#OpenBook for October 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!

9-4-26 War-Torn Love - Angela K. Couch - There are a lot of WWII novels out there, but this one focuses on what happens after the war as a young couple, who were engaged before he went to war, but now must get to know each other again and face the consequences of his alcohol-fueled poor choices when he was overseas. I really enjoyed this one. The author did a great job of portraying the tension and love between the main characters. (Read for a book review publication.)
 

9-7-26 Are They Dead Yet? The Art of the Obit - Sam Roberts - I enjoy reading obituaries in my local paper. I pray for the dead, but I also find it interesting to read about people's lives. Sam Roberts has written many obits for The New York Times. I couldn't help but think of the character Jeremy Piven played in Serendipity (one of my favorite movies), who had a job writing obits for the same famous paper. In any event, this book had some insights about writing obituaries and how people are chosen to be profiled in The New York Times when they die. I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped I would, but it was worth reading. And yes, I do have my own obit written, which I update as needed.  

 

9-9-26 The Christmas Courier - Roseanna M. White - In my job as a book reviewer, I have the opportunity to read lots of Christian fiction, which I enjoy, but it is always a pleasant surprise to be assigned one with strong Catholic characters This World War II features both a priest and religious sister as siblings of the heroine, and her romantic interest has a deepening of his nominal religious faith, becoming a devoted Catholic. All of the main characters work for the French Resistance, and when one of them is captured by the Gestapo, it will take a Christmas miracle to win his freedom. One sentence I thought was beautiful. The priest visits the man in prison and gives him the Eucharist: "The wafer tasted like a promise on his tongue." (Read for a book review publication) 

9-13-26 Discover Her Art: Women Artists and Their Masterpieces - Jean Leibowitz nd Lisa Labanca Rogers - I don't even recall how I ended up requesting this book from the library, but I really enjoyed it. It is geared to younger readers (ages 9 and up), but anyone can appreciate these profiles of women artists, many of whom I had not previously heard of. It also offers tips on drawing and painting. You honestly could create a whole art class based on this book.  

9-15-26 The Palace Spy - Tessa Afshar - This is the third book of a trilogy set in Queen Esther's court after the events of the Bible. I've enjoyed all the books and they can each be read as standalones. This one features a young woman who wants to work as a horse groom in the palace, but when she is waiting in line to apply, she sees a royal horse about to bolt, and she ends up rescuing the queen. Not only does she end up working in the stables, but when she notices the horses' padding had been tampered with, Danna is also recruited to work as a spy to determine who is out to kill the queen. (Read for a book review publication.)  

 

9-15-26 Ineffable: Learning to Love the God Beyond Words - Allison Auth - This is a beautiful guide to prayer, which includes both speaking to and listening to God. It includes coming to know God through Scripture, various types of prayer, discerning God's voice, and spending time with God in silence. Allison shares stories from her own life and experience of prayer. She has truly been blessed with a close experience of God and offers practical advice on deepening one's relationship with God.  

9-16-26 Practicing Radical Advent: Purposeful Waiting in Seasons of Change - Laurie Brink, OP - We usually think of "advent" in terms of the liturgical season, but this book focuses on advent as any time of change and waiting in our life. Change can often be difficult. Brink shares personal stories and also invites readers to reflect on people from the Bible who also experienced times of change. This is recommended for anyone struggling with change. (Read for Catholic Library World.)

9-16-26 Discover Mary - Colleen Pressprich - This is a beautiful book for children (and adults) on the Blessed Mother. It is full of color images and information about the historical Mary, Mary in Scripture, Marian apparitions, and Marian devotions. I loved reading this one and learned some new things in the process! 

9-20-26 The Story of Your Life: How Social Media Shapes the Way We Experience Everything - Kathryn Jezer-Morton - The author is a Millennial in her early 40s and has been posting on social media most of her adult life (I am so thankful social media was not a thing when I was young). She explores how we curate our lives for social media and also how the stories we view about others shape how we view our own lives. It doesn't come to any conclusions. She's not out to have people stop posting online, but there are a lot of interesting observations that made me think. 

9-24-26 Rebecca's Patchwork Love - Anne Blackburne - While not advertised as such, this is actually a Christmas story (which was a pleasant surprise for me as I love Christmas stories). Rebecca works for an elderly friend in her quilt shop, indulges her delight in all things Christmas, and is happily single at age 28. Rudy is the younger brother-in-law of a friend. He's 24, but she still thinks of him as a kid until their paths keep crossing. This is a feel-good, Hallmark-movie-type story. Unfortunately, it isn't being released until January, but I'm a firm believer that any time of year is good for a Christmas story. (Read for a book review publication)  

9-27-26 The Mythmakers:The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien - John Hendriix - This is a graphic novel that explores the relationship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien and how they influenced each other's works. I knew more about Lewis than Tolkien going into this book, and learned some new things. It's a good book for teens and up interested in the topic, especially those who enjoy graphic novels. 

10-2-26 The Falcon's Echo - Elizabeth Camden - This story is set at the Naval Academy in 1905 and mixes fact and fiction to create an enjoyable story. Athena Pembroke comes from a wealthy family with a long history of service to the Navy, but as a woman, the only way she can serve is as the college archivist. She's hoping to write a book about her grandfather's heroic role on the U.S.S. Somers. Lt. Cooper Wainright, who was demoted after taking responsibility for an explosion on the U.S.S. Falcon, is the new football coach, determined to lead Navy to victory over the Army team, even as President Teddy Roosevelt is pushing for changes to how college football is played. This was a pleasing combo of history and romance. (Read for a book review publication.)

 10-4-26 The Invisible Hour - Alice Hoffman - I don't recall where I heard about this book, but I'm reading The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne with my daughter, and this book is connected to that one. It also takes place near where I live. I enjoy books about my geographic area, but I have found that people don't seem to have a very high opinion of my part of the world. In any event, Ivy seeks refuge in a commune in Western Massachusetts after she is thrown out of her home for being pregnant, but the commune is not the panacea she had hoped for. No books are allowed and people have to wear letters around their neck for their "crimes." If they are repeat offenders, they are branded. Ivy loves her daughter Mia fiercely, but Mia discovers a library in town and soon begins sneaking books into the commune. One of them is The Scarlet Letter. After Ivy's death, the librarian helps her escape to the Eastern part of the state, but the commune leader won't let her go without a fight. She then begins time traveling, and she gets to meet Nathaniel Hawthorne, whom she has had a literary crush on. I enjoyed the story, but it is a pro-choice book, arguing that women should have total control over their bodies, even as the two women who face unplanned pregnancies both choose to have their babies.  

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). 

9-16-26 Experimental Researches in Electricity - Michael Faraday - This is a three-volume work. I read the first volume, understood little of it, and decided that was enough of an introduction to this work. This work is actually a series of lectures that he presented over the course of several years. Faraday (1791-1867) was an English chemist and physics, who did a great deal of work with electrochemistry and electromagnetism. He had little formal education, but is one of the most influential scientists in history. He developed the concept of the electromagnetic field and established that magnetism could affect rays of light. 

10-4-26 Origin of the Species - Charles Darwin -  Darwin (1809-1882) was an English naturalist and biologist who attended University of Cambridge. Origin of the Species was published in 1859 and truly shook the world. I had obviously heard of this book but had never read it. Having grown up with the theory of evolution and not seeing any issue with God using this process to create the world, it didn't really have any shock value for me when reading it. Darwin's exploration of how species change both in the natural world and through human intervention was interesting, even if some of the details were beyond my scientific understanding, and he does acknowledge challenges with the theory. I especially appreciated the final sentence: "There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one: and that, whilst this planet has gone on cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved." 

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