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!
12-3-25 The Gift of the Angel Tree - Catholic Teen Books Writers - The talented writers at Catholic Teen Books collaborate each year to write a short Christmas tale. This is a beautiful story about a grieving man in late 19th-century Chicago who rediscovers the spirit of Christmas. I absolutely loved this story. It is perfect for a quick feel-good holiday read.
12-7-25 Twice - Mitch Albom - Books by Albom are always thought-provoking and worth reading. This one features a man who has the ability to relive moments in his life to try to get them right, but he is stuck with the second version of events. As with any time-travel story, you can't think about it too hard, but it raises the question: If you could go back in time and change things, would you?
12-15-25 Pocket Bear - Katherine Applegate - I enjoyed this middle-grade novel and learned some things about the history of teddy bears. It features a pocket bear, a bear made to accompany a soldier and bring comfort during WWI, and a cat, Zephyrina, who helps to rescue abandoned stuffed animals and bring them home to their owners, a Ukrainian mother and daughter who escaped the war-torn country. The mother and daughter fix up the toys and help them find new homes, but they have to look out for an unscrupulous toy collector.
12-18-25 A Heart on Consignment - Mindy Steele - No one in her Amish community of Havenlee, Indiana, wants to court Salina Stolzfus, but that doesn't stop her mother from inviting every eligible young man to dinner. When Seth Weaver comes to town after being jilted right before his wedding, the last thing he wants to do is fall in love, but he soon becomes friends with Salina, especially as they work together to open a consignment shop to help people in need. (Read for a book review publication)
12-18-25 One Star, Three Kings: The Journey of Epiphany - Rebecca Grabill - This picture book provides some backstory for Balthasar, Caspar, and Melchior as they follow the star to search for the Christ child. Interspersed within the story are nonfiction sections that describe what we know about the magi, the prophecies from the Old Testament that guided their search, what the star may have been, the gifts they brought, and the way Epiphany is celebrated. I wish that the story and the nonfiction sections were separated, with one in the front and one in the back, because I think it disrupts the storytelling value of this book, but it is a lovely picture book to share for Epiphany.
12-22-25 A Very Chapel Falls Christmas - Amanda Lauer - This story will appeal to fans of Hallmark Christmas rom-coms. A famous singer returns to his hometown of Chapel Falls, where his ex-fiancee just happens to have gotten a job working for the mayor. As they get thrown together at various Christmas events, old feelings start to grow, and well, you know where this is going.
12-28-25 My Beloved - Jan Karon - I had read many (though not all) of the Mitford books years ago and was excited to see this was a new one. It was also an unexpected Christmas story! It was a delight to be back visiting old fictional friends in this story, and it was also unusual in that two of the sets of main characters are elderly (one set in their 80s, the other in their 90s). However, this book had many characters and storylines to keep track of, and I got lost in parts.
1-3-26 Smithsonian American Women - Smithsonian Institution - This was a fascinating look at objects in the Smithsonian collection that relate to American women's history. I've always been interested in women's history, and it is remarkable the light that certain items can shed on that story.
Since the 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 junior year).
12-6-25 The Social Contract - Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Rousseau was born in Geneva in 1712. He worked as an engraver's apprentice and became a Catholic convert (although he fathered five children and abandoned them to a foundling home). In 1762, he wrote this work, which was his crowning achievement of political philosophy. He discusses various forms of government and how they came to be as well as the innate rights of people.
12-21-25 Discourse on Metaphysics - Baron Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz - Leibniz (1646-1716) was a German polymath, best known for helping invent calculus. This was a philosophical work more geared to theology that I found interesting as he wrestled with many of the big questions of life that I have also struggled with - such as the problems of evil, free will vs. God's omnipotence, why God makes people, etc. There are no certain answers to any of these questions. Some things we just need to take on faith; others are beyond are understanding. But it was interesting to read, and I hope that someday (in the next world), I understand these things. I liked that he believed animal souls are eternal (I do, too).
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