Adults

This should not be the first book you read about St. Francis. It is a book for those who are already familiar with the saint. It is a novelization, or fictionalization of the adult life of St. Francis, as told through the eyes of a fictional Brother Leo.

The story is well woven by Kazantzakis, a prolific writer who spent most of his life (1883-1957) in Greece, but who gave up his Greek Orthodox faith at some point in his life (and did not embrace any other faith), who was introduced to St. Francis when he visited the city of Assisi.

At first glance, Edge of Sadness by Edwin O’Connor is a walk down memory lane. A memory of the American Catholic church before Vatican II, before the priest scandals. A lovely, nostalgic read.

But the thing that makes this book worthy of the Pulitzer Prize it won in 1962 is the fact that O’Connor’s story is truly ageless. The characters are drawn from humanity, painted with the author’s word-brush so lovingly and carefully that by the end of the book you know each of these folks intimately. And, you like them, in spite of their less-than-virtuous actions.

Thomas Woods, Jr. wrote a book to amend the erroneous attitude prevalent in society today – the Catholic Church has had only a negative impact on Western Civilization. Titled, How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, Dr. Woods, a history professor at a community college in New York, details the many contributions of the Catholic Church throughout history, primarily during the “Dark Ages” and “Middle Ages”.

At first glance, Edge of Sadness by Edwin O’Connor is a walk down memory lane. A memory of the American Catholic church before Vatican II, before the priest scandals. A lovely, nostalgic read.

But the thing that makes this book worthy of the Pulitzer Prize it won in 1962 is the fact that O’Connor’s story is truly ageless. The characters are drawn from humanity, painted with the author’s word-brush so lovingly and carefully that by the end of the book you know each of these folks intimately. And, you like them, in spite of their less-than-virtuous actions.

This book is a collection of thirty-six "journal entries" (one for each week of the school-year) - stories about the author's family life and homeschooling intertwined with scripture, recipes and her own reflections about life and God's love. (Neat, huh?) The stories are touching, funny, encouraging, sad, uplifting - just like life in this imperfect world (particularly with a family) really is.

My husband and I finally went to see the Passion just last night (Monday of Holy Week). It was a very powerful and thought-provoking movie. There are a few things in particular that I think make it stand out from other movies I've seen about the Life of Christ.

This is a powerful film; it made me weep, and turn away, and flinch. During much of the movie I was thinking, "I'm sorry, Lord, I'm sorry". My husband and I walked out of the theater barely able to speak, feeling raw and emotionally exhausted. It was absolutely the most intense movie I've ever seen, and every time I began to think, "It's only a movie", I also heard, "He really went through this."

Despite the fact that That Hideous Strength is the third book in the Space Trilogy none of it takes place in space. In fact it takes place in one of the most cozy, domestic settings you can think of. It is set in the small towns and College lounges of early 20th century England. The good guys live at St. Anne's - which is just a large home - and is named (here we go again with Lewis) after the Grandmother of our Lord. What could be more comforting?

Perelandra is Venus. Ransom gets sent to Venus on a mission. Of course it takes him some time to get settled with the new surroundings again.

This volume contains two books "Emily's Book" and "Mary's Book" - both written for relatives of the author who were interested in learning more about Emily Dickinson. Martha O'Keefe has been studying Emily Dickinson and learning to love her and her works for sixty years. She has also written a 400 page work comparing Emily Dickinson with St. John of the Cross.