Wayfaring: Essays Pleasant and Unpleasant

by Alan Jacobs

Alan Jacobs is fond of the essay because it lets a writer do something that more formal pieces of writing follow the “vagaries of the mind,” let the writing follow its own path, encountering surprises and fresh insights along the way. In this new collection, Jacobs offers essays for companionable wayfaring. To be a Christian, he says, is to be a wayfarer, to move hopefully towards a cherished goal. These essays are a wayfarer’s notes, a record of ideas and experiences encountered on the pilgrim path. Gathered here are pieces serious and comic, eloquent and interesting. Jacobs muses on the usefulness and dangers of blogging, the art of dictionary making, the world of Harry Potter, and an appreciation of trees. He also includes several book reviews, including a wickedly witty poem. With Wayfaring, Jacobs continues his tradition of exploring Christian theology and experience by way of the essay, bringing serious musings within reach of us all.

Genres: Essays, Nonfiction, Literature, Christian

168 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 28, 2010

About the author

Alan Jacobs is a scholar of English literature, literary critic, and distinguished professor of the humanities at Baylor University. Previously, he held the Clyde S. Kilby Chair of English at Wheaton College until 2012. His academic career has been marked by a deep engagement with literature, theology, and intellectual history.
Jacobs has written extensively on reading, thinking, and culture, contributing to publications such as The Atlantic, First Things, and The New Atlantis. His books explore diverse topics, from the intellectual legacy of Christian humanism (The Year of Our Lord 1943) to the challenges of modern discourse (How to Think). He has also examined literary figures like C. S. Lewis (The Narnian) and W. H. Auden. His work often bridges literature and philosophy, with books such as A Theology of Reading: The Hermeneutics of Love reflecting on the ethical dimensions of interpretation.
An evangelical Anglican, Jacobs continues to influence discussions on faith, literature, and the role of reading in contemporary life.

Reviews

[Phil Cotnoir · Rating 5 out of 5]

In which Alan Jacobs explains why Alan Jacobs essays are so pleasant to read.

Really good stuff.

[Stanley Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent

An excellent book of essays from Alan Jacobs. I have read several works by Jacobs and they are all excellent. I marked this one down a star, the essay on “friendship” did not seem to be up to the same standards of all the others. The essays on Auden and other writers were interesting and I did not want them to end. Highly recommended…SLT

[Dan Glover · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a volume of essays about topics as widely varied as Harry Potter, trees, book reviews, blogging, ethics in art and culture, landscaping and The Green Bible. Jacobs is flat out my favourite essayist. He is witty, perceptive, generous yet uncompromising, wise, winsome yet pointed, and biblically grounded. His review of the compiled works of Kahlil Gibran, which he writes in the same pseudo-Scriptural cadence employed by Gibran himself, had me laughing out loud the whole way through. Every essay is thoughtful, penetrating, and perceptive. The prose is artful but in a straightforward, unadorned way. The sense one gets is that talking with Jacobs over coffee about any interesting topic, perhaps on a back porch over looking a treed park, would be one of the most enlightening and enjoyable ways to spend an afternoon (or many afternoons). Really liked this book.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

reading jacobs refreshes my soul, excites my mind, and - i must admit - makes me wish i'd pursued professorship rather than the insulated, void nonsense which consumes my life.

wayfaring offers jacobs's typically elegant and poignant prose, despite a couple odd skimmable ramblings. i can't say that flora is the most captivating of topics, though if i must pay occasional homage to the tedious, jacobs possesses the sort of talent to make even botanical subject matter (relatively) compelling. as always, he pays tribute to harry potter. i've always appreciated jacobs's affection for both youthful and academic topics.

[David Dunlap · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the finest collections of essays I have read in some time. The first section of the book -- Worlds of Reading -- touches on various aspects of that very subject, from the importance of sentences to the world of Harry Potter. (The titles of some of the articles are quite witty, too: 'A Religion for Atheists' and 'Bran Flakes and Harmless Drudges,' to give but two examples.) My favorite from this portion of the book is probably the essay entitled 'The Brightest Heaven of Invention.' --The concluding half of the book contains Signs and Wonders: such as trees, the wonders of gardening, the sad end of friendship, and the 'Green Bible.' Highly recommended! (Any author who lightly seasons his writing with allusions to Kierkegaard earns high marks in *my* book!)

[Richard Lucian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought provoking

This collection of essays on a wide range of topics, from a Christian perspective is, (I would say perfect but only One is) a perfectly enjoyable way to spend some time reading something that makes you think in line with Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Reading the news can make you angry this is an antidote.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another wonderful collection of essays by Jacobs. He writes thoughtful and insightfully about everything from literature, friendship and the life of trees to Harry Potter and the call on the Christian to obedience and faithfulness. As a writer he seeks not only to write well but to do so in the aim of clarity and deeper thought. Again, I was struck by how engaging it must be to be in his classroom or able to explore literature and art with him as your guide. These essays provide a glimpse into what that experience would be like.

[John Addiego · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of thoughtful, witty essays was refreshingly original. Jacobs has a style that's at once erudite, humble, deliciously sarcastic, and devoutly Christian. His imagination ranges from the classical to the penny dreadful, and he finds great treasure in each. My impression is of an avid reader who loves big stories--mythic, adventurous, Biblical, resonant-- and a sensibility that chooses life and compassion over the trappings of institutions and intellect.

[Sarah Cain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Alan Jacobs' writing style. It's so conversational with the reader as to be addictive. I found this book to be delightful reading late in the evening and first thing in the morning before Mass -- those times when you don't want to read anything too heavy, but are happy to have a companion who cares about the things that matter, great and small.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable collection of essays on everything from Harry Potter to the history on English gardens. While not my favorite of his works (The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction currently holds that distinction), I found some of the essays to be delightful.

[J. J.]

Lovely. Enjoyable as always. The final essay he wrote at the request of Andy Crouch is searching and incisive.

[Leaflet · Rating 5 out of 5]

“On the Recent Publication of Khalil Gibran’s Collected Works” was a hoot.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

“To make sweet companionship of ‘nothing much,’ to learn from one another other the art of noticing and treasuring life's small pleasures -surely this, if anything, is the end of friendship.”

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The essay, in which a writer has ample space--but not too much--to meander across seemingly unrelated topics before eventually drawing them together with whatever connection initially struck him, is a wonderful medium full of rich opportunity for reflection. Alan Jacobs is one of my favorite writers, and he is at his best when writing essays. Jacobs is the kind of writer and thinker who always makes me feel smarter, more contemplative, and broader-minded than I was before I picked him up. He does this as a professional academic, but without sounding like one. His tastes range from the modern "penny dreadful" to the high forms of ancient literature--and, to his credit, unabashedly so. His thoughts are as profound as they are genuine and unpretentious. And this collection was glorious.

Jacobs brings the reader through a range of delights and melancholies, some of which I had already shared (two entries on Harry Potter!; one on trees), and others that I had no idea how much delight I could take in them until reading Jacobs' reflections(dictionaries, for example). In two essays more explicitly focused on theological issues, he dissects the phenomena of the Green Bible (driven by environmentalism) and the "new monasticism" movement among many evangelicals today. The collection ends with a brief answer to a question posted to him about how Christians can be a cultural force for good (the simple answer: it will be a product of our faithfulness).

Enveloping myself in the aura of this particular collection made me want to sit in solitude, or to stroll through the woods for an hour, or to begin my own attempt at a contemplative essay. I don't imagine this is anything other than a valuable and edifying way to spend my time.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best essays in Jacobs' book are about literature, Auden, Johnson, Montaigne. It is obvious he cares about these topics most and he maintains a certain academic distance that keeps them from being personal. I have pulled down several books by and about Auden from the shelves as a result of the two brief essays here. The other essays, good on the sentence level (a reference to the first essay), did not engage me as much in their personalness. He is a fan and cheer leader for Harry Potter and Robert Alter's translations, he writes about nature and gardening books without particular expertise (stifles yawn), and dismisses what he calls the Do-It-Yourself Tradition in a fairly smug and unthoughtful way (Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove deserved none of the shots Jacobs took, exceptionally ignorant in its lazy, cranky old man, dismissiveness). Perhaps I am engaged with him intellectually but would find him a bit of a bully and a bore in real life.

[David Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love essays and thoughtful book reviews--this is a natural. Jacobs is a thoughtful and engaging writer who has many smart things to say. In a creative non-fiction world that has difficulty deciding what it is, Jacobs offers the "classic essay." At once probing and provisional, these traces of the author's thinking are both unexpected and illuminating. I don't feel preached at or on the receiving end of a treatise. Rather, reading his essays reminds me of having a conversation with a very intelligent but humble friend.

[Stephen Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jacobs thrives in the setting of an essay. He allows his thoughts to wander through a topic without seeming too tangential. This compilation of essays covers a broad spectrum of topics from the nature of sentences to landscape evolution in Enlightenment-era England. This book culminates in the essay "Choose Life" which was my favorite in the book. Jacobs opens the door to his opinions and thoughts while still being open to other sources and influences. Highly recommended.

[Andrew Canavan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection of essays from, in my opinion, one of the best contemporary writers and Christian thinkers alive today. The essays that I thought I'd enjoy the least ended up as those I enjoyed the most. If you're interested in Harry Potter, trees, dictionaries, biblical interpretation, or Christianity and culture, read this book. It is delightful and enlightening.

[Jon Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

More from one of my favorites. Jacobs is a master at the essay form, whether discussing the theology of church signs or Harry Potter. His essays stimulate thinking and are a delight to read. So much pleasure in reading good writing. Check out his Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction as well.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I love the essay primarily because it is the genre par excellence of wayfaring." This book is an excellent example of wayfaring through essays. Jacobs readers across roads of readings and musings - opening up new avenues of thought and adventure.

[Gregory Strong · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very fine set of essays written in Jacobs's style, evidencing wide and deep reading and thinking threaded with wit, insight, and practical wisdom.