It was the Saturday before Easter, as I recall. I had rolled out of bed to work on my honors project, and I was putting the coffee into the coffeemaker when it struck me that it was VERY STRANGE that someone was having a cookout at 8 (or was it 7? or 9?) in the morning. I opened my apartment door to a wall of smoke. What happened next is a blur in my memory, but it seemed to happen... Read more
Lately, the hardest part about reviewing children’s books is that my eight-year-old finds the basket I’m saving them in and claims them. That, or my five-year-old sees something pretty and needs the basket (or wherever I’m piling them) for a project. These three books are books I’ve barely managed to keep from getting dog-eared and well-loved by my children, and there’s a reason for that: they’re beautiful. While these books are about very different topics, they represent what’s good and... Read more
Once a Spy by Keith Thomson My rating: 4 of 5 stars I came across this thanks to Mystery Scene magazine where I have found many great recommendations. Imagine a super spy managing to live long enough to develop Alzheimer’s. What happens when he may inadvertently let slip some of the big secrets he knows? Such is the premise of this really enjoyable book. Drummond Clark is the aging spy in question. His son Charlie is addicted to betting at... Read more
So what does Dick have to say about surviving and prevailing in this world? […] Instead he focused on human decency, as expressed through empathy and sacrifice. In his work, characters often come through by doing the hard thing at the right moment. … This is what Dick has to offer — something beyond mere politics; a glimpse at what makes us human. The moral law within, the ability to tell good from evil without actually being able to define... Read more
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of reading a pre-release review copy of Sam Rocha’s new book, A Primer on Philosophy and Education. The book is not (nor does it pretend to be) a general introduction to Western philosophy; rather, it’s an introduction to philosophical thinking, especially as it applies to education—and here Rocha has a bit of fun. Rocha is a philosopher of education, and from that and the title of the book one might think that... Read more
The first part of this year has seen a quite amazing batch of books coming my way. And since I may not be the only one trying to come up with a few great Mother’s Day ideas, I thought I’d share links to a few of these newly-released books and (not always) brief reviews. The mom in your life is sure to love any of these books. They’re listed alphabetically by title, in case you were wondering. 🙂 Blessed, Beautiful,... Read more
Last week, if you had asked me, in all seriousness, where God’s favorite place was on earth—or if he even had one—I would have probably wrinkled my eyebrows and then defaulted into “Well, duh! Ohio!” as a non-answer. Because, really? A favorite place on earth? For God? Blame the Patheos Book Club (again!) for introducing me to an author and a reading experience I would have otherwise missed completely: God’s Favorite Place on Earth, by the apparently awesomesauce Frank Viola, whose work I will... Read more
Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word: Meditations on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew by Erasmo Leiva Merikakis Yes it’s 700 pages and only covers the first third of the Gospel of Matthew. And your point is …? That I might not live long enough to finish all three books? If I don’t finish the 2,100 pages or so by then, hopefully I’ll be in a place where God will fill me in on what I missed. Actually I’d... Read more
I am usually rather delighted whenever I find a book to review in my mailbox. When I received American Church: The Remarkable Rise, Meteoric Fall, and Uncertain Future of Catholicism in America I was certainly eager to read it. This new release by Russell Shaw is put out by Ignatius Press. It seems book subtitles are becoming much like news headlines as a kind of summary meant to bring you in. Although news headlines often do not have much to... Read more
The Abbey by Chris Culver My rating: 3 of 5 stars Ever seen those books from the 1960s where one volume had two books, with one printed upside-down and back-to-back with the other? That concept is why wound up with this book. I requested The Outsider from the Amazon Vine program. I found … lucky me! … that the publisher had the first book in the series upside-down and backed up to it. Turns out The Abbey was a huge... Read more
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