades.

Myron says that McDonald has “written a number of songs which on one level just seem like some soft rock cliché stuff, but it is clear that he’s writing Gospel songs and songs exploring his faith.” Perhaps more significantly, Myron suggests that “an MLK theme emerges in several songs – all rooted in a paper his older sister wrote about King when they were in high school.”

Myron had the opportunity to meet McDonald after a show once, and the singer commented that he was “simply trying to be about the work of Jesus with music.” McDonald’s deep faith also appears, as Myron notes, in several songs that “were written as prayers” during his wife’s battle with breast cancer.

From the 2017 Wide Open, Myron particularly suggests you take a listen to “Honest Emotion,” which grew out of McDonald’s desire to encounter life more authentically. Myron “hasn’t been able to stop listening” to this song, which he says is just one more instance of “the Good News that emerges” from McDonald’s music.

Summer Reading, vol. 1: Tony Alonso

Despite what the calendar may say, it is most definitely summer here in Atlanta—this means curling up at the pool (or in the A/C) with some summer reading! Over the course of the next few weeks, this blog will introduce you to a diverse array of recommendations for your bookshelf and iPhone from staff members at Pitts and faculty members at the Candler school of Theology.

Our first recommendations come from Dr. Tony Alonso, recent graduate of Emory’s Graduate Division of Religion and Director of the Catholic Studies Program at Candler. Dr. Alonso is an internationally renowned composer in addition to his scholarly work on worship and ritual practices!

Dr. Alonso proudly displays what he terms his “nerdiness” and first recommends a new (and “totally nerdy”) podcast about beloved Catholic liturgical music called “Open Your Hymnal”: https://openyourhymnal.com. You can enliven your daily commute or summer road trip with a foray into Catholic hymnody, since each episode features an interview with a composer about a particular hymn!

If you are a history buff interested in church councils, Dr. Alonso recommends owning the full trilogy of John O’Malley books on major councils, particular his newest new book on Vatican I: Vatican I: The Council and the Making of the Ultramontane Church.

If you’re in the mood for an inspirational read, Dr. Alonso believes you could do no better than the work of American Jesuit Greg Boyle, who has just put out a sequel to his wildly popular Tattoos on the Heart, entitled Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship. Both texts grew out of Boyle’s work combatting violence in Los Angeles. According to Dr. Alonso, this new book is “heartwarming and perfect for light summer reading”!

If you happen to be in Atlanta in 2019, Dr. Alonso also recommends reading anything by Elizabeth Johnson, who just retired from Fordham and who will be giving a Catholic Studies lecture next spring at Candler. Make sure you visit this blog next week for more summer reading suggestions!

Summer Reading, vol. 10: Ellen Ott Marshall

This week, we spoke to Dr. Ellen Ott Marshall, professor of Christian Ethics and Conflict Transformation at Candler. Dr. Marshall’s work focuses on contemporary Christian ethics, with an emphasis on the role of conflict transformation and peacebuilding. She is the author of two books on ethics and recently edited a timely collection entitled “Conflict Transformation and Religion: Essays on Faith, Power, and Relationship.” Her two suggestions are engaging and practical reads that reflect her subject matter expertise!

Dr. Marshall’s first suggestion is “Visual Intelligence: Sharpen Your Perception, Change Your Life” by Amy Herman. Herman, an art historian, wrote this text to help her readers hone their powers of “visual intelligence” in order to be more perceptive in their professional and personal lives. As Dr. Marshall notes, Herman “has been teaching a course on perception to all kinds folks for 15 years or so,” and this book’s readable prose reflects the author’s expansive pedagogy. It would be well worth a read this summer!

Dr. Marshall’s second suggestion is “The Power of Positive Deviance: How Unlikely Innovators Solve the World’s Toughest Problems” by Richard Pascale and Jerry Sternin. As Dr. Marshall puts it, these authors suggest an “asset-based approach to life’s problems.” Indeed, the book proposes that outsiders, or “positive deviants,” may be the most likely to come up with solutions to problems in business or communities. The book implies these “positive deviances” can be assets for individuals as well, providing suggestions for creative problem solving on the personal scale.

Thanks to Dr. Marshall for these great suggestions, and many thanks to all of you who have followed this summer reading series! Stay tuned for more information about Pitts exhibits, instruction, and resources as the semester begins!