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Inside This Issue
The Worst Part of Our Culture Page 1
Roadside Attractions with Fun for All Ages Our Partners Say It Best Page 2 Can MyWages Be Garnished? Hash Browns for the Best Dad Page 3
And Now for Something Completely Different Page 4
‘Anathem’ by Neal Stephenson A Page FromMatt’s Bookshelf
I don’t read much science fiction. When I want to read something just for fun, fantasy has been my genre of choice ever since I picked up “The Hobbit” in fourth grade. But this month, I’m throwing a curveball with “Anathem” by Neal Stephenson.
doors only open once every year, decade, century, or millennium. Some of the characters in this book have taken a vow to just study and not interact with the outside world for a thousand years. What I found really interesting about “Anathem” is the concept of taking a step back and focusing on something without distraction. The people in the concents are unaffected by the outside world so they can focus on their work. I’m not advocating we all become monks, but I certainly would love the opportunity to step back and read for as long as I wanted, uninterrupted. Of course, as “Anathem” shows, you can’t shut out the world forever. In the book, something huge happens on a global level that pulls the characters out of their concents and forces them to work together to save the world. I won’t dive too much into the plot, because it’s awesome to see the story unfold for yourself. In addition to the philosophical discussion, “Anathem” is very entertaining, thought-provoking, with quite a bit of action and some good characters. I really recommend it. It’s made me want to read more of Neal Stephenson’s work!
“Anathem” was referenced in another book I was reading recently, Cal Newport’s “Deep Work.” I tracked it down and really enjoyed reading it. Stephenson is a science fiction writer who really focuses on ideas in philosophy, which I like. It’s set on an Earth-like world called Arbre where there are these secular monasteries called concents. These concents are dedicated to a single practice, like math, science, or philosophy, where people can go in and just study. Concents are really more like universities, except the
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