This past Wednesday officially began my Christmas break. I took four classes this semester: Literature of the South, Elements of Spanish 1, PC Software/Hardware Maintenance, and WWW Programming. I got As in all four (which was no surprise). The most difficult classes was Southern Lit, in which we had to read seven novels and one play. I didn’t finish complete all of them (and I “read” one as an audiobook). But that’s my challenge to myself, to finish those that I didn’t: Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom!, Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird (which I’ve already read before, but I love it that much), and Warren’s All The King’s Men. Yeah, I was a horrible student.
I’ve also become addicted to buying books on Amazon thanks to their free 30-day Prime trial. Since I signed up, I’ve ordered several books, all of which I’m exited about, but there’s three in particular:
The first I actually bought on Amazon some time ago, but haven’t been able to devote the necessary time to it. It’s The Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ: From the Transfiguration to the Triumphant Entry, edited by Richard Neitzel Holzapfel and Thomas A. Wayment. It’s volume two of a three-volume series, a collection of essays written about the different events in Christ’s life. Holzapfel and Wayment are, like myself, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the seventeen essays in this volume are by LDS scholars who provide insight into the Savior’s mortal ministry. These essays touch upon subjects like the apostles and the seventy, the Transfiguration, the parables of Matthew 13, more details on the Apostles, the death of the Baptist, the Olivet Discourse, and the family of Jesus. The first volume was great, and I’m excited to read this one.
The second book I recently ordered, and it’s the continuation of the The Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ, and this volume is entitled From the Last Supper Through the Resurrection: The Savior’s Final Hours. Again, very excited. This volume contains fourteen essays and is, rightfully so, the largest of the volumes. The essays discuss the historical setting of Christ’s prophecies and His life, then the story of the Last Supper, broken into the accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, with a separate essay regarding John’s testimony; Gethsemane; the arrest; the Jewish authorities; the Romans; the Crucifixion; the Burial; and the Resurrection, and more. On a side night, this volume has one of my favorite paintings of the Savior, composed wonderfully by the LDS painter Simon Dewey.
The third book is for the design geek in me. It’s Robert Bringhurst’s design “bible,” The Elements of Typographical Style. I’m hoping to gain a lot of understanding from this book, considered to be one of the best on the subject of typography. My design education opportunities in my neck of the woods are rather limited, with UAM offering rather basic art classes. So I’m undertaking a lot of the education myself through the web. In the end, I found books—those tangible, paper wonders—to be the best teacher, though the web is, of course, awesome in its own right.
Needless to say, I’ve got a lot of reading ahead of me, with these books and others I hope to read in the following weeks.