2020-Reading

It’s that time of the year again where I reflect on my reading over the course of the year. For a more wide-ranging review of the year in books, check out the coverage at The Millions here . My previous attempts are linked here. ** Coming out here dominated my thoughts at the turn of the year, which was how it found me digging into Richard Templar’s The Rules of Work . True the overwhelming sense at the time was of anticipation but there was enough uncertainty around how well I would navigate bridging a credibility deficit that looking for help came to mind most readily. In my notes from that first reading, I detect a sense of holding back against what seemed like rules promoting blatant self promotion. With the benefit of hindsight, and a big dollop of reality to boot, my view of the book is a lot more considered. There are certainly gems in there, which is why I intend to return to the book in the new year. ...

Going Deeper: How the Inner Child Impacts Your Sexual Addiction by Eddie Capparucci ** The Premise: We act out sexually when our inner child, scarred and taught to cope during childhood, is activated. Acting out is subconscious to some extent. To break the cycle, we need to step in and enforce a time out so our rational thining side can assert itself. Nine inner child types are explored: the bored, the unnoticed, the un-affirmed, the emotionally voided, the controlling, the entitled, the inferior/weak, the stressed and the sexually stimulated. Each description follows a similar format, a discussion of how this type manifests in the adult, likely triggers during childhood and how it triggers uncontrolled sexual behaviour. ...

The Practice of The Presence of God (In Modern English) by Brother Lawrence (Author) and Marshall Davis (Translator) ** A classic which dates back to the late 1600s, this is a book that regularly makes it on to lists of great devotional books. This (newish) translation is by Marshall Davis, who has form for this sort of reimagining. Between this year being my year of delving deeper and plenty of time thanks to COVID-19, I finally got round to reading this! to read has ended up on my pile for years. The central characters are a French lay brother, born Nicholas Herman but better known as Brother Lawrence, and Father Joseph de Beaufort, the vicar general to the Archbishop of Paris. A perhaps unlikely friendship given their different stations in life, we have it to thank for the letters and conversations recorded here. ...