What book are you reading? #1

  • Thread starter Thread starter buzzcut
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Offhand, the only two American Catholic authors I have read are Flannery O’Connor and Walker Percy. The former with her short stories was the best at that game. The latter I thought was overrrated including his much ballyhooed “Moviegoer.” Miss O’Conner had the good and evil dichotomy down pat. What a treasure she is.

John
 
Cordelil said:
Offhand, the only two American Catholic authors I have read are Flannery O’Connor and Walker Percy. The former with her short stories was the best at that game. The latter I thought was overrrated including his much ballyhooed “Moviegoer.” Miss O’Conner had the good and evil dichotomy down pat. What a treasure she is.

John
Click to expand...
A good Catholic writer to look into, if you’re at all into science fiction (or even if you aren’t), would be Gene Wolfe. His stuff isn’t always that straight forward, but it’s worth it. His newer stuff isn’t as great as, say, The Book of the Long Sun, but if you can find it, read it. I’ve never read any of O’Connor or Percy, but I probably should as soon as I’m done with some of the Summa Theologica.
 
Mary Higgans Clark is good…shes into mystery type…shes catholic also
 
Just finished Four Faultless Felons, by GK Chesterton. Entertaining and thought provoking as usual, if you can set aside some harsh treatment of Jewish people (unfortunately relatively common in Chesterton). The foreword by Martin Gardner struck me as anti-Catholic although I cannot cite specific examples from memory.

Currently diving into The Divine Comedy for the first time, with assistance from Joseph Gallagher’s guide for modern readers. Very good so far, I think this Dante character may be a pretty good writer. And the guide is excellent–anyone know anything about Gallagher? The author’s information implies he’s a priest, but I can’t find anything else out about him.
 
I just finished choking down Dean Koontz’s Whispers. It was just as hideous the second time around, and I’m glad I gave him another chance with From The Corner of His Eye, and equally glad he changed his style of writing.
 
Sailor_Kenshin said:
I just finished choking down Dean Koontz’s Whispers. It was just as hideous the second time around, and I’m glad I gave him another chance with From The Corner of His Eye, and equally glad he changed his style of writing.
Click to expand...
I never read Whispers, or if I did, I have forgotten it. From the Corner of His Eye was fascinating, and altogether very uplifting. I am likewise grateful he changed his style since then. He always seems to deliver an important and well-taught message, but his vehicles can be horribly un-Godly.
 
surf(name removed by moderator)ure said:
I never read Whispers, or if I did, I have forgotten it. From the Corner of His Eye was fascinating, and altogether very uplifting. I am likewise grateful he changed his style since then. He always seems to deliver an important and well-taught message, but his vehicles can be horribly un-Godly.
Click to expand...
I’m willing to forgive his older stuff. Clearly he’s on a journey! Anyway it’s back to Forever Odd now. 😃
 
Anyone ever read the book called “I’m Dancing As Fast As I Can”? It is written by an author whos name is Barbara Gordon. If so can yall give me some insight to it? Thanks.
 
My husband and I just picked up Concentration Can, by Jerome Lejeune, the internationally renowned French geneticist who discovered Down Syndrome. It is the fascinating transcript of his expert testimony during the first U.S. trial over frozen embryos, in 1989. Every American Catholic needs to read this book, to better understand the evil of in-vitro fertilization and embryonic stem-cell research!
 
I just finished the Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz. Amazing books. Right now, I’m just kinda flipping through my well read and loved Harry Potter books until I can find something new to devour.
 
Denae said:
I just finished the Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz. Amazing books. Right now, I’m just kinda flipping through my well read and loved Harry Potter books until I can find something new to devour.
Click to expand...
I just finished the Odd series, too, and I love Harry Potter. Have you tried the C.S. Lewis space triolgy? Out of the Silent Planet is the first book. I also recommend The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. It’s a lot lighter than the* Lord of the Rings*.
 
surf(name removed by moderator)ure said:
I just finished the Odd series, too, and I love Harry Potter. Have you tried the C.S. Lewis space triolgy? Out of the Silent Planet is the first book. I also recommend The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. It’s a lot lighter than the* Lord of the Rings*.
Click to expand...
I haven’t read the C.S. Lewis books you mentioned, but I have read both The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings books. And I absolutely love them. Along with The Chronicles of Narnia series. I want to read The Screwtape Letters though. What did you think of the Odd series?
 
Denae said:
I haven’t read the C.S. Lewis books you mentioned, but I have read both The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings books. And I absolutely love them. Along with The Chronicles of Narnia series. I want to read The Screwtape Letters though. What did you think of the Odd series?
Click to expand...
Screwtape is wonderful!

I posted a few days ago about the Odd series. I liked it very much as a whole. I didn’t think the fourth book was nearly as good as the first three. It left all these questions unanswered, and I only hope Koontz is planning a fifth book to tie up all the loose ends and tell us how Odd dies (because it’s implied in his “manuscript” that you’re reading it because he has died).

The Odd Thomas series was unique in that Koontz seemed to go out of his way to keep it clean. Very little sexuality or profanity, and the violence was not gruesome (at least that I can recall). I especially enjoyed the terrifying creatures he invented for Brother Odd. I’ve never come across another author who could do that better than Koontz. I was also very pleased at how pro-Catholic the books were. And now I come to discover that he is, in fact, a Catholic himself!

What did you think of the series?
 
I can’t wait to read Screwtape!

I really loved the Odd series. I agree with you about the fourth book. It was good, and then it just kinda…ended. It felt a little rushed to me. I really hope that the fifth comes out in the next couple of years, and it ties up all the loose ends the fourth one left. But I don’t want Odd to die!! That will be so sad. I thought for sure he was going to die in the fourth one, but he didn’t, so that’s good. The third one was my favorite. I really loved how he showed so much respect for the Church in that one. He never made fun of Catholicism, or the monks or nuns. Except for maybe the brother and and his kit kat addiction!!! (Kat-a-combs!) Or “Brother Knuckles” I also loved the creatures he made up, and Elvis finally moved on. Even though I must admit Polter-Frank was kinda funny in the fourth one. Yeah there was like zero profanity or sexuality. I really like the fact that Odd and Stormy were going to wait til marriage to have sex and they were both virgins. Even the violence wasn’t overwhelming which was really nice. So anyway, I’ll stop rambling…What other books do you like?
 
Denae said:
I can’t wait to read Screwtape!

I really loved the Odd series. I agree with you about the fourth book. It was good, and then it just kinda…ended. It felt a little rushed to me. I really hope that the fifth comes out in the next couple of years, and it ties up all the loose ends the fourth one left. But I don’t want Odd to die!! That will be so sad. I thought for sure he was going to die in the fourth one, but he didn’t, so that’s good. The third one was my favorite. I really loved how he showed so much respect for the Church in that one. He never made fun of Catholicism, or the monks or nuns. Except for maybe the brother and and his kit kat addiction!!! (Kat-a-combs!) Or “Brother Knuckles” I also loved the creatures he made up, and Elvis finally moved on. Even though I must admit Polter-Frank was kinda funny in the fourth one. Yeah there was like zero profanity or sexuality. I really like the fact that Odd and Stormy were going to wait til marriage to have sex and they were both virgins. Even the violence wasn’t overwhelming which was really nice. So anyway, I’ll stop rambling…What other books do you like?
Click to expand...
Well, a few years ago I fell in love with the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series by Laurie R. King. They follow Holmes (as interpreted by King) in his later life, and he as charming and methodical as ever! The first book is The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, which introduces the main character, Mary Russell, a very unusual 15-year-old girl, who becomes Holmes’ unlikely (but well-suited) partner. The dialogue is fabulous, the story lines intriguing, and the relationship that develops is just slow, gradual sort one expects of a proper British author. I especially love to listen to these books on audiocassette, narrated by Jenny Sterlin. She does a magnificent job with the voices of Russell and Holmes.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top