Mr. Murphy's Reads March 2025

Top Book(s) - Anne of Green Gables and Mad Honey

Bottom Pick: One Hundred Years of Solitude

Anne of Green Gables - Especially near the end, reflections on growing up and growing into your role in the world really spoke to me. I teared up several times thinking about my own daughter growing up. Zipporah and I read this book together, and I'm so glad we did! We laughed a lot and had a number of great discussions come out of the shared experience! 🙂

Mad Honey - I read this because Ellie was reading it and I wanted to share that with her. It surprised me. The reflections on abusive relationships gripped me. One of the things about gaslighting that perhaps many people don't realize is that the gaslighter/abuser completely believes they're in the right. (I should know, I'm always convinced I'm right. I have to always be on my guard and remind myself that the way I feel about a situation does not constitute the reality of the situation. I absolutely have it in me to be a gaslighter.) THAT is why it's so convincing to the people on the receiving end and why it can be hard for victims to realize they aren't the problem, to believe that they don't deserve the abuse. This was a very important book for me in giving me an authentic look into the mindset of an abuse victim. I can say right now, when my son is much older, but before he goes off to college, I want him to read this book. It's important for a young man to know what it looks like to be an abuser, since it's not usually in line with the image we see in shows and movies. It's much more subtle and insidious. You can easily become an abuser and never know it if you don't know the thought patterns to be wary of.

One Hundred Years of Solitude - I found this to be a very tough book to enjoy and eventually gave it up around 1/2 way through. From those who enjoy it, I hear they appreciate the "vibe." It's surreal, which I can sometimes appreciate (I loved Song of Solomon, for example) but OHYS never gave me a central theme or main character to latch onto. I can see myself trying this book again and figuring out how to appreciate it. But I'm going to let it sit for a while before making a second attempt.

Star Trek Books - I'm a huge Star Trek nerd, but I only started reading Star Trek fiction last year. I'd avoided it because I figured it was trash fiction. And, some of it certainly is (New Frontier...) but a lot of it is quite relevant and often incredibly prescient! All the way back in 2002 when Left Hand of Destiny was written, a Klingon populist uprising begins with its leader declaring, "We will Make the Empire Great Again!" I literally laughed out loud with surprise, picturing a frowning Klingon in a red "MEGA" hat 😃

Kahless - This book deals (somewhat) with issues around religious archeology and faith. A scroll is uncovered which brings into question the truth behind the legendary Klingon founder, Kahless. Because it's Star Trek, a clone of Kahless who has been implanted with all of Kahless's memories is running around but his memories are of the legends and don't line up with the scroll. As stupid as it all sounds, the book brings up a controversy from the 90s (when the book was written). Back then, a lot of folks were talking about archeology proving or disproving the Biblical narrative. Big points of discussion at the time were the Shroud of Turin, the Ark of the Covenant in that Ethiopian Church, Noah's Ark being "found" on that mountain, the temple of King David, among others. This book takes a look at various Klingons' responses to this scroll. Some respond in typical Klingon anger, others say it doesn't matter because they believe in the lessons of the mythical Kahless whether he was actual real or not, others insist the scroll is a fake despite it being incontrovertibly proven to be authentic. Now, don't get me wrong, this book lightly brings up these ideas but veers away from making any statement or diving into any depth. It's only an OK book. But I did enjoy exploring the thoughts it brought to mind.

Goals for April: This month I hope to finish Fall of the Ottoman Empire, Emma, Prydain: The High King, 3 Star Trek Books, and maybe Lessons in Chemistry.

If you've read any of these and want to share, I'd love to hear your take. 

And if you've recently read anything that really resonated with you, I'd love to hear that as well!