I continue to be fascinated by how sharply Charles Dickens can draw minor characters. Mr. Pancks is one that I really enjoy every time he appears in Little Dorrit. He is immensely practical and I really love the way he handles Mr. F’s Aunt in this scene. She obviously has some form of senile dementia and he is completely unflustered while surprising the reader (or at least me) with his solution. “Therefore Flora said, though still not without a certain... Read more
Two years ago I reviewed Sinner by Lino Rulli which was a very funny and at times serious book and piecemeal autobiography. Lino Rulli who hosts “The Catholic Guy” on Sirius Radio has now written a follow-up book Saint: Why I Should Be Canonized Right Away. This is a very tongue-firmly-in-cheek framework where Lino explains how his life so far qualifies him to be canonized a saint. This is another piecemeal autobiography where he explores parts of his life topically... Read more
It’s good to smile. And it’s good to laugh. And our faith is FUNNY. It inspires smiles in a lot of ways, and these three books made me smile (and, in one case, laugh out loud A LOT). Enjoy! Saint: Why I Should Be Canonized Right Away, by Lino Rulli (Servant Books, 2013) I’m a BIG fan of this book. Not only did I laugh out loud in ways both embarrassing and obnoxious, but I also stopped to consider some truths of... Read more
I’ve already given my strongest endorsement to Vinny Flynn’s new book, 7 Secrets of Confession. I’ll repeat it here, because this is a book I can’t endorse enough. Brace yourself, and don’t say you haven’t been warned. In this book, Vinny Flynn will guide you to a closer relationship with Jesus and a deeper appreciation for this important sacrament. This book will definitely be on my “best of 2013” list. The only reason my copy’s not marked up to high heaven is... Read more
Not that I wouldn’t gladly plan to defiantly read a banned book. “Take that, small-minded censors! Ha!” (And I’d flourish the book and toss my head and so forth.) It’s just that I didn’t realize it was Banned Books Week until Dappled Things mentioned it. (They also hadn’t realized it.) Imagine my gratification at discovering I already was reading a Banned Book. And then my consternation at discovering I was reading a Banned Book. Someone banned or challenged The Lord... Read more
There’s a difficulty, isn’t there, in dealing with “rock bottom,” whether it’s a euphemism for “life sucks” or a description of the place you’re aiming to avoid. It’s not so different from suffering. None of us want to do it. We don’t line up and say, “Yep, sure, THANK YOU, I’d love some extra suffering and hardship!” And so, given my little attitude there, you can imagine the way I alternated between rolling my eyes and trying to avoid reading Karen... Read more
Atchison Blue: A Search for Silence, a Spiritual Home, and a Living Faith was a complete surprise to me. A whap-to-the-side-of-the-head walloping shocker. Why? I’m not completely sure, but the surprise was delightful and refreshing. It’s good writing, for one thing, and it’s also honest in a way that I appreciated. So much of Valente’s story and struggles resonated with me. It’s by award-winning PBS correspondent Judith Valente and is, at heart, a story well-told. It’s a story of struggle, of questioning, of... Read more
Ok, this isn’t a book but wouldn’t it be boring if you always knew what to expect around here? And I want to be sure everyone knows about this. I’ve been a fan of Father Barron’s ever since reading his book Catholicism and then getting to watch the DVD series it was written to accompany. He’s personable, reasonable, relatable, and communicates joyful faith. Anyone who has seen him on YouTube already knows that but since that’s not where I hang... Read more
This book has been on my To Read stack for some time. Gripped anew by determination to work my way through the books in my house before seeking out others, I picked it up this weekend and have really been enjoying it. (Hey, it’s not how many times we fail, but how many times we begin anew that instills virtue, right? I’m counting on that, by the way.) Genghis Khan: Emperor of All Men by Harold Lamb Harold Lamb was... Read more
Summer’s a great time to read novels and this summer, between June and August, I got in a double-digit number of them. Here are three that I especially enjoyed and haven’t already told you about (aside from the snapshots I give each week in my Book Talk posts). Unwind, by Neal Shusterman (Simon & Schuster, 2009, fiction young adult) My niece handed me this book with the exhortation, “Aunt Sarah, you HAVE to read this book!” I found myself promptly... Read more
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