Recipes and Recommendations for Imbibing Beauty through Books and Beverages
By Annie Nardone
Welcome to the first of this summer’s literary recommendations, chosen to inspire and inform you! In this post, and in July and August, the "Pages, Pints, and Pours" column offers three of my favorite short books that can be tucked into a pool tote or backpack, without needing to remember plot lines and characters.
Neil Postman's revealing insight into the power of television will give you countless reasons to unplug (Read Below). And with all of that spare time, you may hone your own wordsmithing (coming in July) and explore the world of poetry (Coming in August)!
As always, you’ll find a suggested beverage or two as good pairings for each literary recommendation. Summer breezes and sunshine, something lovely to sip, and a fresh stack of books. Here's to bright warmth and winsome words.
The pages: AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH BY NEIL POSTMAN
“In 1984, . . . people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us. This book is about the possibility that Huxley, not Orwell, was right." — Neil Postman [1]
1984 and Brave New World have a prophetic tone to their fictional story arc — opposite modes of societal influence, but they parallel aspects of the current culture in technology and politics. Neil Postman’s book, written in 1985, doesn’t hint at what might be; rather, he describes what has come to be: the fruition of the media shaping culture and our engagement with truth.
Amusing Ourselves to Death was included in the reading list for my Modern/Postmodern course in graduate school. The text specifically focuses on the influence and outcome of the media on our society — from our ability to process, the loss of leisure and contemplation, our desire to be entertained, even how we define truth. Of course, in 1985 social media didn't include computers, the internet, or smartphones, so Postman’s research focuses heavily on television’s detrimental effect on communication, community, and imagination. But the facts are relevant to new media and online social systems.
Why read this book? First, to understand how the shift from print to television has influenced how we think, engage in discourse, and even recognize truth. Postman doesn’t universally lambast television, just as we who live in an AI, meme-embedded society must understand that we can’t “throw the baby out with the bath water.” Technology is a tool. However, we would do well to understand what forces we are up against. Postman challenges us to think rather than allowing media and technology to think for us and doom us to desire only entertainment.
PINTS AND POURS
As tribute to Postman’s 1980s publishing date, we raise a toast with a classic cocktail of the time. A fun nonalcoholic beverage similar to a classic citrus soda is included as well.
COMFORT COLLINs
1 jigger Southern Comfort
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Lemon-lime soda
Dissolve sugar in lemon juice in a tall glass. Add ice cubes, then Southern Comfort. Fill with soda and stir.
NOT YOUR MOM’S 80S DIET SODA
1/2 cup grapefruit juice
Juice of 1/2 lime
Lime peel
Seltzer or lemon lime soda
Fill a tall glass with ice. Pour juices over ice, then add seltzer or soda to fill the glass. Run the lime peel around the rim of the glass.
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Annie Nardone is a lifelong bibliophile with a special devotion to the Inklings and medieval authors. She is a Fellow with the C.S. Lewis Institute and holds an M.A. in Cultural Apologetics from Houston Christian University. Annie is a writer for Cultivating Oaks Press and An Unexpected Journal. Her writing can also be found at Square Halo Press, Rabbit Room Press, Clarendon Press U.K., Calla Press, and Poetica. Annie is a Master Teacher with HSLDA and Kepler Education and strives to help her students see holiness in everyday life and art. She lives in Florida with her husband and six cats, appreciates the perfect cup of tea, an expansive library, and the beach with family.
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