Welcome to #OpenBook. I'm joining up with Carolyn Astfalk who hosts an #OpenBook Linkup on CatholicMom.com.
Here's what I've been reading this past month. The
dates indicate when I finished the books. Thanks for
stopping by!
3-3-23 God's Superheroes: Amazing Catholic Women - Mary Bajda - There are so many books about Catholic saints out there that it can be hard to justify a new one, but this one definitely has much to offer! It is designed for kids ages 8-12 although it can certainly be appreciated by those who are older. It features cartoon-type illustrations that will get the attention of young people. What I found most interesting was some of the women who were included. While some well-known saints, blesseds, and servants of God were included, there were also some that I had never before heard of, such as Servant of God Maria Esperanza Medrano de Bianchini (1928-2004) who was a visionary and friend of Padre Pio, Blessed Catherine Jarrige (1754-1836) who was a high-energy sister who hid priests during the French Revolution, and Servant of God Satoko Kitahara (1929-1958), a Japanese woman who ministered to the poor.
3/3/23 In the Shadow of the River - Ann Gabhart - This is a suspense-filled romance about a young woman, Jacci, who is raised on a showboat after her mother meets a tragic end. Years later, Jacci's unknown past comes back to haunt her. Only God can help her make peace with the past in order to have a happy ending with the man she loves. (Read for a book review publication)
3/12/23 Love, Clancy: Diary of a Good Dog - W. Bruce Cameron - I'm a sucker for a good dog story. This was a fun leisure read featuring lots of dogs, zany humans, and romantic entanglements. Unfortunately, there were a handful of times the Lord's name was used irreverently.
3/16/23 The Secret to Happiness - Suzanne Woods Fisher - This was a lovely story about a young woman at a crossroads. Callie was an executive chef who lost her job after accidentally causing an outbreak of food poisoning. Depressed, she seeks refuge with her aunt and cousin, who run an ice cream shop in Cape Cod. This book offers some helpful lessons on finding happiness intertwined with an enjoyable story. Plus, I love ice cream! (Read for a book review publication).
3/19/23 All the Beauty in the World: the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me - Patrick Bringley - Visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art is on my bucket list and reading this book allowed me a literary exploration of that great museum. In the wake of his older brother's death, Patrick Bringley took a job as a security guard at the museum, where he would work for the next ten years. In this book, he discusses his grief, the art, his coworkers, and the patrons. His mother and his wife are both fallen-away Catholics and I found it interesting that in the midst of her grief, his mother turned toward an image of Mary with her dead Son, a pieta, for comfort. I really enjoyed this insider view of the museum. Unfortunately, this was another one that used the Lord's name in vain a few times. Why do author's find that necessary? Absent that, though, I highly recommend it for anyone who is an art lover.
3-24-23 God's Superheroes: Amazing Catholic Men - Mary Bajda - This was the companion book to the one above that I read about amazing Catholic women. I enjoyed this one just as much. Some of the men I enjoyed learning about were Nicholas Black Elk (1866-1950), a Lakota medicine man who became Catholic and sought to unite Native American and Catholic practices; Guido Schaffer (1974-2009) who was a Brazilian doctor who worked with the poor and ultimately became a seminarian before his untimely death while surfing; and Jerome Lejeune (1926-1994), a French doctor who championed the rights of those with Down syndrome and the unborn.
3/26/23 Lost Towns of the Swift River Valley Drowned by the Quabbin - Elena Palladino - This is a local history book about how, in early 1939, four small towns in central Massachusetts were destroyed in order to create a reservoir for the people of Boston who needed clean drinking water. This story profiles some of the people who lost their homes and how they said goodbye to their beloved community. It mostly focuses on the largest of the four towns which was Enfield, Massachusetts. It was an interesting book that I enjoyed.
3/30/23
Pope Francis on Eucharist - This small book offers 100 quotes from Pope Francis on the Eucharist. It offers much to consider during this time of the Eucharistic Revival. (Read for Catholic Library World)
3/31/23 Rescue in the Wilderness - Andrea Byrd - This is a tender romance set in 1779 in which two broken people find love in unexpected circumstances while facing the many dangers of the frontier in winter. (Read for a book review publication)
4/2/23 Dear Henry, Love Edith - Becca Kinzer - This Rom-Com was so much fun! It featured mistaken identities, zany small-town characters, and two lovable main characters trying to recover from their past. It was a delightful leisure read!
Since spring of 2019, I have been making my
way through the Great Books Curriculum of Thomas Aquinas College (I'm
currently working on the readings for sophomore year).
3/12/23 The Confessions - St. Augustine - Finally! A book on this list I was looking forward to reading. I think I've read The Confessions twice before in my life and enjoyed it each time. The title refers both to the confession of sins (Augustine talks about all he did wrong in his life) and praising God, which Augustine also does. Most of what we know about St. Monica (Augustine's long-suffering mother), we know from his depiction of her. Augustine also muses on time, memory, and creation. Fun fact - when I was in graduate school, I had to write a paper on Augustine's understanding of memory as depicted in this book. Anyway, I highly recommend this one if you have never read it before!
3/21/23 Concerning the Teacher - St. Augustine - I enjoyed this work by St. Augustine as well. It was written around 389 AD and is in the form of a dialogue between Augustine and his 15-year-old son Adeodatus. It is a philosophical work in which they discuss how words are sign and also explore how it is that we gain knowledge about anything.
My twelve-year-old daughter and I read the following books this month:
3-4-23 Louisiana's Way Home - Kate DiCamillo - This book takes place in the 1970s and features a girl and her "Granny" who have left home to escape a curse, but when her "Granny" leaves her abandoned at a hotel, Louisiana will have to figure out how to make her own way in the world. I usually enjoy DiCamillo's books, but this one wasn't one of my favorites.
3-27-23 Endling: The Last - Katherine Applegate - This work of fantasy/adventure (and the first book in a three-book series) focuses on a dairne ,who is the last of her species after the rest were murdered, and the friends who become his new family as he is trying to escape from those who want her dead as well. My daughter and I both enjoyed it and we have started reading book two in the series.
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