Listentalk Chapter Synopses
I’m writing a book called Listentalk: How simple conversations change your life every day. As of December, 2012, the title is now Juxtapose Why We’re Better Together. I hope an e-version will be available by Spring of 2013.
Listentalk chapters:
- Book summary
- The book idea
- The raw argument
- Chapter 1: The Preacher and the Farmer
- Chapter 2: Learning While We Talk
- Chapter 3: Building Communities with Words
- Chapter 4: Extreme Listening
- Chapter 5: Could Prayer be a Model for Listentalk?
- Chapter 6: How to Talk
- Chapter 7: Where to Listentalk in this World?
- Epilogue
[...] him to steal away for hours to converse with the God of the universe. I go into depth on this in Listentalk. But the point is that prayer, which is ultimately more about listening than talking, was a [...]
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February 8, 2011 at 9:31 am
Hi Kirk. What’s the lastest update with you book, ListenTalk? When is this bad boy going to be published so I can purchase a copy?
Jason
March 9, 2012 at 7:20 am
I calmly carry on adding 1000 words daily. All the chapters have been “complete” for over a year, but I’ve been revising so that it actually makes sense and approaches readability. The learning experience has been reading these five thinkers and letting them inform what i write. Oh–and praying for an audience to gather around it. So you just answered my prayer! Thanks for asking.
kirkistan
March 9, 2012 at 7:41 am
Who are the five? I saw four: Martin Buber, Emmanuel Levinas, JL Austin and John Searle. Who am I missing?
Jason
March 9, 2012 at 9:48 am
Thanks for the close reading! Buber, Austin and Searle, Emmanuel Levinas and Karl Rahner and Everybody. I recently ran into a book by Michael Purcell that shows/imagines Levinas in dialogue with Rahner which is helping me understand my goal with this section of ListenTalk. And “Everybody” because I’m working hard to develop a case for why the multiplying conversations we have via social media bring us closer to God’s design for us as communicative beings.
kirkistan
March 9, 2012 at 9:56 am
Still not five, is it? I keep forgetting: the late Wayne Booth, Communication Professor at the University of Chicago. Also: under the everybody category, Clay Shirky and Dietrich Bonhoeffer speak up.
kirkistan
March 9, 2012 at 10:00 am
Speaking of community, did you see the new book by Alain De Bottom: “Religion for Atheists: A Nonbeliever’s guide to uses of religion”? I have not read it but I know you’ve told me about him in the past. One reviewer of the book said: “De Botton’s goal is quite simple: “to reclaim our sense of community…without having to build upon a religious foundation.” Anyway, looks like we are all looking to connection to something–or Someone! Thanks again for your efforts.
Jason
March 9, 2012 at 10:03 am
Thanks for the heads-up. Alain de Botton is one of my writing heroes: he explains philosophy and how it applies to regular life with such relative ease (or so it seems). Visit his School of Life [http://theschooloflife.typepad.com/the_school_of_life/ ] sometime: it’s storefront philosophy shop in London. I completely agree with the “Someone” in your comment. In ListenTalk I find myself talking about “The God bent on reunion.”
kirkistan
March 9, 2012 at 10:12 am
Kirk – let’s add a chapter on self talk: Healing your inner self after suffering through bad talk with a boss!!!
Karla Montgomery
October 24, 2012 at 8:15 am