With the recent news of the bones of Richard III being found it reminds me of a quite unique book. The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey. It is unique in a couple of ways. For one it is a detective story that takes place totally within the confines of a hospital room. For another it is a historical detective novel where the detective looks into the history of Richard III and whether he was actually responsible for the death of his... Read more
If you’re a fan of real-life ghost stories, then this is the book for you. If you’re a fan of truckers, those modern-day “cowboys” of the highways, then this book is doubly for you. Truckers are on the road at all times of night, in all weather, and, evidently, when every sort of ghost, monster, or UFO is out and about. This collection of stories runs the gamut from terrifying to tame. I was fascinated by the story of a... Read more
In one of the geek related podcasts I listen to I heard reference to The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern’s first novel. The various members of this podcast all recommended it The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called “Le Cirque des Rêves”, and it is only open at night. But behind the... Read more
The Tribune by Patrick Larkin My rating: 4 of 5 stars Promoted to a tribune of the Sixth Legion, Lucius Aurelius’s task is to quell a war in Galilee that has already claimed the lives of the Emperor’s foot soldiers. But the scene of the alleged slaughter turns up only a peaceful settlement of farmers, leaving the suspicious Lucius to question why has he been sent on such a futile mission… I really enjoyed this book about young tribune Lucius... Read more
When the King Was Carpenter by Maria von Trapp My rating: 5 of 5 stars I discovered this poking around in the Kindle resources after seeing a book by Maria von Trapp was used by CatholicCulture.org for their liturgical year e-books (which I really, really like, by the way). What a treasure this little book is. Unable to answer questions from her children about what Jesus ate for breakfast, von Trapp began asking priests and collecting books to find out... Read more
On Friday, I outlined my Lenten reading plan. On Sunday, I read Cultivating God’s Garden through Lent by Margaret Rose Realy and my Lenten reading plan changed. I didn’t intend to read it all in one day, but it was one of those Sundays where I had both the time and the inclination. And the book pulled me through. It’s filled with images that make me feel dirt under my fingers, with descriptions that make me scrunch my nose at the... Read more
When it comes to a plot concerning Jesus and time travel there are about a million ways this will go horribly wrong. Some authors have already explored those paths to failure. On one side you could get the skeptic concerned more about debunking than storytelling and on the other side a Christian who is just is not a good storyteller or writer. So normally a book with this premise is one I would pass by. With those caveats being made,... Read more
Drama. Intrigue. Famine. Flight of the Earls, which is the first in a trilogy by Emmy and Telly award-winning writer and producer Michael K. Reynolds. There are pretty women and poverty-stricken beggars, multiple trans-atlantic voyages and enough action and character development to have kept me up reading later than I intended and thinking about where things could be going when I was waiting to pick it back up again. I’d call this historical fiction–with a definite romantic bend, though not so... Read more
James Hitchcock has written a new one volume history of the Catholic Church. History of the Catholic Church: From the Apostolic Age to the Third Millennium. A one volume history of the Catholic Church is quite an undertaking and to do it in a bit over 530 pages is not a simple task. Writing only 500 pages on any century of the Church would be a difficult task. Creating a one volume history imposes many expected limitations, but if done... Read more
Yes, it is St. Francis de Sales’ feast day and we’re discussing his classic Introduction to the Devout Life at A Good Story is Hard to Find. When I add that neither of us had any idea this episode would air on St. Francis’ feast day, you’ll know we were meant to read this book! Join us! Read more
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