I was born in Liverpool, down by the docks,

Religion was Catholic, occupation: blogwatch…

Dappled Things: Bare-essential books for seekers. “My intended audience are those people who are genuinely interested in Catholicism and open-minded, but really don’t know enough to have a well-grounded opinion.” These things are always so personal; I didn’t get much out of Mere Christianity, but that may be because I’d heard many of the points before, from friends who’d read Lewis. I second the recommendation of The Great Divorce, and would add The Problem of Pain and A Grief Observed. For Chesterton I was most struck by his two saint biographies, The Dumb Ox: St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Francis of Assisi. The latter is especially powerful. I also got a lot out of St. Anselm’s Cur Deus Homo (his treatise on the Incarnation), but that’s anything but a universal taste. If you happen to be a fan of the later Platonic dialogues who is also obsessed with whether or not justice and mercy can be reconciled, check out CDH. Oh and yes, I love Augustine’s Confessions; Peter Brown’s biography, Augustine of Hippo, is also fantastic.

Sed Contra: Who made your Christmas lights? As always, more here.