Welcome to the Commonplace
Some things that caught my interest - August 2024
Welcome to Beyond the Bookshelf, a community of readers and writers sharing unique perspectives on life and literature through thought-provoking essays, captivating interviews, and influential books as we explore the challenges of life's transformative journey.
Dear Friends,
Since beginning this publication in October 2023, I have released a monthly wrap-up of things that caught my attention. As I was sitting and writing this morning, I realized I was creating a digital Commonplace book.
For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, a Commonplace book is a repository of knowledge, a place to write information, keep quotes, etc. They have been maintained since antiquity and often included ideas, scraps of paper, proverbs, letters, etc…
So, I am renaming my monthly wrap-up posts as Commonplace letters. You will get the same content here, so there are no big changes on that front. But philosophically, a Commonplace book is a living thing, always growing, which I prefer to wrap up, which seems a bit too much finality and closure.
Some things that caught my interest in August 2024:
Received my signed copy of Becoming Little Shell by . Chris requested that readers purchase the book through Fact & Fiction Books, an independent local shop in Missoula. I was glad to support a small local business and their customer service was exceptional.
In his article 2030 and Beyond: Are the end times coming again, provides thoughts on the collapse of civilizations.
asks the question, Does Substack Give Power to the Powerless? as he explores dissident themes from the works of Václav Havel.
Before my son went back to college mid-month, we finished watching Season 3 of Modern Family. We have been slowly making our way through this series when he is home on breaks.
hosted a read-through of Jane Austen’s Emma this summer. His article, Jane Austen and Deep Reading, shows us why it is so important to give our whole self to the reading experience without distraction.
“Memory is the mother of all wisdom. ” ― Aeschylus
recently started a new publication - Building the Plane - in which he shares his journey homeschooling his children while going against the grain of modern education systems.
During my recovery from surgery, I had more downtime than normal, so I ended up watching more TV than usual. I finished watching House of the Dragon Season Two. For me, this prequel series is even better than GoT. I also finished Jack Ryan Seasons Three and Four. Having read all of Clancy’s books years ago, I enjoy the Jack Ryan stories, even if this series isn’t entirely true to the books. There is lots of good spy action to keep one entertained.
shared his thoughts on reading books that don’t align with our own ideas or biases in his excellent piece, 5 Personal Rules for Reading Disagreeable Books.
My good friend, hosts for a guest post. We need more of this type of collaboration! Read Mary’s beautiful essay: Sweaters, Ties, and Saying Goodbye.
I met on the Substack platform a few months ago and we have built a friendship over that time due to a shared love of literature and self-reflection. His recent article, Is Identity Just a Coat of Paint? really hit home with my personal journey.
Books I read in August:
Leviathan Wakes by James Corey. - “First off, get your shit together. Panic doesn’t help. It never helps. Deep breaths, figure this out, make the right moves. Fear is the mind-killer.”
The Race to the Future by Kassia St. Clair.
Martin Van Buren and the American Political System by Donald Cole. - “There is a power in public opinion in this country -and I thank God for it: for it is the most honest and best of all powers- which will not tolerate an incompetent or unworthy man to hold in his weak or wicked hands the lives and fortunes of his fellow-citizens.”
American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis. - “Is evil something you are? Or is it something you do?”
Lonigan by Louis L’Amour.
Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck. - “Men do change, and change comes like a little wind that ruffles the curtains at dawn, and it comes like the stealthy perfume of wildflowers hidden in the grass.”
Flint by Louis L’Amour. - “Life, he decided, was never a question of accumulating material things, nor in the struggle for reputation, but in the widening and deepening of perception, increasing the sensitivity of the faculties, of an awareness of the world in which one lives.”
The Short Reign of Pippin IV by John Steinbeck. - “The French are a moral people--judged, that is, by American country club standards.”
The Iliad by Homer. - “Let me not then die ingloriously and without a struggle, but let me first do some great thing that shall be told among men hereafter.”
Once There Was a War by John Steinbeck. - “There are times in war when the sharpest emotion is not fear, but loneliness and littleness.”
The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck.
Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck.
Caliban’s War by James Corey.
Audiobooks I listened to in August:
Wolf Pack by C.J. Box. Narrated by David Chandler.
Long Range by C.J. Box. Narrated by David Chandler.
Love the name change. I have been doing this for so long and calling it journaling.
What does one do with decades of such times?
I love the idea of a commonplace book, Matthew, and your new title for the wrap ups ‘Commonplace letters’ is very apt.