Books
Smoky Mountain News
31
Some old-fashioned lessons for living oogle books on parenting, and you will find thousands — tens of thousands — of titles. There are books on parenting boys, books on parenting girls, books on parenting toddlers, adolescents, and teens, books on parenting the chubby and the thin, books on parenting every sort of child under the sun. In If Aristotle’s Kid Had An iPod: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Parents (Saint Benedict Press, ISBN 978-161890-414-0, $26.95), author Conor Gallagher offers a philosophy for moms and dads which sets his book apart from this teeming throng. For one thing, If Aristotle’s Kid Had Writer An iPod is not, as Gallagher himself tells his readers, not really a practical parenting book. “I’m not qualified to write one,” Gallagher states. “I’m not going to say spanking is good or bad, or that video games are OK or not OK.” He then goes on to inform us that he is more interested in writing a book of philosophy for parents, that “I am going to use philosophy to help you understand how your kid can become more virtuous, how he develops true friendships, and what will truly make him happy. I’ll leave the specifics to your better judgment.” Does Gallagher deliver on this promise? In spades. First among the delights of If Aristotle’s Kid Had An iPod are the author’s style and tone. This is no stuffy tome of philosophy. Gallagher addresses his readers informally, as if he were speaking to them in their living rooms rather
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than in a lecture hall. There’s plenty of Aristotle’s philosophy on virtue, wisdom, and young people here, but there are also forays into The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. Anecdotes from parents abound as examples
Like Aristotle, Gallagher stresses the importance of good habits, which can in turn lead to virtue. He writes: “We’ve all heard the saying ‘You are what you eat.’ This is very Aristotelian. When you form a habit, it becomes a part of you. You become what you do. One action is not a habit, nor is it a virtue. If your kid is generally rude, but says ‘please’ out of the blue, he’s still a ‘rude kid.’ If he works at it and begins saying ‘please’ some of the time, he becomes a quasi-polite kid. Eventually, good manners will begin rolling off his tongue. You now have a polite kid.” Gallagher, who studied philosophy intensively in college, earned a degree in law, and today works as the CEO of a Catholic publishing company operating out of Charlotte — in addition, he is the father of eight young children — is particularly good when addressing the importance of friendship in a child’s development and of the cardinal virtues — justice, temperance, fortitude, and prudence — as tools for living the good life, ideas which he takes from Aristotelian philosophy but which he then transforms into a format easily understood even by casual readers. His examples here range from Tiger Woods to U.S. Army warrant officer Hugh Thompson and his helicopter crew, who on seeing the massacre at My Lai in Vietnam taking place, saved several If Aristotle’s Kid Had An iPod: Ancient Wisdom for Vietnamese from certain death by Modern Parents by Conor Gallagher. Saint Benedict American troops run amuck on that day Press, 2015. 250 pages of disgrace. If Aristotle’s Kid Had An iPod also throughout the book, and the lively prose and offers us an excellent reminder that the life thoughtful ideas should give any parent both lived virtuously will bring happiness. Too pleasure and insight into many different issues often young people — and adults — define of raising children to adulthood. “happiness” as pleasure and chase after it for
Exploring 18th century Southern culinary dishes Author Kay Moss will present her book Seeking the Historical Cook at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. Moss’ book is a guide to historical cooking methods from 18thand 19th-century receipt (recipe) books and an examination of how those methods can be used in kitchens today. Designed for adventurous cooks and foodies, the volume is filled with photographs, period images and line art depicting kitchen tools and cooking methods. She will also offer samples of some of her book’s featured recipes. Free. 828.586.9499.
Support the Reading Rover Have “Coffee with the Poet,” Thursday, Oct. 17, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva and help support reading opportunities for area children at the same time. City Lights will donate 8 percent of its daily sales to the Reading Rover bookmobile, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 17. “Coffee with the Poet” Kathy Nelson will be at 10:30 a.m. The donation will help put books into the hands of the community’s young readers. The Reading Rover, a cooperative project with Smart Start/Region A Partnership for Children, is a mobile unit serving preschoolers and child care providers throughout Jackson, Macon and Swain counties and the Qualla Boundary. Last year, the Rover provided 6,638 children with story time programs. As a result, 73 percent of children demonstrated knowledge of pre-literacy skills by the end of the year. The Rover visited 725 classrooms. By year’s end, 94 percent of classroom teachers reported using the materials from the Rover for daily classroom literacy activities that were modeled by the Rover librarian. 828.488.2382.
Sons of the American Revolution welcome Nadia Dean Author Nadia Dean will present her work A Demand of Blood at The Silas McDowell Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution
its own sake, failing to recognize that not only is the object of that pursuit false, but that they lack the proper tools to have any chance of success. Ideas like these make this book apt for parents, yes, but those of us whose children have already gone out into the world— and indeed, anyone who has dealings with young people—can profit from the wealth of thought and reflection offered here. Highly recommended. ••• A second book for review this week also comes from a Catholic press, but like If Aristotle Had An iPod, it too deserves a broader audience. This is James Stenson’s small book of reflections and aphorisms, To Be A Man: Life Lessons for Young Men (Scepter Press, ISBN 978-1-59417-162-8, $5.95). Collected here are valuable bits of wisdom designed for young men from age 12 to 30. Here are some from the chapter titled “Professional and Business Savvy:” ‘One of these days’ is really none of these days. Friday afternoon is the worst time to talk with anybody about something important. Never send a letter or memo that you’ve written in anger. If you do, you’ll probably regret it. Hold it for a day or two, look it over calmly, then either revise it or throw it away. Here is advice on a wide variety of subjects, ranging from how to handle a bad roommate in college (move out) to etiquette in the workplace. This little book makes an ideal gift for someone going off to college, starting a new job or even getting married. Another thumb’s up. (Jeff Minick is a writer and teacher. He can be reached at minick0301@gmail.com.)
meeting at 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21, at the Broiler Room in Franklin. Dean will preview her book about the 1776 conflict between the Cherokee, area settlers, British authorities, Loyalists/Tories and the Continental Militia in the Western North Carolina area. 828.321.3522 or tomeaglenc@aol.com or www.ncssar.org/chapters/Silas.htm.
‘Corn from a Jar’ author to speak Writer Dan Pierce will present his book Corn from a Jar at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, in the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University. Tracing the history of moonshine, the presentation will focus on the Scotch-Irish migration to Western North Carolina, including its section about the duality of moonshine and religion in the mountains. Pierce is the professor and chair of the Department of History at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. The program is being jointly sponsored by the Mountain Heritage Center, City Lights Bookstore of Sylva and the Great Smoky Mountains Association. 828.227.7129.