What book are you reading? #1

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Just finished Office of Innocence by Thomas Kenneally about a young priest set in Australia at the beginning of WW2.

Young Fr. Darragh led a sheltered life before entering seminary which apparently did little to prepare him for real life – he is shocked by what he hears in the confessional but is the most popular confessor in the parish.

He becomes more involved than he ought in the lives of his penitents, leading to scandal (in the sense of “public notoriety”, nothing sexual) and Kenneally correctly identifies his desire to go “above and beyond”, ignoring the advice of superiors as a form of pride.

The novel is a bit disturbing, though not anti-Catholic in any way. I kept wanting to say, “But . . .”
It’s also an interesting view of Australia at the outset of the war with a lot of defeatism in the air – we forget that the Allies were not destined to win and it looked to many people as if they would lose.

I’d be interested in the opinions of any Aussies who have read it.
 
I’ve been reading some “vintage” apologetics.
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I finally got into some Chesterton.  I've recently read "Orthodoxy" and "The Everlasting Man" (of the two, I found "Orthodoxy" much easier to read).  Both are awesome, and GK himself is such a hoot.

I've also been getting into a collection of CS Lewis.  "Mere Christianity" is unbelievable.  Such truth and wisdon stated so succinctly in such a short work.

Since i regularly post on an atheist forum, I've been reading some of the current atheist authors, particularly Sam Harris.  Nothin new in his writings.
 
I’m halfway through MIDDLESEX by Jeffrey Eugenides.

On the surface, it is a book about a hermaphrodite named Calliope (or Cal, as she/he is later known). It is the story of the recessive mutation of Cal’s fifth chromosome. But really, at its heart, it is the story of a family … three different generations … and ow Cal came to be.

The narration is just brilliant. It is told in first person omniscient, which is kind of odd. But Cal is telling the story from “his” perspective … and in order to do so, he must take certain liberties, fusing imagination with fact.

The book won the Pulitzer back in 2002, I believe. And I have to say, it certainly is one of the best written novels I’ve read this decade.

Even though I’m only halfway through it (250 pages in), I strongly recommend it.
 
The Basket Case : A Father Dowling Mystery by Ralph McInerny. I believe it’s #11 in the series.

I told myself I would only read 1 chapter last night in bed. Don’t ask me how many I actually read! It started right out on the gun.
 
I love Ralph McInerny’s mysteries! I thought of him as a great mystery writier, which he is, only to discover from someone else that he is well known for his writings on Thomas Acquinas and other historic and academic topics. He is/was a professor at Notre Dame.
 
I just finished Monsignor Quixote by Graham Greene:thumbsup:
It took me two sittings to read! Very interesting and funny.
 
Read “The Devil’s Alternative” by Frederick Forsythe recently, but have no books for entertainment at the moment.

Have been reading for instruction, but not entertainment.

Would love some suggestions that don’t offend my faith and that are well-written. I loved this book I read by Michael Chabon a while back, but it offended my faith.
 
crenfro said:
Read “The Devil’s Alternative” by Frederick Forsythe recently, but have no books for entertainment at the moment.

Have been reading for instruction, but not entertainment.

Would love some suggestions that don’t offend my faith and that are well-written. I loved this book I read by Michael Chabon a while back, but it offended my faith.
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Which of Chabon’s books offended your faith? … and why? He’s one of my favorites.

If you enjoyed Chabon’s style, might I suggest you read CARTER BEATS THE DEVIL by Glen David Gold. It is, hands down, the best story I have ever read. An incredible book.

Also:

MIDDLESEX by Jeffrey Eugenides
SHADOW OF THE WIND by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE by Jonathan Lethem
 
Also, check out Richard Russo if you’re a Chabon fan. Not sure how it measures up on the “offensive meter”, but he’s a great writer. “Straight Man” is my favorite.
 
I can’t recommend enough reading “Left To Tell” … it will change your life forever. You won’t be able to put it down either. It is written by a Catholic woman who lost her family in the Rwanda genocide. I believe that some of the profits from purchasing the book go to children orphaned by genocides. Ipersonally believe she could perhaps be a Saint one day.
 
SaintMaker said:
I can’t recommend enough reading “Left To Tell” … it will change your life forever. You won’t be able to put it down either. It is written by a Catholic woman who lost her family in the Rwanda genocide. I believe that some of the profits from purchasing the book go to children orphaned by genocides. Ipersonally believe she could perhaps be a Saint one day.
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Ya, that is an amazing book!

I’m reading “This is Our Faith” for my RCIA class. I also just started “A Wrinkle in Time” again in memory of Madeline L’Engle’s death.
 
So now that I’ve finished Madame Bovary, I am currently reading ‘Atonement’. I think the authors last name is McEwan. Theres a movie adaption coming out in December with Keira Knightly and James McAvoy. I read the plot and thought it sounded pretty good. I’m not very far into it yet, maybe page 70, but I’m enjoying it thus far.
 
I’m just about to start reading “Search and Rescue.” Has anyone else read this?
 
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Rococo by Adrianna Trigianni

Salvation is From the Jews
 
I just finished “The Penny” by Joyce Meyer.

If you’ve been affected by child abuse or know of anyone, you should read this book.

–Barbara
 
Just finished Mother Angelica; now I’m reading Ugly as Sin. I’m still working my way through the Diary of St. Faustina, a few pages at a time. 🙂
 
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