Blogging Around: Mostly Bookish

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: book review from Blogging in Paris. I have wondered why the pro-life gang hasn't been pushing this movie more, especially since pro-life isn't just about babies, but about the other end of life as well. I'm looking forward to seeing the movie and was curious about the book so this brief review was welcome.

Lourdes: Font of Faith, Hope, and Charity: book review from The Anchoress. I'm partly through and agree with her assessment wholeheartedly.

Two Good Books: Will Duquette recommends both The Hiding Place and also Secret Believers.

The Communion of the Saint is a new free audiobook over at Podiobooks. I have listened to the first five episodes (all that is available) and am finding it fascinating. Can't tell where it will go but it seems to have a good handle on mysticism in a modern world as experienced by someone who is afraid that she is following her mother's path to instability. Which makes it sound very serious whereas in reality so far I have found it charming and very interesting. Take a look.

A Conversion Story Through Books: Jen takes us on her journey by telling about all the books that got here from atheism to Catholicism. Some excellent books are mentioned so this is worth reading just for the solid recommendations if you're not interested in her specific journey.

Rumer Godden and China Court: Sarah has been catching up with my podcasting of China Court and has some interesting reflections about old houses ... which believe it or not I hadn't thought of before.

Lost and Found: Tony Rossi has a good article covering an interview with one of the Lost show creators, Carlton Cuse, who is largely responsible for the positive aspects of the show's approach to faith (oft mentioned on this blog as we excitedly talk about plot points after each episode). Here's a bit but read the whole thing for yourself. (AND I just figured out the podcast feed for the "Personally Speaking" radio show. Woohoo!)

... Cuse explained, “Sin and redemption is a central theme of the show. Each of these characters in his or her own way is struggling with those issues that we all struggle with. We all have those issues inside of ourselves that we grapple with our entire lives. Sometimes we conquer them and sometimes we lose to them… None of us are perfect and I think what people might relate to…is that there’s a fantasy sense to the show which is that if you end up on this island you can sort of start over. And I think that even though these characters are deeply flawed, they are searching for redemption. ...

Guillermo Del Toro in talks to direct The Hobbit: so Jeffrey Overstreet tells us. Del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth" was one of my favorite movies of last year and would be a fascinating choice. I hope it works out. Meanwhile, for those, like me, who are now interested in his movies, Good News Film Review has a link to the trailer for a film that Del Toro's is producing (not directing, I see), The Orphanage.

Liturgy: Worship That Works: a new site that a link was posted for in the comments about all the bloggers trying out the Liturgy of the Hours. It looks solid with a lot of resources to help out with prayer, reflection, and following the liturgical calendar. I see that Deacon Greg concurs.

The Practicing Catholic: Heather and I met when she joined our little cadre of Dallas bloggers at the March for Life. I since have been cruising her blog and Heather has a lot of thoughtful reflections about prayer, music, and worship in general. Check it out.