BOOKS TILL WE HAVE FACES
SOPHIE’S WORLD
Till We Have Faces has been overshadowed by Lewis’ other
Jostein Gaardner’s celebrated novel tells the story of a young
novels, but it deserves more attention. This retelling of
Norwegian girl named Sophie who receives mysterious letters
the Cupid and Psyche myth, set in the fictional kingdom
in her mailbox, teaching her about philosophy. Gaardner
of Glome, is a fascinating look into human reasoning and
packs in an overview of the entire history of human thought
the role of the divine in society. The book is told from the
(from Pre-Socratics to Modernity) into an engaging, thought-
first-person perspective of Orual, the Queen of Glome.
provoking story. This book shows how our present age is more
The first part is an accusation against the gods, while in the
connected to the past than we think. If philosophy feels like
second, the Queen undergoes a “conversion” and comes to
a dry subject to you, give Sophie’s World a chance. It might
understand their benevolent nature.
change your mind.
LOVE SECRETS
THE AGE OF SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM
Singer-songwriter John Mark Pantana takes a break from music and exercises his writing chops. Love Secrets is a book
Harvard Business professor Shoshana Zuboff’s hefty book
based on his 2019 album of the same name, and each chapter
discusses “surveillance capitalism” — the idea that powerful
is based on a song from the album. The themes of the songs
tech companies like Facebook and Amazon monitor,
and chapters encapsulate the name of their title work, “Love
manipulate and control individual consumer habits in
Secrets" — they are meditations on how to draw close to
increasingly invasive ways. She argues this has come about
God and receive his love in a fresh, new way. Each chapter
with little resistance from people or governments and that
ends with some prompts for prayer, a space to write down
it is not too late to do something about it. Zuboff’s work is
reflections, and the lyrics to the song, which can be listened to
thoughtful and balanced; she advocates for reforming the
on all streaming platforms.
modern enterprise into a more transparent and humancentred marketplace.
48
