On Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects, by Bertrand Russell

I like Russell because he frames his morality structure from a null point. His work, especially on religion as is the focus here, is incredibly even-handed. If you compare this work to one of the more modern 'evangelical atheists' such as Dawkins, Harris, or Hitchens, what you will see is that Russell is not as antagonistic towards the received dogma that he is writing against. I don't know if this is a structure of the intellectual environment that he wrote in, or just part of Russell's own temperament and style. However, I feel that his dissent was somehow "braver" than the more modern contrarian freethinkers because of that same intellectual environment. Russell's writing is clear and considered and thoughtful. Even if you don't agree with his positions, he writes as the most reasonable person in the room. If you are an atheist or a doubter, I would recommend this book. If you are religious, I would recommend this book even more strongly. If you don't know the counter-arguments, your faith is not as like the little children, it is childish.

On Bleeding London , by Geoff Nicholson

I really liked this book. It is a shame that it is out of print and that I had never heard of the author before. Now I have to check out the further writings of the man. This is a love letter to the city of London, from several points of view. I normally don't like the books and movies that shift between several people, as one story usually is stronger than the others. (See my intense dislike of _Infinite Jest_ in spite of liking Foster Wallace's nonfiction.) However, here the main character is the city, not its inhabitants. The characters are just transients on the surface of the dynamic city. Nicholson has a character say it better than I just did, but when I wanted to make a not to myself about the central theme of the work, I had no pencil close. It was worth while, but remember my views are idiosyncratic and subjective. Read it and we might have something to to talk about.

Like On Shaking Hands With God: A Conversation About Writing, with Kurt Vonnegut

_Like Shaking Hands With God_ is not worth the money of you have read the other works by Vonnegut he wrote since 1980 that spells out his personal philosophy on life, the universe and everything. However, I stand by my assertion that if someone were to publish Vonnegut's collected grocery lists, I would buy that book.

This book, comes close. It is short and spare and lacking in depth -- 80 pages of widely spaced larger type font. I am now vaguely interested in the writings of Lee Stringer now, but not enough that I plan on following up on finding more
about his work.