Perks Ep. 94 | Ben Self | To Read A Mockingbird | 6-16-21

This episode marks the end of Season 4, and new episodes will begin airing on July 7th.

We’re closing Season 4 with Ben Self, who is a teacher and contributor to Mockingbird, an organization that describes itself as being “devoted to connecting the Christian faith with the realities of everyday life.” It’s a progressive group and Ben runs their new online book club which focuses more on spiritual themes than religious doctrine. It straddles the secular and spirit in fun and culturally relevant ways.

He tells us all about his reading life, why he decided to spend part of the sabbatical from his job to enjoy reading again, and why he wanted to be involved with the Mockingbird project. They are reading some really interesting stuff from authors like Marilynn Robinson, Wendell Berry and Flannery O’Connor.

Books mentioned--
1- The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
2- Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
3- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
4- Moby Dick by Herman Melville
5- Why Read Moby Dick? by Nathaniel Philbrick
6- Kindred by Octavia Butler
7- A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
8- Til We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis
9- Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor
10- The Moviegoer by Walker Percy
11- Jack by Marilynne Robinson
12- Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
13- The Death of Ivan Ilyyich and Father Sergius by Leo Tolstoy
14- The Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye
15- The Thief of Always by Clive Barker
16- Abarat by Clive Barker
17- American Gods by Neil Gaiman
18- World of Wonders by Amie Nezhukumatathil

Documentaries/TV Shows mentioned--
1- Margaret Atwood: A Word After a Word After a Word is Power (Hulu)
2- Counterpart (Amazon Prime) featuring JK Simmons

Websites/Online magazines--
Mockingbird https://mbird.com