Recommendations for Catholic Reading?

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BayernAnhaenger

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Ok, so I leave for Germany in one week, and I would like some suggestions from my amazing CAF brothers and sisters on book advice for the plane rides (18 hours).

I have read the following already:

The Seven Storey Mountain (Thomas Merton)
God’s Choice (George Weigel)
Viper’s Tangle (Francois Mauriac)
The Ratzinger Report (Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, and Vittorio Messori)

I am reading American Catholic (Charles Morris) right now, and should be done in time.

I have these books in my possession, but I do not want to read Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way (+Pope John Paul II) because I want to read the previous book by Pope JPII, and the Scott Hahn books I am not terribly interested in right now… The John XXIII is a book I want to use as spiritual reading during school, and the Augustine I would like to spend more time with than the flight would allow.
A Father Who Keeps His Promises (Scott Hahn)
Living the Mysteries (Scott Hahn)
The Essential Augustine (Edited: Vernon J. Bourke)
The Journey of a Soul (+Pope John XXIII)

That said, I like Catholic fiction, and I like Catholic history…

Do you all have any recommendations for some books?

Thanks!
 
Edit:

Books that, like “apply” Church teaching to something would be cool too…

Also, I am 19, and in a non-Catholic college.
 
BayernAnhaenger said:
Ok, so I leave for Germany in one week, and I would like some suggestions from my amazing CAF brothers and sisters on book advice for the plane rides (18 hours).

That said, I like Catholic fiction, and I like Catholic history…

Do you all have any recommendations for some books?

Thanks!
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Have you read any of the books by Michael D. O’Brien? He writes excellent Catholic fiction. The six books of his I have are all part of a series called “The Children of the Last Days”:
  1. Father Elijah
  2. Strangers and Sojourners
  3. The Plague Journal
  4. Eclipse of the Sun
  5. A Cry of Stone
  6. Sophia House
The books all stand on there own and could be read in any order, although Books 2, 3, & 4 form a trilogy within the larger work. Still, even the trilogy follows a family over the course of 100 years, so you could read those out of order and probably still be okay (although if you’re like me, the thought of reading things “out of order” is frightening! :o ). My favorite of the series is “Eclipse of the Sun”. These books aren’t fluff fiction, but I found them to be quite engaging.

I would also recommend the Surprised by Truth books (1, 2, and 3) edited by Patrick Madrid. They are collections of conversion stories, which make for a good read.

Of course, the Catechism and the Bible are good, too! 😉
 
if you want something kinda heavy but amazing

Orthodoxy - G.K. Chesterton
 
For inspiration and spirituality, The *Practice of the Presence of God *by Brother Lawrence and Abandonment to Divine Providence by Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade. Both are very short, but packed full of practical advice for the spiritual life.

For history, I found *Pilgrim Church *by Thomas Rausch to be a good intermediate level church history book.
 
For historical/inspirational reading: My Life with the Saints by James Martin, SJ. Martin is a former corporate CEO who became a Jesuit.

For Catholic fiction: The short stories of Flannery O’Connor. She is not just a Catholic writer but a great writer.

For Church history: Triumph: The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church by H.W. Crocker
 
Previous poster mentioned Flannery O’Connor, so I’ll just add William Faulkner.

Matthew
 
Just read an excellent book—
Fasting : spiritual freedom beyond our appetites by Lynne Baab
very easy read, enlightening and although I don’t believe she is Catholic, she does not engage in any Catholic bashing. It talked about fasting from all kinds of things, not just food. I would consider buying this book and keeping it as a reference.

I also enjoyed-
Mother Angelica : the remarkable story of a nun, her nerve, and a network of miracles / Raymond Arroyo --what a remarkable person she is
and

John Paul the great : remembering a spiritual father / Peggy Noonan – another excellent book

I hope you have a great flight!
 
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