Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Spiritual Stuffing


I've now read the bulk of The Best American Spiritual Writing 2008. This is one of my reading staples, and I've read all of the titles in this series since its inception.

Philip Zaleski's latest editing job is fine, but I was frankly disappointed with the writing in this anthology this year. Some of the essays range from personal to reflections on science, and there are some fine poems by Wendell Berry and John Updike, but for the most part these essays left me feeling very, well . . . unspiritual. They just didn't move me in any way.

I'm putting this one on the top shelf along with my dozens of other titles in this series and I'm moving on to The Best American Mystery Stories 2008. I love a mystery, and I have to think I'm going to find some stories there that might actually knock the stuffing out of me.

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