Krista Tippett, Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living (New York: Penguin Press) 2016.

I really enjoy listening to "On Being" hosted by Kirsta Tippett. She is a superb interviewer and the range of people that she chooses to interview is very interesting to me. I listen to the program as a podcast and often sort of "binge," listening to three or four programs in a row. And I was deeply impressed with her first book, Speaking of Faith. This volume holds a similar interest for me and I enjoyed very much the sections of the book that report the details of conversations and interviews she has had with other thinkers. However, the overall thrust of the book was just a bit disappointing to me. I expected a tad more depth in the discussions.

I guess I understand her movement away from the perspective of an established religion to a broader and more open conversation, but i sort of miss the old "Speaking of Faith" approach in which she was open in her explorations of faith. Frankly I thought the section on Love was a bit light weight. She had already done a section on Flesh in which she spoke of embodiment and human existence so I had hoped that her section on love might be a bit less focused on romance and more on deep, connected relationships that endure over time. It is possible that her divorce has colored here opinion about commitment and promise, but a discussion of love that completely ignores those factors left me wanting more.

All in all, however, it is a significant book and a good contribution to a field that is in need of more thoughtful writers in our particular time. Her discussions are important and I marked dozens of passages to which I will return as I explore my own writing and thinking.