New on the Shelf

A couple of review books that popped in ... both looking quite readable, I must say.

• Flunking Sainthood: A Year of Breaking the Sabbath, Forgetting to Pray, and Still Loving My Neighbor by Jana Reiss
  

  This wry memoir tackles twelve different spiritual practices in a quest to become more saintly, including fasting, fixed-hour prayer, the Jesus Prayer, gratitude, Sabbath-keeping, and generosity. Although Riess begins with great plans for success ("Really, how hard could that be?" she asks blithely at the start of her saint-making year), she finds to her growing humiliation that she is failing--not just at some of the practices, but at every single one. What emerges is a funny yet vulnerable story of the quest for spiritual perfection and the reality of spiritual failure, which turns out to be a valuable practice in and of itself.

  I've actually read the first two or three chapters of this, I must admit. The style is easy to read quickly. This early in, I am wondering if the author ever becomes fond of a saint because she never seems to lose the flipness enough to give it a solid try. However, it is engaging and early days ... so we shall see!
  
  
• The Emperor of North America by John McNichol
  This is the second book of The Young Chesterton Chronicles, which from reading the first couple of chapters reminds me irresistibly of Harry Potter in the way he and his friend interact. That's not a bad thing. I'm interested in both Gilbert's romantic hopes and the mysterious horror which was set before us at the very beginning. The only thing I'm sorry about is that it is practically impossible to get my hands on a copy of the first book of the series, Tripods ... which is about a Martian invasion. Oh yeah ... more on this soon I'm sure.