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Dandelion_Wine
Guest
Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made by Alan Eisenstock.
Pretty cool story
Pretty cool story
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Potter
Guest
I just finished a biography of Charles Carroll, one of the few Catholic founding fathers. I posted an absurdly lengthy review of it here. My current read is The Once and Future King: The Future of Crown Government in America by F.H. Buckley. It examines the constitutions of the US, Canada, and Britain, particularly the emergence of powerful executives, in the form of presidents and prime ministers, and will (based on interviews I’ve heard with the author) argue that the parliamentary system is superior for reining in executive abuse.
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redbetta
Guest
I’m currently reading The Hot Zone by Richard Preston. It was written two decades ago, but, my AP Biology teacher recommended reading it two years ago, so I’m guessing that the biology behind it is still good. The reviews on the back cover says that the book is horrifying, but, I’m half-way through and I haven’t been too deeply disturbed. Which is strange considering I have a ton of phobias and am prone to anxiety.
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didymus
Guest
Just finished The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor and now startting on Mary McCarthy’s Memories of a Catholic Girlhood.
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Potter
Guest
Reading The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss, set during the Washington administration. Thus far it’s been a mystery/business thriller, with lots of schemes centered on the establishment of the national bank – - combined with a frontier/western story about settlers being provoked into uprising by oppressive taxes and corrupt officials.
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Frisky
Guest
I’m reading Lucia Lucia by Adriana Trigiani.
The Hot Zone is a great book - I really enjoyed it.
The Hot Zone is a great book - I really enjoyed it.
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Crown_of_Stars
Guest
Agatha Christie’s “After the Funeral.”
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Dandelion_Wine
Guest
Hindenburg,1937 by Cameron Dokey
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Hunho
Guest
Right now I’m reading Sherry A. Weddell’s Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus in preparation for a parish workshop. I’m also reading Pope Francis’ encyclical *Laudato si’ *for my Adult Catholic Education class this coming Sunday.
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Crown_of_Stars
Guest
Various books on Mary, the Rosary, and Her revelations.
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StudentMI
Guest
Broken but Loved: Healing Through Christ’s Power by George Maloney, S.J.
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Potter
Guest
Starting A Canticle for Leibowitz.
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Dandelion_Wine
Guest
Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett
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JimG
Guest
I’m reading Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande.
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jeannetherese
Guest
The Daybreakers by Louis L’Amour. 
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Robyn_p
Guest
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller.
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BartholomewB
Guest
Rabbi Paul by Bruce Chilton. It’s the first book I’ve ever read about Paul. It’s interesting for its own sake but also I hope it will enable me to counter some of the anti-Catholic arguments that Calvinists, in particular, claim they derive from Paul.
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JimG
Guest
Started reading “The War on Men,” by Suzanne Venker. Throughout the book, she has many quotes from other persons, including this zinger from Jane Gilray:
“Boys learn to subdue their more spirited, intrepid behavior in elementary and middle school, their male instincts of competition and individualism quashed in the interest of what’s best for girls as they walk like lemmings over the edge of the radical feminist cliff by the time they reach high school. Because of the feminist movement, boys aren’t allowed to be boys - society has fenced them in, corralled their adventurous enthusiasm in the name of sexual equality. The end product is pantywaist pushovers who will cry during “Steel Magnolias” and urinate sitting down. This is bad news for America, who will eventually have to reap what the feminists have sown, which will be a paucity of male leaders, entrepreneurs, scientists and heroes.”
Full quote here.
“Boys learn to subdue their more spirited, intrepid behavior in elementary and middle school, their male instincts of competition and individualism quashed in the interest of what’s best for girls as they walk like lemmings over the edge of the radical feminist cliff by the time they reach high school. Because of the feminist movement, boys aren’t allowed to be boys - society has fenced them in, corralled their adventurous enthusiasm in the name of sexual equality. The end product is pantywaist pushovers who will cry during “Steel Magnolias” and urinate sitting down. This is bad news for America, who will eventually have to reap what the feminists have sown, which will be a paucity of male leaders, entrepreneurs, scientists and heroes.”
Full quote here.
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Potter
Guest
The Great Cities in History, ed. John Julius Norwich. Stunning and wonderfully interesting book so far. Rome merits at least two mentions.
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JimG
Guest
I mentioned Atul Gawande’s book Being Mortal, when I first began reading it.
But now I have just finished it, and I would recommend it. It ends with an account of the death of Dr. Gawande’s father, who, like his son and his wife, was also a physician.
The book focuses on end of life matters: assisted living, nursing homes, help with living at home, intensive care vs hospice care and palliative care. One thing that became apparent to me is that end of life issues involve far more than just DNR orders. There comes a time when the question is: does the patient wish to be treated in a way to achieve the best possible days for the remaining days of his life, or does one press to cure the incurable and gain more time at any possible cost, often sacrificing quality of life for quantity? One must be forewarned that the medical profession is trained to favor the second option.
It’s not just a matter of giving up and allowing a patient to die. Patients receive care in Hospice too—they just receive care that is intended to help the patient have the best possible day, not the longest possible time. In fact, the doctors were surprised to discover that patients in hospice often lived somewhat longer than those who elected to “do everything possible” to prolong life.
It isn’t a Christian book. The author is a rather agnostic Hindu. At his father’s request he scattered his ashes in the Ganges. But it doesn’t have any glaring moral defects—the author does not favor assisted suicide, but he does favor palliative measures, even those which might tend to shorten life.
But now I have just finished it, and I would recommend it. It ends with an account of the death of Dr. Gawande’s father, who, like his son and his wife, was also a physician.
The book focuses on end of life matters: assisted living, nursing homes, help with living at home, intensive care vs hospice care and palliative care. One thing that became apparent to me is that end of life issues involve far more than just DNR orders. There comes a time when the question is: does the patient wish to be treated in a way to achieve the best possible days for the remaining days of his life, or does one press to cure the incurable and gain more time at any possible cost, often sacrificing quality of life for quantity? One must be forewarned that the medical profession is trained to favor the second option.
It’s not just a matter of giving up and allowing a patient to die. Patients receive care in Hospice too—they just receive care that is intended to help the patient have the best possible day, not the longest possible time. In fact, the doctors were surprised to discover that patients in hospice often lived somewhat longer than those who elected to “do everything possible” to prolong life.
It isn’t a Christian book. The author is a rather agnostic Hindu. At his father’s request he scattered his ashes in the Ganges. But it doesn’t have any glaring moral defects—the author does not favor assisted suicide, but he does favor palliative measures, even those which might tend to shorten life.
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