Speak up!
Julie, I have to register a complaint. I couldn't even finish reading the post before I wrote this, I was so upset. The problem with Chesterton's Orthodoxy is most definately with Chesterton! I managed to drag myself through it, but it was a chore. The book is 100 years old, and the language has changed much since then, even discounting the fact that the Brits cannot seem to learn proper American. On top of that, his education is heavely based on humanities courses that I have never addressed. I'm sure it made perfect sense to people in 1908. I'm sure it made perfect sense to C.S. Lewis 30 years later. But, considering how the language and education have changed, I have to say that Chesterton held very little for me. And one more thing, jail is to be spelled with a "J". That really threw me in the first two chapters.
/rant off.
BTW, stole the meme, posted at http://comeaway.blogspot.com
However, even listening to her could not overcome the fact that as Chesterton went on and on ... and on ... eventually I just didn't care anymore what he was talking about. As I said, its a fault of mine (and evidently also of Cliff's! :-D)
You know, if it's the wordiness that gets you, you might be better starting with his Fr. Brown stories.
You know, Merton is anything but touchy-feely to me. He's actually the anti-touchy-feely of the mystical life. I recall you being pleasantly surprised by reading Teresa of Avila (who is fantastic, yes!)...Merton is in a similar realm. You don't have to like him, but someday down the road, really, give him another try!
The thing with Chesterton is... he digresses, and then wanders back, and eventually you see how all his apparent digressions are entirely on topic. But it's a lot easier to see this in one of his two-page essays from a newspaper, than in a book with long chapters. If you slow this process down further by hearing it from a reader....
Orthodoxy and Heretics both remind me of a collection of blog posts. They were written with lots of topical references to people and books, some of which are opaque to us. (Annotated versions are a good thing.) But you can always read it like you'd read a science fiction book referring to fictional people and events; the arguments will still hold true, even if you don't know the specific person argued against.
AND his brother.
*hangs head in fangirly shame*
It suddenly occurs to me that I need to persuade some Asian TV fan to edit together a fanvideo...
...to the tune of that "mm bow bow, chicka chicka, chicka chicka" instrumental song.
BTW - I find that Chesterton is most handleable in small bites. And I really prefer the collections that others have amassed - my fave is "Brave New Family" which is one or two page snippets on various topics. I also recommend the Fr. Brown stories.
As far as Merton, the only writing of his that I could stomach was the Seven Story Mountain - I loved that one and read it over and over - and was very disappointed by many of his later writings. I sometimes think that his untimely death (by quite an interesting route - accidental electrocution?) was God's providence keeping him from sinking into frank heresy....
I am also surprised that your book to re-read annually was not a cookbook.
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