What I'm reading today
The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It (2004, by Neal Boscomb) - Last summer I read another book, Hunting Eichmann, by Neal Boscomb, and it was one of the most engaging nonfiction works I had ever read. So a few weeks ago when I was digging through a box of books in the basement looking for something to read and stumbled upon The Perfect Mile, I actually set aside the other book I was reading in order to start this one. I really enjoy the narrative of this book. I almost wish that I knew nothing about the history of track and field in order to preserve the apprehension and the excitement of wondering if anyone would ever break the four-minute barrier and if so, who? I already know how the story ends, but I still can't seem to put the book down, reading as fast as I can so that I can experience the event the way Boscomb describes it.
What I'm listening to today
Our Fake History (2020, Episode 113: "Who is Kiev's most vengeful saint?") - This episode caught my eye because it is about St. Olga. Previously I knew nothing about St. Olga, but I remembered her image in the stained glass window of the church I grew up in. Olga has a number of myths attributed to her in which she is ruthless, unforgiving, and vengeful in dealing with civilizations that opposed her. I had never heard any of these myths before, and I will say they are truly dark. The logical question then is why someone such as this would (a) be canonized by the Church and (b) have her image on display in churches all over the world. The simple answer is that these myths really are just myths, and later in life Olga converted to Christianity, became one of the first leaders in Eastern Europe to abandon pagan religion, and became a very devout Christian at that. That said, the purely fictional myths are quite entertaining.
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