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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
I think I liked this book, but I also think I'm trying to convince myself that I liked it. Perhaps the line in the summary that convinced me to read it -- "You go about the great American work of assigning yourself to other gods: yoga, talk radio, neoatheism, CrossFit, cleanses, football, the academy, the American Dream, Beyonce." -- was compelling enough to elevate my expectations to an unrealistic level. Or maybe I just didn't fully get it, didn't slow down enough to absorb the sentiments between the lines. Each story was intriguing, but I just wanted more somehow. Maybe more of Kisner's own experience or musings about what she experienced in each setting, and how it ultimately informed her worldview or faith?
All in all - it was fine, and well-written, but I wasn't blown away.
All in all - it was fine, and well-written, but I wasn't blown away.
I enjoyed this essay collection and think it would be good for people who are deconstructing their faith or for exvangelicals. Like many essay collections, it is wildly uneven and some of them could be fleshed out quite a bit more. But there are some beautiful essays here on faith and death and identity and it is a quick read.
Beautifully written explorations of fascinating topics, from trees to death investigators to Shakers. I would be okay with "Soon This Space Will Be Too Small" being read at my funeral.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
reflective
slow-paced
the throughline of these essays wasn't what i expected based on the synopsis, but i think the strongest (or most memorable) were the ones on death/interviewing morticians and tattoos.
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
listening to perfume genius and sufjan stevens songs helped me relate a lot of unearthed feelings about being intrenched in the beauty and the bad of organized religion. jordan kisner does the same. i originally read a piece she wrote for the new yorker and felt a lot of sameness with her. she is great journalist and author.