Welcome Julie Abell to The Catholic Book Blogger

On December 5, 2012 I published my first book review. The title of the book was Where There Is Love, There Is God: A Path to Closer Union with God and Greater Love for Others edited by Father Brian Kolodiejchuk and published by Image Books. Looking back at that first review I reflect on how far The Catholic Book Blogger has come. In April 2013 I conducted my first author interview which was with Mike Aquilina on his book  Faith of Our Fathers: Why the Early Christians Still Matter and Always Will. As I settled in to this new found passion of reviewing Catholic books I developed a pattern of a review, giveaway and author interview each week. Things continued on my self-hosted WordPress blog. I was very happy and content spending time in my own little corner of the internet.

In November 2013 I received an email I never thought I would get. In fact, the thought never even crossed my mind. It was from Elizabeth Scalia and she was inviting me to move to Patheos. How do you say no to The Anchoress? I made the move and things have continued to grow at The Catholic Book Blogger at a rapid pace. Along the way, and in particular in the past 12 months, more opportunities have developed. I have begun writing for other venues, been named Managing Editor for another, and started freelance writing.

Through all of this The Catholic Book Blogger site itself has always been a labor of love. As more people came to recognize my work as a reviewer the books rolled in and they still do to this day. There are often more books than time to read, so I have once more decided to take action and do something to grow The Catholic Book Blogger. There’s something new on the horizon and today I am officially announcing the addition of a new writer to the site.

I am pleased to announce that Julie Abell will be joining the CBB ranks as a reviewer. First a little about Julie. She is a homeschooling mom of three (which coincidentally is how my wife Laura met her). Additionally, Julie is a former Army MP.  Perhaps even more relevant to this gig is that she is an avid reader that already enthusiastically recommends great Catholic books to her friends and family and is eager to get the word out to rest of the world. However, what intrigues me the most about bringing her on-board is her “angle” to the Catholic faith. Julie is a cradle Catholic in contrast to my being a convert. I love this contrast as her life experiences when it comes to her faith are a little different than my own so I am quite anxious to see how that translates to her writing and the material she chooses to review. Then the more obvious difference is the male/female thing but I’m sure you picked up on that one already!

What does this mean for the future of The Catholic Book Blogger? Good things, very good things. Julie will help me to achieve what my goal was for The Catholic Book Blogger way back in December 2012 when I hit the publish button on my first review. That has been to provide quality reviews so that readers get a glimpse of some of the best Catholic material out there today. Bringing Julie on-board allows me (and now us) to bring to you, our readers, material that maybe wasn’t something I would necessarily pick up to review in the past. With a second reviewer here at CBB we will also be able to cover more material and give you even more options to choose from when you are looking for you next Catholic book.

In closing do me a favor and feel free to welcome Julie in the comments below. Next sit back, relax take a sip of your favorite coffee (that one was for you Sarah Reinhard) or tea and enjoy some of the best Catholic books out there. We’ll do our best to point you in the right direction.