The Re-Enchantment Book Club

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan go through the wardrobe to discuss the deep magic of sacrificial love, the awakening of the imagination, Lewis’s iconic imagery, resurrection beauty, the renewing power of awe, the questionable allure of Turkish Delight, and their favorite “goosebump” moments. What We’re Reading: The Odyssey by Homer Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson The Dynamics of Spiritual Life by Richard F. Lovelace   Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss Great American novels, the desire for immutable justice, the inconsistency of moral judgment, the need for our immediate worlds to be put right, and the fact that on a map, small places add up to a big place.   What We’re Reading: The Word in the Wilderness by Malcolm Guite This is Happiness by Niall Williams A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss the power of music, the problem of pain, where we go to deal with suffering, the communal experience of lament, the cisterns we choose over the fountains of living water, showing up for the ones we love, and whether beer is in fact meant to be served cold.   What We’re Reading: The Everlasting Man by G.K. Chesterton The Teacher of Nomad Land by Daniel Nayeri The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell    Other Mentions: Jeremiah 2:13 REBC Episode 9 “The Gilded Six Bits” REBC Episode 2 “A Lesson Before Dying”

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss an abundance of rabbits, the power of myth, how the telling of stories shapes us, the value of ennobling tales, whether this book is actually for children, and an unfortunate excess of rollicking.   What We’re Reading: The Divided Soul by Heidi White The Unselected Journals of Emma Lion by Beth Brower Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë   Other Mentions: Psalm 104   Next episode we will be discussing Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin. We hope you join us! Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

In this special New Year episode, Jordan and Brendan examine the poems “Alive Together” by Liesel Mueller and “As Kingfishers Catch Fire” by Gerard Manley Hopkins. They discuss what it means to marvel, the power of providence, the possibility of “missing out”, struggling to be who we are called to be, the paradox of oneness with Christ, the lilting magic of sprung rhythm, and the playfulness of God.   What We’re Reading: Train Dreams by Denis Johnson Time of the Child by Niall Williams The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane The Rise & Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman   Other Mentions: Poetry 180 by Billy Collins Jordan’s poets: Mary Oliver, Jane Kenyon, Ted Kooser, Li Young Lee, Denise Levertov, Jim Harrison Brendan’s poets: Alfred Lord Tennyson, Emily Barrett Browning, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Richard Wilbur George Macdonald - “The New Name” (from Unspoken Sermons)

  In this episode, Jordan and Brendan board the Hogwarts Express to discuss the deep magic of God, worldbuilding, finding our place in a larger story, British sweets, and whether Americans find the word “Philosopher” archaic. All topped off with an irresponsible number of references to Stephen King for an episode about a children’s book.   What We’re Reading: For the Life of the World by Alexander Schmemann  The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare Pet Sematary by Stephen King   Other Mentions: John Calvin’s sensus divinitatis   Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan take up residence in Port William and discuss Membership, steadfast Love, what it means to live and die in the same place, visions of the Good Life, and the power of particular Fidelity. All of which is catfish optional.    What We’re Reading: A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest Gaines Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky Boone: A Biography by Robert Morgan The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought by Marilynne Robinson   Next episode we will be discussing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling. We hope you join us! Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

The Lottery In this episode, Jordan and Brendan debate what defines a Dystopia; they also discuss the day they’ll beat their swords into plowshares, the shadow side of redemptive reality, the human capacity for violence, the “what the heck is going on here” feeling, an ill-fated cupcake, and the counter-catachesis of the Christian life.     What We’re Reading: So We Read On by Maureen Corrigan That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis   Other Mentions: The Twilight Zone Black Mirror Dystopian Fiction   Next episode we will be discussing Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry. We hope you join us!   Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss the nature of dignity, the soul-crushing need to justify your existence, the cost of disordered loves, ambiguous epiphanies, the inherent value of humanity, the classist admiration for English lords, and whether or not they would have made good butlers.   What We’re Reading: The Cost of the Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer  The Chosen by Chaim Potok The Second Coming by Walker Percy   Other Mentions: Tom Waits - “Ruby’s Arms” Luke 11, Matthew 23 Unreliable Narrators Foils   Next episode we will be discussing The Lottery  by Shirley Jackson. We hope you join us! Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan gush over the scarcity of admirable literary heroes, the value of patient writing, the struggle to understand the world, the tension between perishable beauty and the far side of eternity, the power of sacramental blessing, and the art of peeling onion layers.   What We’re Reading: A River Runs Through It by Norman McLean Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart by Russ Ramsey True Grit by Charles Portis Other Mentions: John Calvin - Institutes of the Christian Religion  Epistolary Novel Form  Romans 7:18-20   Next episode we will be discussing The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. We hope you join us!   Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss the reintegrated life in a disintegrated world, the law of the jungle vs. the ministry of reconciliation, what’s caught instead of taught, seeking peace by loving people instead of ideas, the paradox of love & power, and the good earthiness of vegetables.   What We’re Reading: The Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula LeGuin Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott The Book of Hours by Rainer Maria Rilke   Next episode we will be discussing Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. We hope you join us!    Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss the role of college professors in book enjoyment, the profundity of childlike faith, the need for unconditional connection, the loneliness and heartache of the world, the power of simple acts of kindness, feelings too big for our bodies, and the sweet tartness of a Florida staple.    What We’re Reading: Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford The Yiddish Policeman’s Union by Michael Chabon  The Last Gentleman by Walker Percy Providence by John Piper Other Mentions: Song Exploder Podcast To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee  Rich Mullins - "We're Not as Strong as We Think We Are" Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood   Next episode we will be discussing Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. We hope you join us!    Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan travel to Middle Earth to discuss the role of the common man in the fight against evil, worlds born from words, the emboldening of virtue, the imminent approach of glory, the purpose of silly hobbit songs, and what makes a story timeless.   Other Mentions: Beowulf    Next episode we will be discussing The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R Tolkien. We hope you join us!    Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss the “If Only” feeling, beauty in the midst of bleakness, the call to adventure, the cost of idealism, director’s cut conspiracies, and the idiocy of semicolons.   What We’re Reading: Letters to a Diminished Church by Dorothy L. Sayers Present Concerns: Journalistic Essays by C.S. Lewis Perelandra by C.S. Lewis   Other Mentions: “All the Pretty Little Horses” (lullaby) “All the Wild Horses” by Ray Lamontagne  Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes  Moby Dick by Herman Melville Psalm 107   Next episode we will be discussing The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R Tolkien. We hope you join us!    Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss the scandal of grace, beautifully hyperlinked symbolism, the cosmic story arc, the nature of true value, the power of chocolate kisses, and the polite consumption of buttermilk.   What We’re Reading: Stoner by John Williams The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder The Iliad by Homer Other Mentions: Psalm 131   Next episode we will be discussing All the Wild Horses by Cormac McCarthy. We hope you join us!    Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss the duality of man, the gamble of letting Death narrate your story, the power of words to bring life or death, picking a good Pilsner, and cologne ads.   What we’re reading: All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren The Great Passion by James Runcie How God Became King by N.T. Wright Recapturing the Wonder by Mike Cosper A Theory of Everything (That Matters) by Alister McGrath Other Mentions: As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner The Prophets by Abraham Heschel Fred Rogers   Next episode we will be discussing The Gilded Six Bits by Zora Neale Hurston. We hope you join us!    Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss our thought-tormented age, early 20th century Irish politics, the polarizing Modernist legacy of James Joyce, the magic of Thin Places, the tension between a blaze of passion and a life of long fidelity, and whether or not it’s ok to bake a little baby Jesus into your King Cake for this year’s Epiphany Feast.   Mentioned in this episode:   In Defense of Sanity by GK Chesterton Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carre You Are not Your Own by Alan Noble  Thin Places Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy “This is Water” by David Foster Wallace  

In this special Yuletide episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss the supremacy of It’s a Wonderful Life, the clash of Two Kingdoms, Dickens’s delight in language, the role of repentance & remembrance in true conversion, the call for a renaissance in heartfelt sentiment, and the coziness of mulled wine.   Mentioned in this episode: It’s a Wonderful Life (dir. Frank Capra) Adaptations of A Christmas Carol (Wiki page) G.K. Chesterton’s Introduction to A Christmas Carol (1922) A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Bleak House by Charles Dickens   Join us next episode where we will discuss the short story The Dead by James Joyce.   Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra    

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss the difficulty of the short story form, O’Connor’s punishment of hypocrites & use of the grotesque, Nietzsche’s view of monsters, the dreadful irony of grace, and gas-station snacks. What we’re reading: The Cross of Christ by John Stott The Book of the Dun Cow by Walter Wangerin Jr. The Christian Imagination ed. by Leland Ryken   Next episode we will be discussing A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. We hope you join us!    Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

In this special Halloween episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss their favorite spooky stories, Bradbury’s polarizing prose, the struggle with time & mortality, evil’s inexplicable mystery, and the importance of avoiding carnivals. Scary Story Picks: The Bear & the Nightingale by Katherine Arden “Click-clack the Rattle Bag” by Neil Gaiman Other Mentions: John Mark McMillan - “God is Young” Next episode we will be discussing A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor. We hope you join us!    Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss the complex & bittersweet relationship with Home, the pronunciation of “Kunstlerroman,” getting to know your neighbors, the line between poetry & prose, Mexican street food, and whether this book is technically even a novel. What we’re reading: Trust by Hernan Diaz 100 Poems by Seamus Heaney The Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon Other Mentions: The Iowa Writer’s Workshop (MFA program)   Next episode we will be discussing Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. We hope you join us!    Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra

In this episode, Jordan and Brendan acknowledge their limited perspective; they also discuss the slow & frustrating work of justice, the effects of dehumanization, Gaines’s use of seemingly futile repetition, and the power of southern comfort food. What we’re reading: A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane The Great Tradition ed. by Richard Gamble Creator Spirit by Steven Guthrie   Next episode we will be discussing The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. We hope you join us!    Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra    

In this debut episode, Jordan and Brendan discuss homesickness, pretentious German words, Lewis’s profound love of horses, the “around the corner” feeling, cockney accents, and the absurdity of adulthood. What we’re reading: The Need to be Whole by Wendell Berry A Swim in the Pond in the Rain by George Saunders Other Mentions: The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien “Sehnsucht”   Music by Brendan Michael and Will Berry Podcast Graphic designed by Alex Morra