Aaron Armstrong's Blog, page 24

Spooky Season, Christmas, & Mormons at the Door

It’s almost Halloween, and we’re talking… well, we’re talking Christmas, apparently. But not intentionally. Dave wanted to talk about Halloween and spooky books, but we don’t really read those all that often. We don’t even watch those movies. So, instead we have some fun talking through some listener questions! Listen in as we discuss:

What happened when Mormons came to the door while we were recordingIf Scarlet and her girls have read Bunnicula What books we read around Christmas timesUnexpe...

God’s Goodness in a Dumpster Fire of a Year

I’ve been neglecting written content here for a while. I’ll admit, I’ve been struggling in these “unprecedented” times to do more than just get through podcasting and my regular work responsibilities. But no more. At least not for today.

Okay, yes. 2020 has been a dumpster fire. It’s been more than that, actually. I believe the CNN commentators describing the first presidential debate described it best with their rather salty language.

But whatever.

I’m not going to talk about why ...

Politics, Reading Lists, & Other Dinner Conversations

There are two topics you traditionally don’t bring up at family dinners over the holidays: religion and politics. (Scarlet, meanwhile, is glad she missed out on this one.)

The spectrum of types of political books and the weirdness of that part of the publishing industryJohn Quincy Adams being a terrible president and a great congressmanWhat conservatism meansWhy the Great American Reads booklist is problematicIf changing your Good Reads Reading Challenge is cheating (it’s not and Dave is wro...

Science Faction, Ezekiel, Apollos, & English Class Confessions

We typically don’t talk a ton about Bible reading on the podcast. Not because we don’t care about it (because obviously we do), but because we typically assume that our Christian listeners are actively doing so. However, that’s not always a safe assumption to make, especially when we see how rampant biblical illiteracy has become. So this week, we are joined by Tara-Leigh Cobble, host of The Bible Recap podcast and author of the forthcoming book of the same name. Listen in as we discuss:

How...

Finding Happiness & Failing to Finish Sentences

It’s been a week. Read into that whatever you wish, and you’re probably going to be correct. We could all use a little bit of happiness (I know I could), so this week, Scarlet, Dave, and I are joined once again by our good friend Barnabas Piper, to celebrate the official release of his brand-new book, Hoping for Happiness, available now wherever books are sold. Listen in as we discuss:

Barnabas’ release day announcementWhere my copy of Barnabas’ book is (and why they all got sent to Scarlet)...

Having None of It in Nunavut

Fall—or rather, Autumn—is finally here! With it comes cardigans, superfluous scarves, and pumpkin spice, as well as thinking about what to read in this new season. Listen in to discuss:

What makes a book an “Autumn book”Scarlet and Dave test my knowledge of Canadian geographyWhere the idea from this episode came fromPronouncing “Autumn” fancyThe role of nostalgia in seasonal readingRereads and one-time only booksOur shared excitement over a new Fredrik Backman bookHow to convince Scarlet’s ...

Pocket Protectors, Activate!

So, the trailer for the Dune movie was released last week, and the folks who made it clearly did a great job. In honor of this, we’re getting extra nerdy as we talk Dune, sci-fi, and Dave having meetings to run to. Listen in to hear:

The difference between hard and soft sci-fiIf Dune is a good option for jumping into the genreHow ET ruined sci-fi for ScarletIf speculative fiction counts as sci-fiAnother Lonesome Dove progress report

Be sure to check out the NYPL article mentioned in...

Audience Questions, 9/11, & Drastic Tonal Shifts

We don’t always have friends of the podcast on the show, but when we do, it’s Matt Redmond! Matt is a Christian counselor, teacher, author, and longtime listener of the podcast. We have wanted to chat with Matt for a while because of our shared love of books, C.S. Lewis, music, and more. Listen in as we discuss:

Where we were on 9/11Whether or not we have (or should) read books about the eventWhy it’s probably not a good idea to be writing books about our current circumstances just yetH...

Bach, Bono & Music Bios

We don’t always have friends of the podcast on the show, but when we do, it’s Matt Redmond! Matt is a Christian counselor, teacher, author, and longtime listener of the podcast. We have wanted to chat with Matt for a while because of our shared love of books, C.S. Lewis, music, and more. Listen in as we discuss:

What’s so great about Jane AustenWhy Matt isn’t a fan of the enneagramBooks you should read about BachIf Bono should write a book, and his appreciation for Eugene PetersonFavorite C....

Masters of Tangents

One of the things we love best about this show is our audience. Seriously, we have some really fun and fantastic people who listen to this show and put up with our silliness week in and week out. So, this week, Dave and I (Scarlet couldn’t join us this week due to scheduling issues) thought it would be fun to answer some of your questions! Listen in as we discuss:

Our preferences in coffee and/or teaOne of the worst trends in evangelicalism which some folks may or may not have tried to talk a...