#OpenBook for August 2026

 

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!

7-2-26 We Wish You a Messy Christmas - Melody Carlson -  One of the perks of being a book reviewer is getting to read Christmas books in the heat of summer, and Carlson's are always a delight. This one features a young couple who grew up as neighbors but fell in love when they reconnected in a nearby city. Unfortunately, the young woman's mother is a perfectionist who can't stand the young man's "messy" family. This was a fun read, and Carlson does a good job of portraying a woman with OCD and its effect on herself and her family. (Read for a book review publication)

7-2-26 In Vital Harmony: Charlotte Mason and the Natural Laws of Education - Karen Glass - Charlotte Mason is a big name in homeschooling circles, and I read this book to review for my homeschooling site. Glass does an excellent job of distilling Mason's thoughts on education for modern readers. It is recommended for anyone interested in learning more about Charlotte Mason and her educational philosophy. 
 

7-4-26 The Supper Club Saints - Claire Swinarski - I'm not sure how I felt about this story that portrays a Catholic family dealing with grief, change, and a daughter who had left to join a community of single moms led by an influencer who turned out to be dangerous. On the plus side, it is a Catholic novel published by a mainstream publisher (Avon). It features more swearing than I appreciate in a story; however, I acknowledge that, unfortunately, that is how most people speak today. The story is well-written, but it lacks the feel-good vibes that I tend to look for in my leisure reading. It's also the second book I've read about the dangers of influencer culture recently (I read Yesteryear, which I didn't include in my #OpenBook recommendations because it is rated R). If you are looking for an honest look at a family that loves each other but is struggling in many ways, this is a good one for you. 

7-9-26 Unwavering Heart: The Story of Rebekah - Angela Hunt - I never read biblical fiction on my own, but I was assigned this one for review. Hunt does a great job of making the tale of Isaac and Rebekah and their sons seem exciting and new, even though most people will be familiar with the story! If you enjoy biblical fiction, this is one you will want to read. (Read for a book review publication)

7-12-26 Rose in Bloom - Louis May Alcott - I had read Eight Cousins with my daughter and decided to read this sequel on my own. I did like this one a bit more. Rose is all grown up and trying to find her place in the world, including determining how to spend her large inheritance and deciding whom she should marry (of course, her main choices are all her first cousins, which I realize was done back when this was written, but now has a certain ick factor). Also, the one Asian character is portrayed in a ridiculing light (also normal for that time period, but once again, ick). This is a book I no doubt would have loved as a young girl, but it hits differently as an adult.  

7-16-26 The Forbidden Caller - This is the enjoyable second book of the Amish Widows Club series, but it can be read alone. Jenna Gruber is a young widow raising her daughter on her own after her husband died in a workplace accident at a lumber mill. The owner of the mill feels responsible for the accident and does all he can to help out Jenna and her daughter. Over time, their feelings for each other deepen, but he is Englisch and she's Amish, plus Jenna's in-laws are adamantly opposed to Jenna moving on from her grief. (Read for a book review publication.)

7-17-26 Mimi and Maurice: A Novel Based on a True Story - Jo Taylor - This story is based on the real-life relationship of someone a grandmother of a friend of the author knew and was put together based on their letters. The names have been changed. The two are distant cousins who never meet, but fall in love via letter. He is in Belgium and the Congo, while she is in San Francisco. They get engaged in 1936 and plan to meet in three years, but just as it seems they may get their happily-ever-after, World War II intervenes. The story covers the span of over twenty years and features several excerpts from their letters. It is an interesting historical portrait of a unique relationship, but because it was based on real life and real life is often messy, it may leave readers feeling unsatisfied. (Read for a book review publication.) 

7-18-26 All for Her: The Autobiography of Fr. Patrick Peyton, C.S.C. - I am a writer for CatholicMom.com, which is part of Holy Cross Family Ministries, which began with the work of Ven. Patrick Peyton (1909-1992), a priest who devoted his life to promoting the Rosary and family prayer. It was amazing to read how God opened doors for him and the wonderful response to his message. It is a message that is so, so needed in our world today. If families would only pray together, life would be so much better, and yet, I know what a hard sell that is, even in my own family. Still, this book was informative and inspiring, and I highly recommend it.  

7-24-26 A Plain Confession - Suzanne Woods Fisher - This is the third book in a series I've enjoyed about a former Amish woman who returns to serve the Amish community as a doctor. Her brother is the local bishop. This one featured a couple of medical mysteries and a man who ran away from the Amish when he was sixteen, leaving his pregnant girlfriend behind, who has come back to seek forgiveness and the child he never met before he dies. (Read for a book review publication)

 

7-26-26 All Booked Up - Melody Carlson - After reading Carlson's newest Christmas book (above), I realized that she had another new book out I hadn't read. This was a delightful leisure read about a widowed woman in her early sixties who decides to rent out rooms to other older women in her spacious Victorian home in order to keep her house. They are an eclectic mix of women and trying to live together peacefully will be more of a challenge than they expect. 

7-27-26 Women of Wisdom: God Called, They Answered - Dawn Rusinko, OFS - This is a Bible study guide that would be a good resource for a Catholic women's group. Rusinko offers studies of Rahab, Hagar, the Widow of Zarephath, Susanna, the Hemorrhaging Woman, Jael & Deborah, and shows how God worked in their lives, along with lessons we can learn from them. Discussion questions are included.

7-27-26 Lord of the Flies - William Golding - I read this classic written in 1954 with my fifteen-year-old daughter. It tells of a group of British schoolboys who are alone on a deserted island, their efforts to stay alive, and their descent into warring factions and savagery. It is a novel about "the darkness of man's hearts." 

7-28-26 The Lamb of God: The Story of Our Lady of Knock - Fr. Donald Calloway and Patrick O'Hearn - This picture book provides a lovely introduction to the Marian apparition at Knock, Ireland, on August 21, 1879, in which a group of visionaries of all ages saw Our Lady, St. Joseph, St. John the Evangelist, and an image of a lamb with a cross behind it. While no words were spoken, the vision still provided a powerful message of hope to the people struggling with the Irish famine.  

7-30-26 Devoted to Love - Tracie Peterson - This is the third book in a series about a philanthropic Minnesota family, but it can be read as a standalone. This one is set as the winds of World War I are blowing in Europe, and America will likely enter the war soon. But back in Minnesota, a young heiress opens a home for society girls facing unplanned pregnancies to honor her friend who was sent away when she became pregnant and then died in childbirth. This story has a content warning in the front matter because one of the girls she helps is a teen who was repeatedly raped by her father's political associate. (Read for a book review publication) 
 

7-31-26 The 6 Types of Working Genius: A Better Way to Understand Your Gifts, Your Frustrations, and Your Team - Patrick Lencioni - Lencioni covers six types of "geniuses" that relate to getting things done, whether it be in the workplace, church, or at home. He emphasizes that most people have two areas they are strong in, two areas that they are competent in, and two areas that really frustrate them, but a team needs to have some members that can do each of these if it is going to function well. This book gave me insight into my own strengths and weaknesses, and it also prompted some interesting conversations with my family members as we discussed what gifts they each had and how that relates to their respective workplaces and in our family. As a side note, this book had a Catholic dimension, as one of the stories dealt with getting ready for a festival at a Catholic church. 

 

8-1-26 The Midnight Train - Matt Haig - This thought-provoking novel features an old man who dies and faces the review of his life before moving on to eternity. He gets on a train with a bookseller he knew in his youth as his guide, and the train stops at various moments in his life (both good and bad) that changed him. It got me thinking about what scenes in my own life I might see. It was a compelling story with shades of A Christmas Carol and The Five People You Meet in Heaven. 

8-2-26 Free Form Quilts + Patchwork - Jessie Cutts - This is a good book on quilting for those who want to try out quilting without being too fussy about it. Cutts' method uses scraps you have on hand and doesn't rely on patterns. It is a fun introduction to quilting that also allows you to use up scraps of materials and recycle them into something new. 
 

 

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 senior year). 

7-1-26 Metaphysics - Aristotle - In this work (which I admit I didn't understand a whole lot of), Aristotle defines a whole bunch of philosophical terms and discusses causes, being, and substance.   

7-7-26 On Being and Essence - Thomas Aquinas - This document had the blessing of being short! I am not a philosopher, and much like Metaphysics above, I didn't understand much of this one.  As the title suggests, Aquinas is exploring being and essence, the composition of material substances and the essence of immaterial substances. He also discusses the unity of body and soul, which, according to the footnotes on the version I was reading, was a radical change from those who came before him who preached a dualism of body and soul. 

7-23-26 Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy and His System of the World - Sir Isaac Newton - I primarily skimmed this massive tome full of mathematical proofs beyond my comprehension. It featured his laws of motion (which I recognized!) and the motion of bodies, especially those in space. I have since begun reading Opticks by Newton. In the preface of that book, I. Bernard Cohen discusses how Principia was difficult for even trained scientists to understand: "Not only was the masterpiece written in an austere mathematical style, consisting largely of definitions, theorems, scholia, and demonstrations, but it was in a definite sense written in archaic mathematical language." I feel better about my ignorance now. 

 

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Purchases made after clicking a link help support this site. Thank you!

The Little Rose That Could

 

I live at the end of a little dead-end street with only a few houses. For the past few years, the house at the other end of the street has had a beautiful front-yard garden of rose bushes. The breathtaking blooms always made me smile as I walked by.

But this year, I was sad to see someone has been mowing the yard and rose bushes every few weeks. My teen daughter thinks the woman who cared for them moved out, and the man left behind doesn’t want anything that reminds him of her. Whatever the reason, the rose bushes keep growing a few inches and then getting cut down to little stems.

But the other day, I was walking my dog early in the morning and noticed, against all odds, that a red rose was blooming on a tiny little bush. I admired its beauty and snapped a photo to preserve it for posterity. 

One of the themes in my house this summer has been perseverance. I have a chalkboard in my kitchen where I write inspirational messages and “Don’t give up!” has been up there since the start of June. But that little flower embodied that message better than words ever could. You can bloom even when all the odds are against you. God can bring a moment of beauty when you least expect it.

#OpenBook for July 2026

 

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!

 

6-3-26 Life: A Love Story - Elizabeth Berg - This quick read (about 200 pages) was so good. Flo is 92, a widow with not much time left to live. She was never able to have children, but she was good friends with a young girl, Ruthie, who grew up next to her. She decides to leave her house and all its belongings to Ruthie, but she wants to tell her the story of the (emotional) value of some of the items, so she begins to write her a letter, in which readers learn the story of her life, especially her relationship with her husband. Interspersed with the letter is Flo's modern-day friendship with Tessa, a 51-year-old death doula. 

 

6-8-26 An Accusing at the Old Bailey - Erica Vetsch - This is the conclusion of a Regency-era series about an undercover spy, Sir Bertrand Thorndike, and his relationship with Phillipa Cashel, who runs a home for former ladies of the night and sometimes works on cases with him. He's once again on the case, this time holding a science symposium to discover which scientist might be a spy, but when one of the scientists turns up dead and his friend is a prime suspect, Bertie must solve the case before his friend is hanged. This is definitely not a stand-alone, but the whole series is enjoyable. (Read for a book review publication)

 

6-10-26 Painting Wonder: How Pauline Baynes Illustrated the Worlds of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien - I saw this book advertised and it piqued my interest. I'd never heard of Pauline Baynes (1922-2008) before reading this picture book, and it was interesting to read about her and her role in bringing the worlds of Narnia and Middle-Earth to life.  

6-11-26 The Marquess's Masked Archer - Abbey Downey - When I was assigned this book for review and saw the cover and title, I sighed. I do not get paid enough to read these kinds of books! But I was pleasantly surprised. This was an Austen-esque romance set in 1907 Ohio society (Did I know before reading this that Ohio had a big society scene in the early 1900s? No, I did not.) Sylvie's mother is determined to marry her off, but she has other plans, which include performing as a disguised archer at the local amusement park. Meanwhile, the Marquess of Rockingham is in town for the summer working as an etymologist. While he had no interest in love, Sylvie catches his eye and he finds himself on a mission to woo her. This was a fun, lighthearted romance. (Read for a book review publication)

6-12-26 Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain - Maryanne Wolf - This is an older book (2008) and I imagine some of the information has been updated since then, but it was a fascinating look at the history and neuroscience of literacy, with a special section on dyslexia. It demonstrated through brain imaging how dyslexic brains work differently to read, almost in the same way that someone who has had a stroke can use different neural pathways to do tasks that they used to do automatically before their stroke. One of the great ironies of my life is that I, the great book lover, have a highly creative dyslexic daughter who hates books with the fire of a thousand suns. Wolf quotes an anonymous dyslexic child as saying, "I would rather clean the mold around the bathtub than read." I showed that to my daughter, who agreed 100%. 

 

6-13-26 The Patchwork Players - Jennifer Chiaverini - I'm always excited to read a new book in the Elm Creek Quilt series. This one is set in 2004. An aging actress doesn't want the period series she is part of to end, even though several of the other actors are ready to move on. In a last-ditch effort to keep the group together, she signs them all up for a quilting retreat with the Elm Creek Quilters. It was good to visit with my old friends in this series. 

6-16-26 Painting Prayer: Why Faith Needs Art-and Art Needs Faith - Alfonse Borysewicz - Borysewicz is a Brooklyn-based abstract artist who describes himself as "a painter who loves theology, struggles with his faith, and works out both through painting." In this largely autobiographical book, he explores the connection between abstract religious art and the Catholic faith. I'm always interested in the connection between art and faith, so I found it worth reading, even though his artistic expression does not appeal to my artistic sensibility. (Read for Catholic Library World) 

6-18-26 Murder, Plainly Written - Mindy Steele - Steele kicks off a new series about a group of Amish writers known as The Plain Order Ink Society. When Englischer Sadie Lynch, a bestselling romance writer, moves to town, Wanda (a member of the society) is excited to befriend her and meet a real author. But when Sadie is accused of murder, Wanda and her friends are on the case, working to clear her name. 
 

 6-18-26 Eight Cousins - Louisa May Alcott - I had never read this book by the author of Little Women, but I had a copy on my bookshelf and decided to read it to my fifteen-year-old daughter. It is about a thirteen-year-old who is being cared for by her aunts and uncles after being left an orphan and the experiences she has with them and her cousins (all of whom are boys). It is an old-fashioned story, and it was a bit young for my daughter. I'd say this would be a good read for a preteen girl who enjoys 19th-century tales. I've heard the sequel to this, Rose in Bloom, is good. I might get it from the library to read myself. 

6-21-26 Common Sense 101: Lessons from G.K. Chesterton - Dale Ahlquist - There is a new Chesterton School in the works in my area. While I had heard of G.K. Chesterton, I've never read anything by him or known much about him. I decided to fix that a bit by requesting this book from the library. I feel like I got a good introduction to his work and thought. He was definitely a prolific writer and had a deep love for his wife. Much of his work was thought-provoking. However, the chapter title "Feminism and Other Fads" (and some of the content within that chapter) did make me cringe. 

6-23-26 Jesus Said, "Be Not Afraid!" - Janele Hoerner - This is a picture book designed for children ages 5-12 who are siblings of children with special needs, but the message is one we all need to hear: that we are loved, that we are called to serve and pray for each other, and that we can trust in Jesus even when life is hard (as someone who suffers from anxiety, that last one is so much easier said than done). 

 6-24-26 Every Given Day - Cathy Gohlke - This was an interesting novel set in 1918-1935. A schoolteacher's estranged sister is dying of TB and she goes to New York to care for her niece and nephew. There is the minor complication that her sister married the man she had been in love with when they were young. He's now a successful businessman, but also remarkably self-centered, with little care for anyone, including his family. After the Spanish flu takes a huge toll on the family, her nephew is diagnosed with juvenile diabetes, a death sentence of its own. When a kind Scottish doctor offers her a thread of hope, she grasps on to it, even though it is a difficult road. Gohlke illustrates the tragic cost of Type I diabetes in the days before insulin treatments and portrays the miraculous development of that treatment.  

 6-27-26 Chasing the Clouds Away - Debbie Macomber - I brought this book on retreat with me to read in my leisure time. It was a feel-good romance about a poor young woman who teaches a rich young man the meaning of generosity and caring for others. They fall in love in the process, but ironically her pride makes her push both him and his generosity towards her away. 

 

 

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 senior year). 

6-5-26 On the Passion of Christ (Summa, Part 3, Questions 46-59) - Thomas Aquinas - These questions explore the Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus, along with his role as judge of the world. 

6-17-26 Physics - Aristotle -  In this work, Aristotle discusses causes, motion, and infinity. He also develops the idea of a "first mover" who must be indivisible, one, and eternal. 

 

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Purchases made after clicking a link help support this site. Thank you!

#OpenBook for June 2026

 

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!

5-10-26  This Book Made Me Think of You - I read this Mother's Day weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. If you saw the movie P.S. I Love You, with Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler, or read the book by the same name by Cecelia Ahern, it definitely has a similar vibe. A husband dying of cancer arranges with a local bookstore for his wife to have one book and an accompanying letter given to her each month to help her work through her grief and keep living.  

 5-11-26 Pretty as a Peach - Grace Helena Walz- The Five have been friends all their lives, but a MLM company that promises cosmetic miracles and riches to those who sell it threatens to tear the thirty-something women apart. This Southern story, set in Georgia, is a testament to the power of friendship and features a touch of romance. (Read for a book review publication.)

 5-15-26 When the Silence Breaks - Elizabeth Goddard - In this gripping adventure, Former CIA operations officer Sarah Ellison goes to the small town of Mercy Ridge in Washington State to discover the truth behind her brother's suspicious death. Her brother had been hunting down information about a WWII mission that their grandfather mentioned on his deathbed. The place he was flying officially crashed in the Pacific, but the wreckage actually lies on Blackspire Mountain. She hires guide Ryder Goodwin to take her up, but this trip may be way more than he bargained for. (Read for a book review publication.) 

 

5-17-26 The Promise of a Nation: Celebrating 250 Years of Patriotism, Resilience, and Aspirations from the National Collection - Smithsonian - This is a museum in a book, featuring lots of images, timelines, and interesting information from the birth of the United States until the present day. As a history buff, I found this fascinating. 

5-19-26 Story of My Life - Helen Keller - I read this one with my daughter for school. I always find Keller's story inspirational and am amazed by how she learned and did so much while being both blind and deaf, with the help of her teacher, Anne Sullivan. (As an aside, Anne Sullivan was born in Agawam, Massachusetts, about a 1/2 hour drive from where I live. They have a monument to her there.) 

5-22-26 Daughters of the Wreckage - Stefanie Koens - This is a powerful dual-timeline story centered around the 1628 ill-fated Batavia shipwreck, which I had never heard about before reading this book. In the modern day, Tess McCarthy is grieving her father, who was a historian, and working to finish his last academic paper about the shipwreck. She also wants to know more about her ancestor Aris Jansz, who was the undersurgeon on the voyage. In 1628, orphan Saskia Pietersz embarks from the Netherlands with her aunt and cousin, but the journey is hazardous, and once the ship crashes, things only get worse. (Read for a book review publication.)

5-24-26 In This House of Brede - Rumer Godden - I read this classic work of Catholic fiction on the recommendation of Barb Szyszkiewicz and Carolyn Astfalk and I enjoyed it a great deal. It offers a fictional behind-the-scenes look at a Benedictine Monastery set in England in the 1950s and 1960s, including as they navigate the winds of change of Vatican II. It made me think about the lives of consecrated women in a way I hadn't before, especially the pasts that they might carry with them. 

5-22-26 The Best Dog in the World - Alice Hoffman - I'm a dog lover, and so, I am always up for a good book about dogs. In this collection, a number of writers, including Amy Tan, Jodi Picoult, and Adriana Trigiani, share essays about the dogs that have touched their lives. 

5-25-26 Magnifica Humanitas - Pope Leo XIV - I was excited to dive into Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical. There is much to reflect on in it, but I especially appreciated his overview of the history of Catholic social teaching since the publication of Rerum Novarum, his denunciation of slavery in all its forms, and his encouragement to use AI with discernment.    

 5-28-26 In These Hills - Tamera Alexander - In 1905 Atlanta, suffragist Josephine Dunham kills the mayor's son in self-defense and has to run for her life. Beaten and bruised, she escapes to the small town of Lynchburg, Tennessee, where she ends up working for the Jack Daniel's Distillery, despite being staunchly against alcohol. Transplanted from the city to the country and in profoundly changed circumstances, she learns life isn't as black and white as she thought it to be. Jack Daniel is a prominent character in this story. I knew nothing about the man previously. It turns out he was quite a generous soul and had an interesting backstory. (Read for a book review publication.)

5-30-26 Off the Spectrum: Why the Science of Autism has Failed Women and Girls - Gina Rippon - I picked up this book from the library because I was interested in how Autism presents in women and girls. This did touch on that, but it was more about the history of researching autism. 
 

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 senior year). 

5-22-26  On the Sacraments - Thomas Aquinas (Summa Part III, Questions 60-90) - This was an exploration of the sacraments, with a particular focus on Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, and Penance. While I knew most of the information included here, it was interesting to delve into the theological underpinnings of the sacraments. Aquinas is definitely a "leave no stone unturned" type of thinker/writer. I also appreciated reading about Confirmation as my daughter was confirmed right around the same time I was learning more about it. 

 

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Purchases made after clicking a link help support this site. Thank you!

#OpenBook for May 2026

 

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!

 4-7-26 Prayer Book for a Domestic Priest: Essential Prayers for Husbands and Fathers - Andrew Schmiedicke - This collection of prayers would make a lovely Father's Day gift for the Catholic husbands and fathers in your life. It offers daily prayers, prayers for the liturgical seasons, blessings, prayers for special needs, etc. It even includes a funeral rite for a pet. Small in size, it is easy to have on a nightstand or carry in a laptop bag for easy access. 

4-8-26 Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Save Lives - Daisy Fancourt - Fancourt is a professor of psychobiology and epidemiology at University College London. This book contains a lot of scientific information and statistics, but the TL/DR version is that art is good for your body and mental health no matter your age and there are scientific studies to prove it. So, pick up the paintbrush, sing a song, go to a theater performance or art museum and help your health at the same time. 

4-10-26 52 Weeks with Saint Faustina: A Year of Grace and Mercy - Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle - A couple of weeks before Lent I was searching for some spiritual practice to work on for the season when this book came in the mail. I don't know why it was sent to me - there was no message and it was published in 2018 so it wasn't a review copy, but I decided it was a sign I should read it for Lent, reading one chapter per day rather than one a week. I finished on the Friday before Divine Mercy Sunday. I've long had a devotion to the Divine Mercy message. I pray the chaplet daily and pray the Divine Mercy Novena each year from Good Friday to the day before Divine Mercy Sunday. This book examines St. Faustina's life and the Divine Mercy message. It is very well-written and encourages readers to practice works of mercy in their lives as well as to trust in Jesus' mercy. It also served as a vivid reminder of all the ways I fall short in my spiritual life. It is well worth reading. 

 

4-10-26 The Joy of Slow: Restoring Balance and Wonder to Homeschool Learning - Leslie M. Martino - I read this one to review on my homeschooling site (TodaysCatholicHomeschooling.com). The author worked for ten years as a classroom teacher and brings that experience, as well as that of homeschooling her children, to this book. She discusses the way children learn and emphasizes the importance of following student-led interests and cultivating an environment of learning in your home. 

4-12-26 - 12 Unforgettable Men of the Gospels: Reflections and Portraits of the Apostles - Melanie Rigney - I've never really spent much time thinking about the 12 Apostles, but Melanie Rigney changed that for me. These 12 portraits (Yes, Judas is included) highlight their role in Scripture and what is known of their lives after the Resurrection. Her goal was "to get the men Jesus chose off the stained glass and into your heart and soul." Rigney also includes a personal anecdote that relates to the Apostle, a prayer, and an additional, more recent saint who embodies some of the same character traits as that particular Apostle. If you've ever wanted to know more about this band of men who walked with Jesus, this is a great place to start.  

4-27-26 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee - I reread this classic with my fifteen-year-old daughter. It is a powerful tale of racial prejudice in a small southern town, as well as a portrait of people trying to do the right thing, told from the perspective of young Jean-Louise Finch, aka Scout.  

4-19-26 A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness - Michael Pollan - This work explores what it means to be aware. Starting with plants, moving to animals, and then focusing on humans, it looks at what makes us aware from both a philosophical and scientific viewpoint. It also investigates whether AI could be considered conscious. It raises some interesting questions without coming up with any conclusive answers, a fact the author admits. 

4-21-26 A Heart that's True - Mark Guillerman - While this book had some minor editing issues, it was a powerful story of two young Lakota Sioux fighting to preserve their culture when they are sent to the Carlisle Indian School in 1910. Another storyline features a mixed-breed Newfoundland / wolf pup who has a bounty on his head. (Read for a book review publication.)

4-27-26 Twilight Tactics - Lynette Eason - This is a suspense-filled story with danger at every turn. A federal agent, Sully, and his partner are trying to protect a teen murder witness by taking her to a secluded ranch that helps vets recover from PTSD. There, Sully meets the beautiful Elena Thompson, who works at the ranch. She grew up in the prepper community that lives nearby but escaped as a teen. It soon becomes evident that someone is out to kill both the murder witness and Elena. This one definitely kept my adrenaline going as I read it.   

4-29-26 Storybook Ending - Moira MacDonald - This story is set in a bookstore, which is being used to film a movie, causing disruption but also increased interest. It has a "You've Got Mail" vibe in some parts, which the book acknowledges, and features some mistaken identities and secret love letters that end up in the wrong hands. It was a fun, clean leisure read that is ultimately about the importance of friendship and community. As a content note, there are some gay supporting characters in this book. 

5-1-26 The Darling's Daughter - Sydney Schmied - This is the first in a series of books based in an old-time theater in Ohio. This one is set in 1912. A young woman takes a job at a theater to try to solve the mystery of her mother's death. She enlists the help of a construction foreman, who soon becomes a love interest. While it had a couple of minor plot problems, it was an entertaining romantic suspense. (Read for a book review publication.) 
 

5-3-26 Training the Hard to Train Dog: Effective Training Techniques for Working With Shy, Controlling, and Stubborn Dogs - Peggy Swager - My exuberant/high-maintenance dog has definitely made progress since we first adopted him over a year ago from a shelter, but he certainly is not going to win any awards for his manners and going for a walk is still a full-body workout, so I got this from the library in the hopes of helping train him more. It had lots of good ideas. We shall see if it helps.   
 

 

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 senior year). 

4-13-26  On the Trinity (Summa Theologiae Part I Q.27-43) - St. Thomas Aquinas - When I was in graduate school, I took a whole course on the Trinity. There is no quicker way to make your head hurt than to try to understand the mystery of the Trinity, but St. Thomas Aquinas gave it a valiant effort (and no doubt understood much more than I do). These were his thoughts on the procession, relations, and characteristics of the Divine Persons.  

 

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Purchases made after clicking a link help support this site. Thank you!