It’s rare that someone is able to find an underlying idea that ties together so much of what it means for a piece of art, culture or life to be “good” to another person, but in Everyday Apocalypse, David Dark has efficiently described a common thread in much of that which I love that points to my continual searching for the “something more” of life. Dark calls this idea “apocalyptic.”

It should be made clear that when Dark talks about “apocalypse,” he’s not talking about some end-times event where the world explodes and all those who “accepted Jesus into their hearts” go to some other-place called Heaven. He’s talking about the actual meaning of the word “apocalypse:” lifting of the veil. To explain more explicitly, Dark is looking for threads of capital-T Truth in our art and culture that speak to the idea of the human conditions of suffering and imperfection, the necessary inclusion of eternal grace and love in our lives, the beauty of admitting to not knowing it all, and the ability of one person to “get” another even if, and especially if, that “getting” is something we can’t seem to quite put in words.

In short, apocalyptic is that which lifts the veil shrouding what life really is, has been, will be and is meant to be.

In Everyday Apocalypse, Dark runs through examples from Radiohead to The Simpsons to Flannery O’Connor, expressing how each has a way of subverting mere entertainment or pop cultural art and hinting at a deeply-rooted issue of what it is to participate in life on earth and, often, a part of the truly Christian ideology (not just what the culture of market-driven, Western evangelical Christianity has put forth as an example).

One part theology, one part philosophy, and one part art appreciation, the book was a perfect match for me, despite occasionally feeling a bit over my head. After truly grasping upon his idea of apocalyptic, though, the feeling of something going over my head didn’t seem as frustrating as it might’ve been before reading.

I’m excited to explore what apocalyptic lifestyle really is. I feel that, through my explorations of food, art, music and what it means to live faith every day, I’m already on my way, but I know I’ve hardly stepped a foot in the door.

Finally, it’s refreshing and relieving to see someone speaking to a more Catholic idea of living a Christian faith, in the sense that Christianity is hardly about “accepting Jesus into my heart so I don’t go to Hell.” It’s hardly that, if that at all, and if we are truly living the faith fully, such ideas should be the last thing on our minds as we seek to restore, renew and reveal the world we live in today in preparation for eternity.

Another book about the craft of writing. That’s two in a row, sort of. This one’s a bit more explicit than the last and, coincidentally, recommended by the author of the last.

This one is called The War of Art, and if you consider yourself a creator of anything — writing, painting, websites, photographs, businesses — and want to hone your skill to the highest form, this should be on your must-read list. In fact, it should probably be on your must-read-once-a-year list.

The War of Art is a short and easy-to-read book by Steven Pressfield, author of The Legend of Bagger Vance. Departing from his normal territory of fiction, he wrote this one as an expository piece by an artist for other artists. He expresses the idea that, to be a professional writer (or painter, or programmer), we have to fight resistance every day and continue pushing through and creating, whether we feel “inspired” or not.

It comes across as a bit of a self-help book at first, but it really does feel empowering. It was a quick encouragement that, if I’m serious about becoming a pro at anything, it’s something I have to do daily. Writer’s block does not exist in the world of the pro. They write, no matter what. If it sucks, that’s okay. At least they wrote. You can always throw it out and try again tomorrow. It’s breaking through the daily resistance that matters.

This book is too short for me to really want to say much else (I read it start to finish in a couple hours), so I’ll repeat myself: if you are someone who creates, or wants to create, anything on a professional level, at the highest quality, and not once but repeatedly, this is a book you should have in your own library. Go get yourself a copy right now.

As someone who, from time to time, considers himself a writer, it’s nice sometimes to hear someone I respect a great deal address the ins and outs the details of the writing trade.

I’ve read all but one of Donald Miller’s books in the past few years, but A Million Miles in a Thousand Years was a bit of a different journey than the others. Miller’s normal style is to meander through a loosely-related collection of thoughts and ideas as a way to talk about a few epiphanies he’s had about how to live life fully. In Million Miles, he does this, but through a different lens: how to write a good story.

The book starts out with Don meeting with a couple guys who want to turn his biggest seller, Blue Like Jazz, into a movie. So he goes off to, in essence, edit his own life from a disorganized series of thoughts into a story that’s worth putting on the screen.

In this process, he realizes that, in his 30s, single, childless and without many accomplishments aside from writing a couple books, he has not been writing his own story well. Not the one for the movie, but his actual life.

So, as he is explaining to us, the reader, how to tell a good story, we see him growing and evolving into a person who writes a good story of a life. I won’t spoil it, even though it’s only sort of a story, but I will say that the place that Miller came to by the end of this book were an impressive array of accomplishments that are the mini-stories that make up a good story, from start to finish.

As always, Miller is a quick and easy read, but that makes books like his all the more enjoyable. It’s effortless to get right into the ideas he’s expressing without the language or headiness getting in the way. I sped through A Million Miles, soaking up what it means to live a good story: learning to see obstacles as turning points that shouldn’t be shied away from; seeking out and creating challenging goals to push yourself forward when life becomes monotonous; learning the value of taking risks; realizing that the joy of life is found in trials and journeys, not where those trials and journeys end.

I wouldn’t say this is a book about writers for writers, but it does open up to the basic ideas of story, while reminding us that, in order to enjoy life, we need to engage ourselves in it and actually live.

This month’s list is large because time kind of dragged on and on. Probably because I’m counting down the days until I move to Nashville. But hey, a lot of good music came out this month, so that is cause for celebration! If anything on here isn’t due to a new release, it’s due to me just now getting back to a release or two that I’ve been meaning to enjoy more (like Local Natives, Freelance Whales and Surfer Blood).

1. Four Tet – “Love Cry” (There Is Love In You)
2. Mumford & Sons – “Little Lion Man” (Sigh No More)
3. Frightened Rabbit – “The Loneliness and the Scream” (The Winter of Mixed Drinks)
4. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – “Red House” (Are You Experienced?)
5. Anais Mitchell – “Wedding Song (feat. Justin Vernon)” (Hadestown)
6. Broken Bells – “The High Road” (Broken Bells)
7. The Chieftains – “La Iguana (feat. Lila Downs)” (San Patricio)
8. Titus Andronicus – “A More Perfect Union” (The Monitor)
9. First Aid Kid – “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” (Drunken Trees EP)
10. Local Natives – “Airplanes” (Gorilla Manor)
11. Liars – “Scissor” (Sisterworld)
12. The White Stripes – “Icky Thump” (Under Great White Northern Lights)
13. Freelance Whales – “Generator ^ Second Floor” (Weathervanes)
14. Surfer Blood – “Swim” (Astro Coast)
15. Surfer Blood – “Take It Easy” (Astro Coast)
16. Ryan Bingham & the Dead Horses – “Bluebird” (Roadhouse Sun)
17. Manchester Orchestra – “100 Dollars” (Mean Everything to Nothing)
18. Manchester Orchestra – “I Can Feel a Hot One” (Mean Everything to Nothing)
19. Deftones – “Diamond Eyes” (Diamond Eyes single)
20. The Dillinger Escape Plan – “Farewell, Mona Lisa” (Option Paralysis)
21. Silversun Pickups – “Growing Old is Getting Old” (Swoon)
22. The Boxer Rebellion – “Soviets” (Union)

And, as always, here is your mix: