G. K. Chesterton: The Apostle of Common Sense

Watching “The Surprise” on EWTN was really a treat.

Dale Alquist does a great job.

Am I the only one that noticed both his children have hit the DNA Jackpot?

I love Chesterton’s work, at least that which I have read thus far. I haven’t had a chance to read Orthodoxy, though it is staring at me from my pile of books I am planning to get to in the nearby future. The guy at the bookstore commented on it when I bought it, saying that it was really excellent. I guess I might have to bump it up the list.

The Librivox team have done quite a few Chestertons, now, and of course I put up The Everlasting Man. It’s a movement!

I have to say, though, that Ahlquist occasionally overstates his case. Last night’s show was claiming that reading Chesterton would disincline you to read other authors.

Speak for yourself, sir!

Chesterton has a remarkable gift for making what interests him interest you. This definitely includes other authors. In fact, every essay, every book, and sometimes every side-reference by Chesterton recommending an author makes me want to rush right down to the library. (And while I’m there, load up on some related authors.) If Chesterton were a blogger, his posts would be full of linky love.

This is not to say that it is wrong to go through spasms of wanting to read only everything an author ever wrote. It’s not even wrong for Ahlquist to suffer such a spasm; in fact, it’s obviously useful to the world. But if Chesterton really made all other writers seem blah and unloveable, I’d be inclined to think him goblin fruit instead of the great writer (and great fan of other writers) that he is.