Worth a Thousand Words: Palau Baro de Quadras

Palau Baro de Quadras
taken by Carlos Lorenzo

Do go to Barcelona Photoblog for more information about this gorgeous example of Catalan modernisme. Be sure to check out the photo for the full size and glory of the original photo.

The Faithful Traveler ... in the Holy Land!

Longtime readers may recall that I'm a big fan of Diana von Glahn's The Faithful Traveler Catholic travel show to shrines around the U.S.

Her new series is in the Holy Land. They visit the holy sites and explain their history, talk about the art, architecture, and so forth. Each episode is 30-minutes, so they aren't meant to be in-depth theological looks, but instead, fun and breezy introductions. The goal is to give people the knowledge they need to either go there themselves and know what they're looking at or enable them to be entertained and educated armchair travelers.

Check out a sample here.

There is more info at The Faithful Traveler site where you can see samples of the first series and this upcoming show.

And put it on your calendar ... it begins February 17.

Happy Birthday, J.R.R. Tolkien!

In celebration, eat second breakfast. Then elevensies.

via ThinkGeek's Facebook page

Filets Mignons with Mushrooms

How we started the New Year ... get it at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

My 2014 Book Challenge List

My 2013 book challenge was so rewarding, making me pick up books I would just keep skipping over in favor of lighter reading. I'm doing it again for the third year in a row.

Some books are carried over from last year and some I dropped because ... well, I'm not married to these lists. If am inspired at all to reach higher than before, that's good enough for me.

As before, I may not get through all of them in a year, but I will be trying always read one of them despite other distractions. In no particular order.

Fiction

1. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
   This was on my 2013 list and having begun it about a week ago, I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Unabridged. Of course.
   
   Result: oh the agony! I loved the first bit about the bishop. Then I was gratified to see that the general plot had been well represented in the musical. However, the constant meandering here and there drove me crazy. I'm not usually a "don't bore us, get to the chorus" reader but Hugo beat me. Quitting this book.
2. Rabble in Arms - Kenneth Roberts
   My second favorite historical fiction author. This is a big 'un I overlooked somehow about the Revolutionary War.
   
   UPDATE: This book wound up overlapping with my Book Bingo Challenge as A Book Based on a True Story. It kind of saved me because I really hate books based on real stories usually. But it don't get much realer than the Revolutionary War. Especially the way Kenneth Roberts tells his stories.
3. The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha - Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra —
   One of Rose's favorites which she's been pushing on me for a long time. Also, Scott from Good Story said he was interested in reading it this year. They were too much for my weak will.
   
   UPDATE: This will be one of Scott's choices for A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast for 2015 - so I don't need to keep it on a challenge list.
4. Charles Dickens novel
   Not sure which one yet. I'm wavering between Our Mutual Friend and Nicholas Nickleby.
   
   Result:  Ok, this was decided when a kind friend gave me Simon Prebble's reading of Great Expectations. Not the book I'd have chosen, but it is Dickens and that's good enough for me.
   
   I struggled my way through Great Expectations (chronicled here). Later I picked up The Pickwick Papers with the idea of something light, Dickens-wise. I raced through it in about a week, really enjoying it (as chronicled here). I'm now very slowly enjoying the novel from the other end of Dickens' timeline, Our Mutual Friend.
5. Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength - C. S. Lewis
   I've had this pushed at me by everyone and his brother. Never been able to get past the first few chapters of Silent Planet but recently I tried the audio. That did the trick so I have begun. I'll give myself a year. That should be long enough.
   
   Out of the Silent Planet: Thanks goodness for the audio version or I'd never have made it. As it was I went in and out of being interested in the story, primarily because I was much more interested in the world development and exploration than in Ransom's dealings with his fellow Earthmen. Lewis was fantastically inventive about what the planet and living beings were like. I didn't know he had it in him! The scientist's final letter to the author really caught my attention. In particular, his comments about death among the Hrossa were mind-blowing in their implications about our own life here on fallen Earth. I also really liked the use for "bent" instead of "evil," showing just how we are turned from what we were meant to be. However, this does seem very obviously aimed at those who have Christian interests or mindsets, just as The Screwtape Letters was. I wonder if non-Christians enjoy this book.
   
   Perelandra: Just as with Out of the Silent Planet, I found the beginning of the book fairly uninviting. However, also just as in that book, having the audio helped me past that to the point. This book is so different from Out of the Silent Planet and yet we see C.S. Lewis's vivid and inspiring imagination just as clearly. I am simply blown away by his vision of creation on Venus. For me at one point, close to the end, I kept thinking that these are almost glimpses of the sort of creativity and inspiration that we will see in Heaven. Amazing insights as to battling evil, the dance of God's creation and plan, and our part in it. I find Lewis's style rather heavy-handed. What I'd change I'm not sure. I think it is simply that these books would go on the theology shelf in my library while something like The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings would go in more general reading. It is not Lewis's fault, and in fact I now want print copies of these books for rereading, but I prefer the purer fiction style to this one.
   
   That Hideous Strength: As with the other two books in C.S. Lewis's "space trilogy" I found this one difficult to get into and, yet, once I got past the indefinable point where it was no longer a struggle, I couldn't read it fast enough. Consequently this was a 24-hour book for me. It is a testament to Lewis's imagination and writing skill as to how different all three of the books are in this trilogy, while simultaneously all carrying out the same basic theme. No wonder J.R.R. Tolkien loved them.
   
   Speaking of Tolkien, I was stunned to see Numinor mentioned twice and Middle Earth once in this book. I never dreamed there was such a deliberate, direct connection between this book and the Lord of the Rings, which was not yet published in its entirety when this book came out as Lewis says in the introduction. One can see the way these books and LOTR go hand in hand with similar themes, although expressed differently through the authors' different styles.
   
   This book itself was really terrific and left me striving to be a better person, to be truer to myself, as did the other two. Not many other books really leave one feeling that way.

Nonfiction

1. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien — this will move to the 2015 book challenge
   I chose Tolkien as my 2013 saint last year (admittedly not a recognized saint, but at the very least as an inspiring Catholic I wanted to help me on my heaven). It was an amazing year filled with lessons that have definitely helped me. I want to know Tolkien's thoughts in his own words now instead of just reading his fiction.
2. A Song for Nagasaki: The Story of Takashi Nagai: Scientist, Convert, and Survivor of the Atomic Bomb - Paul Glynn
   Takashi Nagai isn't recognized by the Church as a saint but in my eyes he's qualified. I find him extremely inspiring and am going to spend 2014 in his company, as I did last year with Tolkien. I've begun this and it is really fascinating.
   
   Result: Superb and inspirational. My review is here.
3. Art: A New History - Paul Johnson — I'm about halfway through. This will move to my 2015 book challenge
   It's been on my coffee table for about a year. I've very slowly read some and loved it. This may help me read it more dedicatedly.
4. America: The Last Best Hope (Volume II): From a World at War to the Triumph of Freedom - William J. Bennett
   I really enjoyed the first volume last year. This is on my book stack and, as with Art, I hope this will get me to crack it open. That's all it will take, I have a feeling, to hook me.
   
   UPDATE: still sitting on my shelf. I'll get to it but not as a book challenge.
5. The Scarlet and the Black: The True Story of Monsignor Hugh O Flaherty, Hero of the Vatican Underground - J.P Gallagher
   This also was on last year's list. I am really enjoying Song For Nagasaki and hope I'll also enjoy this true story of faith under crisis just as much.
   
   Result - The story itself is fascinating. The writing is less impressive with everything strung together so fast that it can be hard to keep track of events. The book could have done with just a touch of breathing space.
   
   That said, this is still very worth reading. One realizes that although the Vatican's official neutrality had to be maintained (as did that of others highlighted in the book), there was a lot of frantic activity below the surface to save lives in Rome right under the Gestapo's nose.
6. Something that Takashi Nagai wrote. Since he wrote over 40 books I'd like to see what one of those was like. After reading A Song for Nagasaki, that is.
   
   Result: I read The Bells of Nagasaki which was really amazing. I'm glad that I read Glynn's book first and, yet, also very glad that I didn't let it rest there as Nagai's own words corrected a few things that Glynn had glossed over. My review is here.

Worth a Thousand Words: Waxwing

Waxwing
Taken by Remo Savisaar

I really love these beautiful birds and no one photographs them better than Remo.

My Top 2013 Movies

My favorite movies seen in 2013 with descriptions in 10 words or less. In the approximate order in which I saw them.

1. Looper (2012) directed by Rian Johnson, stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt Bruce Willis
   Time travel, big themes, from a director I love. (my review here)
   
   
2. Searching for Sugar Man (2012 documentary) directed by Malik Bendjelloul
   An American musician, a South African legend, a mystery investigated. (my review here)
   
   
3. Bernie (2011) directed byRichard Linklater, stars: Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey, Shirley MacLaine
   A sweet funeral home manager, a possessive and grasping widow ... a true story. (my review here)
   
   
4. Argo (2012) directed by Ben Affleck, stars Ben Affleck and a big cast of "hey, it's that guy!" actors
   Smuggling six Americans out of the Iranian revolution ... a true story (my review here)
   
   
5. Erroll Garner: No One Can Hear You Read (2012 documentary)
   Erroll Garner's genius in improvising, communicating joy, and inspiring others through jazz. (My review here)
   
   
6. Of Gods and Men (2010 French: ‘Des hommes et des dieux’) Directed by Xavier Beauvois
   Trappist monks must decide whether to flee Algeria from terrorists or stay and serve God ... a true story (My review here; the A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast discussion here.)
   
   
7. 12 Angry Men (1957) directed by Sidney Lumet, starring: Henry Fonda
   A classic, "must see" for a reason. Simply wonderful. (My review here.)
   
   
8. Attack the Block  (2011) directed by Joe Cornish
   Solid alien invasion, monster movie set in British council block (a.k.a. "the projects). (my review here)
   
   
9. Gravity  (2013) directed by Alfonso Cuaron, stars Sandra Bullock, George Clooney
   An immersive emergency in outer space ponders gravity on several levels.
   
   
10. Muscle Shoals: The Movie  (2013 documentary) directed by Greg 'Freddy' Camalier
    A man who's lived the blues, the Swampers, shattered stereotypes ... and lots and lots of music. (My review here)

Top 2013 Audiobooks

My favorite audiobooks from 2013 with descriptions in 10 words or less. In the approximate order in which I heard them.

1. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
   Classic mystery with unexpectedly hilarious characters. Read by B.J. Harrison at The Classic Tales Podcast, my review here.
   
   
2. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
   Listening to this much-beloved book gave it new depth (Read by Rob Inglis)
   
   
3. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
   I've never enjoyed the last book of the trilogy ... until now. (Read by Rob Inglis. My review of Return of the King here which reflects my experience listening to the entire trilogy.)
   
   
4. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
   Perfect noir listening for our vacation travels together. (Read by William Dufris' whose "fat man" has to be heard to be appreciated.) 
   
   
5. The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
   Enchanting tour of Halloween history with boys on a mission. (Read by Bronson Pinchot.)
   
   
6. The Poison Belt by Arthur Conan Doyle
    The apocalypse in Victorian times told by a master storyteller (Read by Gildart Jackson. My review here)

Best (Print) Books of 2013

Top print books I read in 2013 with descriptions in 10 words or less. In the order I encountered them throughout the year. (Audio books will have a separate post.)

1. Take Five with Pope Benedict by Mike Aquilina and Kris Stubna
   Wonderful daily resource that refocused me on what really matters. (My review here.)
   
   
2. Watch series by Sergei Lukyanenko
   Only Russian novels I've ever enjoyed. (Good Story podcast discussion. My reviews here: Night Watch, Day Watch, Twilight Watch, Last Watch)
   
   
3. The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
   Fantasy, adventure, romance wrapped in theological science fiction.  (my review here)
   
   
4. King Peggy: An American Secretary, Her Royal Destiny, and the Inspiring Story of How She Changed an African Village by Peggilene Bartels
   The subhead says it all. I've read it twice. (review here)
   
   
5. The Woodcutter by Kate Danley
   A new, yet familiar, fairy story where true love conquers all. (review here)
   
   
6. Galactic Pot-Healer by Philip K. Dick
   Lovecraftian elder god gathers team to benefit mankind. (SFFaudio discussion here. My review here)
   
   
7. Save Send Delete by Danusha Goska
   Catholic and atheist debate faith in emails. Unputdownable. (my review here)
   
   
8. Middlemarch by George Eliot
   Marriage seen through the lens of "What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult to each other?" (my review here)
   
   
9. The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters
   Why investigate a murder if the world is ending? (my review here)
   
   
10. Countdown City by Ben H. Winters (sequel to The Last Policeman)
    Still asking questions in the face of the apocalypse  (review here)
    
    
11. Kirinyaga by Mike Resnick
    Can utopia be created by one man? Also African folktales.  (review/discussion at A Good Story is Hard to Find)
    
    
12. Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
    A contender with Bleak House as my favorite Dickens novel.  (excerpts and comments at Goodreads)

Yep. I cheated on just a few for that 10 word limit, most notably Middlemarch. Had to happen. Be sure to go through and read the reviews of anything that looks interesting. I promise there are a few in there that surprised me by winding up on this list.

ALL THE 2013 BOOKS
Here's my year in books according to Goodreads, where I may not have always written a review but I did keep pretty accurate track of what I read.

The Last Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko

I'm really surprised I forgot to share my reactions on this book since I was so eager to share the first three. Making up for that now!

The Last Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


As with the other books in the series, Last Watch is made up of three novellas. Unlike the other books though, these act as connected pieces in one overall story. Although Anton goes to Edinburgh and then to Uzbekistan, his missions are all in service of solving one big puzzle. What possible plot could cause an alliance between a powerful Inquisitor, a Higher Light One, and a Master Vampire?

I thought I understood what the title Last Watch was about but, as with every other time, Sergei Lukyanenko surprised me. In the end this turned out to be a story about the depths to which love drives us, especially when we feel we have failed it, and the ultimate power of forgiveness.

I eagerly await the translation of the final book in the series, New Watch.

Worth a Thousand Words: Pine Grosbeak

Pine Grosbeak
From my favorite nature photographer, Remo Savisaar

Y'all, You Guys, or Youse? Our Time Waster for This Morning.

We spent a very enjoyable hour going through this word quiz as a group. Then we saw that at the end they will give you their best guess on where you are from. So I went and took it myself. (Warning, the last map with the overall conclusion loads super slowly compared to all the other maps ... be patient or you'll lose the whole thing.)

I wound up with Spokane, Tacoma, Portland which were way off based solely on the word "kitty corner", but the map does show a very high match to Kansas where I grew up and North Texas, where I now live. I could see real connections on certain words to my time in Houston and my parents' Cincinnati / Illinois connections also.

Then I saw you could link to the specific map results and so took it a second time to try to capture the map, was asked a few different questions in the mix. I wound up still with stubborn Spokane but two more realistic cities about my word learning: Des Moines and Wichita.

None of this is as good as the Dictionary of Regional English which would be my wish if a bookish fairy godmother showed up to ask what very expensive books I'd love to read for the next year. But its fun enough and interesting. Enjoy!

The Poison Belt by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Poison Belt by Arthur Conan Doyle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Strangely enough, I wound up listening to this apocalyptic book while wrapping gifts. Talk about making me grateful for Christmas with my family! This review is from SFFaudio whence came the review book. Needless to say (I hope), this is my uninfluenced opinion. 

What would you do if you had discovered that the planet was about to be engulfed in a belt of poisonous "ether" from outer space? Professor Challenger invites a hand-picked crew of adventurers and scientists to his home outside London.

I like Sherlock Holmes but I am much fonder of Arthur Conan Doyle's other fiction. He was a skilled teller of "weird tales" and I have heard he was proudest of his historical fiction which I really enjoy. The Poison Belt is the second in a series of fantasy and science fiction novels featuring the brilliant and overpowering Professor Challenger.  It functions very well as a stand alone novel.

Having assembled a newsman, big game huntsman, and another scientist to explore South America in their first adventure, The Lost World, it is only logical that Challenger would call upon the same group for this scientific emergency. Professor Challenger puzzles them when he asks each to bring along a cylinder of oxygen. They are well acquainted with Challenger's eccentricities but little do they suspect that he anticipates an apocalyptic event.

I'd say more but I think reading the whole description would have ruined my astonishment and interest in the story as it unfolded in this superb audiobook. In fact, having grabbed this review book solely based on my enjoyment of The Lost World, I hadn't read the description at all. I was stunned to find this was such an apocalyptic novel. It is really well written and thought through. I was frequently surprised as various events occurred because I simply hadn't thought through the consequences of an apocalypse in 1913 England.

Part of the enjoyment of The Poison Belt comes from the adventurers' interactions. Doyle is very good at inserting humor, often through the two scientists' bickering over conclusions, and at other times in hunter Lord John's casual comments as in this instance when Challenger has asked the group to look at an amoeba through a microscope.

Lord John was prepared to take him on trust.

"I'm not troublin' my head whether he's alive or dead," said he. "We don't so much as know each other by sight, so why should I take it to heart? I don't suppose he's worryin' himself over the state of OUR health."

I laughed at this, and Challenger looked in my direction with his coldest and most supercilious stare. It was a most petrifying experience.

"The flippancy of the half-educated is more obstructive to science than the obtuseness of the ignorant," said he. "If Lord John Roxton would condescend----"

"My dear George, don't be so peppery," said his wife, with her hand on the black mane that drooped over the microscope. "What can it matter whether the amoeba is alive or not?"

"It matters a great deal," said Challenger gruffly.

"Well, let's hear about it," said Lord John with a good-humoured smile. "We may as well talk about that as anything else. If you think I've been too off-hand with the thing, or hurt its feelin's in any way, I'll apologize."

Part of the humor comes across thanks to the excellent narration by actor Gildart Jackson. As is often the case with actors, his reading is rife with expressive accents, subtle nuances, and changes of pace. This isn't a very long book and goes along at a rattling pace. I was hooked from the beginning.

I don't know when I've enjoyed an audiobook more and I hope that Dreamscape is considering more of Arthur Conan Doyle's fiction for the future.

Worth a Thousand Words: Cosette

Portrait of "Cosette" by Émile Bayard,
from the original edition of Les Misérables (1862).
Via Wikipedia

I have begun reading Les Miserables. Inspired by yesterday's portrait of Tolstoy, I went looking for portraits of Victor Hugo and found this along the way. I was so surprised to see that what I thought was a modern image of Cosette actually had been with the novel from the beginning. As Wikipedia tells us:

French illustrator Émile Bayard drew the sketch of Cosette for the first edition, and this engraving was prepared for an 1886 edition. The image has become emblematic of the entire story, being used in promotional art for various versions of the musical.

A Lovely Piece of Advent Fiction: A Shepherd I Will Remain

It is irresistible. We walk to Bethlehem, bells ringing, bringing our sheep. My uncle carries the injured one on his shoulders, and we travel familiar, narrow by-ways that keep us, always, at the margins of the city—away from marketplaces and inns, for we know our place; we are shepherds; we stink of the sheep.

We find the hewn place, like a cave, and again there is light or not light, precisely—oh, how do I tell it? It is a kind of mist of brightness, and it is alive; it contains a hum, a buzz, a fizz that is like pulsing life, and it is everywhere, and it bathes everything and everyone in its warm glow.

From Elizabeth Scalia comes a very good short story, almost just a snapshot really, of the Nativity from a shepherd boy's point of view. Read it at First Things.

What I like about this so much is that Scalia paints the place so vividly. I could hear the fire crackle, feel the rough trails under my feet, and see the young mother's pride. I especially liked the way that details were introduced which followed very logically but which I hadn't thought of before ... such as the fact that shepherds would naturally take their sheep with them.

Scalia is an expert nonfiction writer who often inspires me ... but I think we need more fiction from her. She's good.

In which we go on the carrier's rounds, enjoy a picnic, meet Caleb's daughter, and see an unimaginable sight.

That's right, Chirp the Second of The Cricket on the Hearth is ready for your listening pleasure at Forgotten Classics podcast.

Christmas in the Air

This makes me laugh every time. Many thanks to Doug Savage for sharing his humor with us and allowing me to pass it along to you.

No Internet + No Phone + Waiting at Home All Day for AT&T =

a) Getting a lot of Christmas gifts wrapped.

b) Accidentally recording 50 minutes of Leaf By Niggle (for myself because you can't find it on audio) because I thought the AT&T tech was just stepping out for a few minutes so I thought I'd read until she got back.

c) No blogging.

d) All of the above. CORRECT ANSWER

I have to give the AT&T technician credit though. She just didn't give up. She kept trying and trying and finally figured out our problem, even though she showed up at 9:00 and wasn't done until after 3:00. I was really impressed.

Following the Cowboys

I like what Stephen Tobolowsky tweeted after the Cowboys' game.

Following the Cowboys is like dating an alcoholic.

Precisely. I had the same lack of expectations, the raised hopes that things would be better, the disbelief at the disintegration which was so familiar to watch, the anger at letting myself get sucked in.

So why do I keep dating them? Aaargh!

I had lunch today with a longtime Cowboys fan who pointed out that if Jerry Jones had a General Manager who hadn't turned up with a playoff team in 17 years ... he'd have fired them long ago.

When I think of the string of coaches who have come and gone in that time, I think of the Cowboys' General Manager and wish someone would fire him for the team's good. Are your ears burning ... again ... Jerry?

Well Said: The Ghost of Christmas Lost

Tis the time of year to celebrate Santa being allowed back in Texas schools. Or to read about schools who insist on having no religious songs in Christmas - excuse me - holiday pageants. Or even, as Tom pointed out the other day, to watch Lexus ads which tell us "winter is the season to buy a new car." (Winter is the season? Really? Are they going to run these in February? Now they can't even say "holiday?" Brother, did we laugh.)

All this made me think fondly back to actor Stephen Tobolowsky's Christmas Reflection, part of which I share with you here.

A few years ago I was driving the carpool to school. It was the day of the Christmas program. I told the kids I was eager to come to the show. I asked what Christmas songs they were singing. There was a lengthy pause followed by the innocent reply, “We’re not singing any Christmas songs. Our teacher says that they are too religious. We are only singing songs about the Winter solstice.

It was one of those moments I wished I carried small caliber weapons. I took a breath and said, “Who is your teacher?”

Alex answered back, “Mr. Webster.”

I said, ”Alex, you know Mr. Webster probably doesn’t know this, but the Winter solstice is religious too. It celebrates Paganism. So if he really wants to cut out religion he should just stick to Beatles songs.”

Alex was silent. He recognized the signs of an adult quietly flipping out while driving. I was too angry. I couldn’t stop. I calmly said, “Alex. I have a question for you to ask Mr. Webster. Tell him that Mr. Tobolowsky wanted to know many songs Johann Sebastian Bach wrote in honor of the Winter solstice? How many paintings of Michelangelo were inspired by the solstice? In fact I would like Mr. Webster to cite one reference to the solstice in the works of Charles Dickens, George Eliot, and Jane Austen. Just one.”

The decision to remove Christmas songs from a children’s Christmas show was the definition small-minded. I shouldn’t have been surprised. It was the kind of choice you expect from an expensive private school in Los Angeles.

I dropped the kids off. They ran inside for another date with meaninglessness.

As anyone knows who listens to The Tobolowsky Files, Stephen Tobolowsky is too good a story teller to leave us with just that ending. Go read the whole thing at his blog.

My Interview at Catholic Mom

Sarah Reinhard interviewed me as part of the Catholic Blogger series at Catholic Mom.

Sarah did a very flattering intro and I am always extremely honored that Happy Catholic was an inspiration for her to begin blogging. She's such a dynamo of blogging and book writing that if it wasn't me, it would have been another Catholic blogger who inspired her. But I'm glad it was me. Especially since we are now friends. And that's even better than her blogging and writing.

To be honest, I did this interview some time ago and had forgotten all about it.

So I was interested to read my own answers. And, hey, I held my own interest! (Which says something either about my short memory or my self interest or ... maybe, just maybe ... it means the interview was ok).

Check it out and see for yourself.

In which we meet the Perrybingles ...

... Boxer, a poor toymaker, a crabby toymaker, an unusual parcel and ... the cricket. Chirp the First for your listening pleasure at Forgotten Classics podcast.

Come Tell Me How You Live - Agatha Christie

I wrote this little review a while back but since I'm rereading it and just recommended it to someone, I thought I'd better share again. It is also unexpectedly funny. I laugh out loud and read bits of it to my husband.

Come, Tell Me How You Live by Agatha Christie Mallowan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This engaging memoir covers Agatha Christie's time on archaeological digs with her husband, archaeologist Max Mallowan. Having just read They Came to Baghdad, I was struck by how many of the heroine's realizations of what archaeology teaches us were already familiar because they were Christie's own. Her love of the ordinary people and their lives comes through strong and clear. This is a wonderful look at the Middle East in a time gone by from a unique perspective. I can't recommend this highly enough.

Do You Use Wikipedia?

Do you use Wikipedia? Heaven only knows I do. They're fundraising right now. In fact, that was when I realized just how often I casually drop by to get basic tidbits of information. I kept having to ignore their plea for $3.00.

$3.00.

I dropped in a donation that included both Tom and me.

Here's how they put it.

Wikipedia is the #5 site on the web and serves 500 million different people every month – with billions of page views.

Commerce is fine. Advertising is not evil. But it doesn't belong here. Not in Wikipedia.

Wikipedia is something special. It is like a library or a public park. It is like a temple for the mind. It is a place we can all go to think, to learn, to share our knowledge with others.

When I founded Wikipedia, I could have made it into a for-profit company with advertising banners, but I decided to do something different. We’ve worked hard over the years to keep it lean and tight. We fulfill our mission efficiently.

If everyone reading this donated, our fundraiser would be done within an hour. But not everyone can or will donate. And that's fine. Each year just enough people decide to give.

This year, please consider making a donation of $5, $20, $50 or whatever you can to protect and sustain Wikipedia.

Thanks,

Jimmy Wales

Wikipedia Founder

If you use Wikipedia, and I bet you do, then swing by and drop them a few bucks. It's so much cheaper than that encyclopedia I used to long for!

Rejoice!

A striking feature of the angel's greeting is that he does not address Mary with the usual Hebrew salutation shalom--peace be with you--but with the Greek greeting formula chaire, which we might well translate with the word "Hail," as in the Church's Marian prayer, pieced together from the words of the annunciation narrative (cf. Lk 1:28, 42). Yet at this point it is only right to draw out the true meaning of the word chaire: rejoice! This exclamation from the angel--we could say--marks the true beginning of the New Testament.

Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI),
Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives

I am reading this, extremely slowly, during Advent. This fell upon me this morning.

It connected me immediately with something I'd read last night in Pope Francis's apostolic letter Evangelii Gaudium, which I am also reading extremely slowly.

There are Christians whose lives seem like Lent without Easter.

Was the Holy Father intending to riff on C.S. Lewis? I automatically thought:

When it's always winter but never Christmas.

This famous quote from C.S. Lewis's classic The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe has been singing through my mind ever since. Singing because that line is used by Reliant K in an original song on their Christmas album, which is a favorite of mine.

It all meshed together this morning with thoughts of the Catholics Come Home campaign. Our parish is giving us fliers, handouts, and CDs every Advent Sunday to help invite people to return to church. Spreading the good news or evangelization is also the point of Pope Francis's letter.

We become fully human when we become more than human, when we let God bring us beyond ourselves in order to attain the fullest truth of our being. Here we find the source and inspiration of all our efforts at evangelization. For if we have received the love which restores meaning to our lives, how can we fail to share that love with others?

I always have trouble thinking of "evangelizing" in the standard understanding of the term. I know that "Christ died for you" meant absolutely nothing to me before I met Him personally. The "what if" scenario fills me with dread, "So you're in an elevator with one other person who notices you wearing a cross and asks why you are a Christian. You've got 2 minutes. What do you say?"

What do you say indeed?

Since my own conversion was largely internal and very private I really have a hard time knowing how one would "sum up." And yet, I'd hate to have that one shot and not be able to add my mite to what God is telling that person.

Musing on all the above, C.S. Lewis's own conversion came to mind. He was highly influenced by the stories of George MacDonald and G. K. Chesterton. Then there was an all night discussion about the meaning of Myth with J.R.R. Tolkien and Hugo Dyson. Through and under it all wound the idea of myth, of story, of True Story.

It occurred to me that story is my answer, whether it makes sense to anyone else or not. It's as if your favorite story, the best story you ever read, the story you wanted to be a part of, came true.

All the hope, the meaning, the magic of living inside a story where the good guys win, where the ugly duckling turns into a swan, where our best hopes and dreams come alive ... it's true. It's real. Your life is full of meaning and love no matter what your circumstances or trials because even the best stories have times of great trial for the heroes.

And I rejoice.

Worth a Thousand Words: Benedict Cumberbatch Reads

Benedict Cumberbatch Reads
via Awesome People Reading

It's not just the man. Or the bookshelf. It's the garb that pulls it together somehow.

Hard Magic by Larry Correia

Hard Magic by Larry Correia

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jake Sullivan is a war hero, a private eye — and an ex-con. He’s free because he has a magical talent that the Feds need to apprehend criminals with their own magical abilities. ... Jake finds that not only have the Feds been lying to him, but there is a secret war being waged by opposing forces of magic-users. Worse still, he had attracted the attention of one side’s ruthless leaders — who are of the opinion that Jake is far too dangerous to be permitted to live.

This looked like something of a Harry Dresden copycat and I'm also rather tired of novels that insert magic into our world to create an alternate history. Then Jeff Miller gave it five stars and I had to rethink my position. My Audible monthly credit became available and I saw Bronson Pinchot narrates it ... and I was lost. No one narrates like he does.

All descriptions I've seen don't describe my favorite character, Faye, a teenage Okie whose irregular upbringing combines a good Catholic upbringing with puckish unpredictability. The Catholic element is quite light but Faye's story is equal in interest and weight to Jake's.

I was fascinated by the book's complexity, especially as compared to the first Harry Dresden or Joe Ledger novels. This one doesn't spoon feed you but gets the story rolling while providing information for you to pick up on the interesting magical attributes which some people have, how they can be used, and how this affects the struggle between good and evil. The story also examines the origins of the magic which suddenly began appearing in people in the late 1800s. This provides an unexpected story layer which I found interesting and welcome. Certainly it is a part of what made me interested in the trilogy beyond the first book.

In the midst of the action-packed finale, I suddenly saw all the pieces fit into place, just as the author intended. I was also interested to have some of the characters gain a depth I didn't expect which switched my perspective, all in aid of the puzzle pieces fitting neatly. That was nicely done by author Larry Correia.

Hard Magic is more of a guilty pleasure than anything else but it is a roller coaster ride I'm happy I took.

I'm about as smart as Jake Sullivan but, like everyone else, not nearly as clever as Faye (who is a character to fall in love with, especially as narrated here). I can see I'm going to have to read the next book in the series. Dammit. Because I didn't want another trilogy to invest my time in. But I'll be spending an Audible credit on the next book.

Note: I'd have given it another star but the long battle in the middle of the book really slowed things down and made my interest sag.

In which we sample some hors d'oeuvres from a tasty platter of American food writing.

Something tasty for your weekend listening from Forgotten Classics, a sampler of pieces from American Food Writing, edited by Molly O'Neill.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful ...

The view from our front yard

As I mentioned in yesterday's ratting story, we have gone from the 80s to below freezing in two days.

It is beautiful as you can see from the photo Tom snapped this morning.

To watch the news you'd think we had 6 feet of snow or something. The newscasters gravely say, "Now to Bob out in Plano, where a carport collapsed."

Then Bob shows us the collapsed carport on top of the car inside.

Oh the humanity!

It does shut the city down because we just aren't prepared for this sort of weather ... unlike when I moved here 30 years ago and it was very common. But the crazy way the news shows it makes it seem worse.

To be fair, I'm doing everything with the expectation that the power will go out at any time because the lines are covered with ice and we've been hearing transformers blow occasionally. So in my own way, I'm just as "emergency" oriented.

Kaylee, of ratting story fame, feels it is much too cold for a little lady to venture outside as we discovered when we looked behind the couch this morning. (She did have the decorum to hide the evidence. She's not a savage, people.)

Mountain men that we are, we closed the dog door and went outside in robes and slippers to encourage the dogs to romp playfully. And, as we hoped, nature took its course. Good girl!

Tom's going to work but I'm staying home and baking some Christmas cookies for the freezer! YAY!

10 Books That Have Stayed With You Meme

This began on Facebook, but I know of no reason why we shouldn't bring it into the blogging world which is where all the really good booktalk happens. (Ok, Goodreads excepted, but that is where I have made many good book talkin' pals.)

I knew this would come my way as soon as I saw Jeff Miller did it. Turns out Will Duquette laid it on me. Turns out the first two books on his list are the first I thought of also. Here goes ...

Rules: list 10 books that have stayed with you. Don't take more than a few minutes; don't think too hard. They don't have to be great works, just the ones that have touched you. Here's mine, in no particular order :

1. The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis
3. The Curse of Chalion - Lois McMaster Bujold
4. Death Comes as the End - Agatha Christie
5. The Franchise Affair - Josephine Tey
6. Little Dorrit - Charles Dickens
7. Only You Can Save Mankind - Terry Pratchett
8. While We Still Live - Helen MacInnes
9. The Hiding Place - Corrie Ten Boom
10. One Door Away From Heaven - Dean Koontz

I'm supposed to tag 10 people and I did tag a few on Facebook, but I'm just going to leave it up to whoever wants to join in, whether blogging, on Facebook, or just in the comments box here.

It's Lovely Ratting Weather Outside

Yesterday it was in the 80s.

This morning it was in the 30s and falling.

Normal weather jumps for this time of year in North Texas.

Tom came back where I was reading while feeding the dogs. As usual Kaylee bolted her portion while Wash leisurely munched while taking occasional looks out the window.

I said, "Hey, we forgot to leave the dog door open last night."

"Did Kaylee go out this morning?" he asked.

"Right after breakfast and then she bolted back in, all frisky."

"Ahhh." And he grinned.

I looked at Kaylee, standing there near me. I didn't have my glasses on but she was looking at Tom, wagging her tail, and she seemed to have ... were those branches poking out of her mouth? Dear Lord, those were feet. And there was a tail draping luxuriously past them.

"A rat!"

"That's right," Tom said in soothing, cheerful tones. "And Kaylee's going out, aren't you girl? C'mon out!"

She'd dashed to the bathroom to show him which is quite sweet, actually. She loves Tom as her Alpha while still battling a general fear of men from her rescue dog days.

In a feat of calm I probably couldn't have matched, he coaxed her out and closed the dog door. He then got her to drop the rat. She, understandably, was loathe to leave her treasure out there for anyone to grab when her back was turned. She'd shown us her rats and squirrels before only to have them scooped up. This was staying firmly in her mouth.

Eventually, though, she relaxed. And Tom gave her a nice second breakfast as a reward. Hobbits aren't the only ones who love second breakfasts.

He then went out with the shovel, confirming her worst suspicions that he'd just wanted that tasty morsel for himself.

Notes on Mark: The Millstone

MARK 9:41-42
Think of just how small the kindness is that Jesus is talking about here. And if you want to know how seriously he takes leading people astray, just see what Barclay has to say about the size of that millstone!

Any kindness shown, any help given, to the people of Christ will not lose its reward. The reason for helping is that the person in need belongs to Jesus. Every man in need has a claim upon us because he is dear to Christ. Had Jesus still been here in the flesh he would have helped that man in the most practical way and the duty of help has devolved on us. It is to be noted how simple the help is. The gift is a cup of cold water. We are not asked to do great things for others, things beyond our power. We are asked to give the simple things that any man can give...

But the converse is also true. To help is to win the eternal reward. To cause a weaker brother to stumble is to win the eternal punishment. The passage is deliberately stern. The mill-stone that is mentioned is a great millstone. There were two kinds of mills in Palestine. There was the hand-mill that the women used in the house. And there was the mill whose stone was so great that it took an ass to turn it.

The mill-stone here is literally an ass's mill-stone. To be cast into the sea with that attached was certainly to have no hope of return. This was in fact a punishment and a means of execution both in Rome and Palestine...

The Gospel of Mark
(The Daily Bible Series, rev. ed.)

Well Said: Catholic Readers

From my quote journal.

Catholic readers are forever being scandalized by novels that they don't have the fundamental equipment to read in the first place, and often these are worlds that are permeated with a Christian spirit. It is when an individual's faith is weak, not when it is strong, that he will be afraid of an honest fictional representation of life.
Flannery O'Connor

Needless to say, I completely agree. Not that I myself am always strong enough or fully equipped to understand the sorts of novels of which she speaks. Heck, they don't even have to be that hard for some people to quail. Look at the fuss over the Harry Potter series. But I try. Not being afraid is the key. And that's a start.

Notes on Mark: He That is Not Against Us is For Us

MARK 9:38-40
Isn't that so often the way? If someone isn't doing something just the way that we would then it isn't right, not valid, has to be changed or stopped. I wish I could say that I was immune to this but I'm probably one of the worst about wanting things done "just so" in accordance with my ideas of perfection. Here, Jesus reminds us that our way is not the only way.

Our Lord warns the Apostles, and through them all Christians, against exclusivism in the apostolate -- the notion that "good is not good unless I am the one who does it." We must assimilate this teaching of Christ's: good is good, even if it is not I who do it.

Navarre Bible: St. Mark

Noah - the movie

You know, it's been a good long time since I've seen an old school Bible movie. This looks as if it might just fill the bill. Crossing my fingers for this one!

Advent

Interior Of The Mezquita Cathedral Virgin Mary Icon

Everybody knows, even those of us who have lived most unadventurously, what it is to plod on for miles, it seems, eagerly straining your eyes toward the lights that, somehow, mean home. How difficult it is, when you are doing that to judge distances! In pitch darkness, it might be a couple of miles to your destination, it might be a few hundred yards. So it was, I think, with the Hebrew prophets, as they looked forward to the redemption of their people. They could not have told you, within a hundred years, within five hundred years, when it was the deliverance would come. They only knew that, some time, the stock of David would burgeon anew; some time, a key would be found to fit the door of their prison house; some time, the light that only shows, now, like a will-o'-the-wisp on the horizon would broaden out, at last into the perfect day.

This attitude of expectation is one which the Church wants to encourage in us, her children, permanently. She sees it as an essential part of our Christian drill that we should still be looking forward; getting on for two thousand years, now, since the first Christmas Day came and went, and we must still be looking forward. So she encourages us, during advent, t take the shepherd-folk for our guides, and imagine ourselves traveling with them at dead of night, straining our eyes towards that chink of light which streams out, we know, from the cave at Bethlehem.

R.A. Knox, Sermon on Advent 1947
quoted in In Conversation with God, Vol. 1, Francis Fernandez

With Advent the liturgical year begins in the Western churches. Before Christmas we spend time in contemplation and preparation for the coming of Christ on three levels: as memorial of his incarnation as the babe in Bethlehem, to his coming with grace in our souls, and in looking forward to when he comes as the Judge at the end of time.

Those who celebrate Advent do so with various private devotions during this time. Some read a specific book to think about, some go to regular adoration, some try to avoid excessive focus on Christmas preparations, and such things.

Me? I'm trying to figure it out. And maybe that's ok too ... just to have a mindfulness of the season and to be listening more and thinking more ... and praying more ... as we look and wait and try to figure it out.

Advent Litany

I was looking over my old Advent posts. You know, in 9 years you can come up with a lot of Advent series that you want to rerun every year. It's kind of like seeing your grandparents' Christmas tree. So chock a block full of ornaments from over the years that you can hardly see the green of the tree itself.

My apologies in advance, therefore, as this blog will be loaded up with Advent from here to there and back again. This is your warning ... or the promise of good things to come ... depending on your mindset.

To launch us off, here's a goodie I found from way back in 2007. How have I forgotten it for that long? No matter. Let's dust it off and see ... hey! ... it's just as good, if not better, than when it was put in the attic.

It is the advent of Advent. Very soon we will begin that waiting period of reflection and pause before being plunged into Christmas. In that spirit I thought that this was a nice litany to have on hand. As well as just a good set of meditations for prayer.

Advent Litany

Lord Jesus, you are the light of the world.
Come, Lord Jesus.

You are light in our darkness.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Son of God, save us from our sins.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Son of Mary, deepen our love.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Bring hope into the lives of all people.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Give your peace to all nations.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Be the joy of all who love you.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Bring unity among all who believe in you.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Bless us as we gather here in your name.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Lord Jesus, stay with us always.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Let us pray:

May Christ give us his peace and joy,
and let us share them with others.
All peace and glory are his for ever.

Amen.

Worth a Thousand Words: Aerial Arts at the Margarita Ball

Hannah performing on silks at the Margarita Ball

You wouldn't think this was her hobby, would you? She looks like a professional aerialist ... a dangerous, spike-haired professional.

I understand the Moxie Mischief gang was a big hit and we are very happy for them and very proud of Hannah.

The Twits, The Minpins & The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl

The Twits, The Minpins & The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Although I have enjoyed many of the movies made from Roald Dahl's books (most notably James and the Giant Peach) I cannot recall reading any of his books except Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which was ... fine but not world changing for me. That's kind of odd too, when I think about it, because I was the right age to be the prime audience when a lot of his books were coming out but I was largely oblivious to them. (Yep. Dated myself. Don't care.)

However, as I have learned in the past, audio often breaks open a book or author who I didn't find congenial in print. It was that way with Coraline by Neil Gaiman. It was that way with the last half of The Lord of the Rings (yes, I am ashamed but I will not lie). And, now, it is that way with Roald Dahl.

The Twits are the most horrible couple in the world and quite hateful to each other, until they are under attack from a common enemy. Even then they are horrible which makes it quite gratifying to see them get their comeuppance from the Muggle-Wump monkey family and the Roly Poly bird. This story had the most disgusting description of a beard I have ever encountered. Even while I was grimacing, I was also laughing because Dahl had such a clever way with words. Narrator Richard Ayoade had a lovely, calm British narration style that didn't preclude hilarious, low-class voices for the Twits. First class stuff.

The Minpins has the most perfect monster name I've ever heard -- The Gruncher, a fire-breathing, boy eating creature in Sin Forest. It sends Billy right up a tree where he meets the Minpins and they form an ingenious alliance to deal with their common foe. Bill Bailey narrated this with a great deal of gusto which didn't detract in the least from the story.

The Magic Finger was my favorite story, partially because Kate Winslet's narration won me over from the very beginning. I also just couldn't resist the little girl who "puts my Magic Finger" on those who displease her. The Greggs are worthy of a magic finger punishment because they are such keen hunters. What the Magic Finger does is typical Dahl ingenuity at its best.

These are little stories but each is a gem which children would love. Heck, I liked them quite a bit myself and, as I have revealed, I am far past the age of tender youth. I am now going to look for more Roald Dahl in audio, possibly even revisiting Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

I got this Roald Dahl sampler courtesy of SFFaudio where this review aired first.

Well Said: The Land That Is Us

From my quote journal, via The Spirit of Food. It seems appropriate since Thanksgiving is coming and that's largely about the feast. And about thankfulness, of course, which is about a proper sense of perspective.

When asked what we do for a living I always hesitate; there's no grand title and I can read their eyes. Farming requires no specialized degree, no impressive wages for menial labor, the primitive work of any civilization. We're farmers. We just grow food. We just raise pigs. It doesn't get more rudimentary.

The children read it aloud once from their history text, how the most denigrated class of people in ancient Egypt was the swine herders. They'd looked at each other, at their dad and me, we pig farmers.

I had held the book in my hand, smoothed the page out flat, and the words had come slowly, like bent backs rising, but they had come and we all stood taller because of them. How can growing nourishment for temples where Christ dwells be dirty base work? If it isn't fish at the end of a fork, it ultimately came from dirt, from the bowed back of a farmer. And this dirt tilling, isn't it engaging in Genesis work, stewarding and cultivating his creation? Some say there are only two kinds of people who brush very God. The priest in the sacraments. The farmer in the soil. We've known it, standing at the end of a field, the wagons filling with yield: working earth touches God. Working humus feeds humanity. We are dust farming dust, preparing food for men planting food, living this circular dance: from dirt, through dirt, until the return to the dirt; for from him and through him and to him, all things. Need we be ashamed?

The children had all nodded.

Ann Voskamp, The Land That Is Us

These Beautiful Bones review

I laid the book out, read it partially while doing so, and have been pushing it on people. Have I read it through myself? Not yet ... I will, I will but this is my busy time of year.

BUT Sarah Reinhard read it ... here's her review of These Beautiful Bones, a book that opens up Theology of the Body to everyone.

To think I complained because Pope Francis never wrote anything.

And I know I'm not the only one.

His 288-page exhortation feels like an "Oh yeah? Take that!" ... in a good way! Looking forward to reading this!

(UPDATE: ok, I swear I saw a huge page number on this thing, but the pdf is 83 pages ... thank goodness. Which is still pretty good "in your face" numbers for the non-writing complaints. I stand corrected, Your Holiness.)

Well Said: Preaching Purity Instead of Abstinence

From my quote journal.

We err when we preach abstinence to lads and lasses, rather than purity, the full-blooded virtue that honors the beauty of the body by preserving its cleanliness, its youth, for the marriage and the children to which its sexuality is ordained, if God so wills. No one can sing an anthem to a negative: it is like the glory of a flower. It radiates youth and health and a wise innocence; while impurity is old and enfeebled and "knowing" and ignorant.

Anthony Esolen in Magnificat magazine

Sweet Potato Casserole With Pecan Crumble

My latest favorite in the sweet potato category for Thanksgiving. Get it at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Notes on Mark: True Ambition

MARK 9:32-35
I never stopped to analyze why the disciples fell silent when Jesus asked what they had been arguing about ... I didn't have to. I always knew it was because they were ashamed without thinking about it. As any of us would feel when caught in such a moment. It takes looking at things through Jesus' eyes sometimes to see things clearly.

When he asked them what they had been arguing about they had nothing to say. It was the silence of shame. They had no defense. It is strange how a thing takes its proper place and acquires its true character when it is set in the eyes of Jesus. So long as they thought that Jesus was not listening and that Jesus had not seen, the argument about who should be greatest seemed fair enough, but when that argument had to be stated in the presence of Jesus it was seen in all its unworthiness...

Jesus took this very seriously. It says that he sat down and called the Twelve to him. When a Rabbi was teaching as a Rabbi, as a master teaches his scholars and disciples, when he was really making a pronouncement, he sat to teach. Jesus deliberately took up the position of a Rabbi teaching his pupils before he spoke. And then he told them that if they sought for greatness in his Kingdom they must find it, not by being first but by being last, not by being masters but by being servants of all. It was not that Jesus abolished ambition. Rather he recreated and sublimated ambition. For the ambition to rule, he substituted the ambition to serve. For the ambition to have things done for us he substituted the ambition to do things for others.

The Gospel of Mark
(The Daily Bible Series, rev. ed.)

No Forwarding Address

The latest offering in our tall tales told in taverns series at Forgotten Classics podcast. Come hear it!

Notes on Mark: Foreshadowing the Resurrection

MARK 9:14-29
Do I see this foreshadowing when I'm reading the Gospels? No. Good thing there is this sort of commentary to point it out to me.

Mark's account also included an echo of the resurrection. The boy, after Jesus delivered him, appeared "like a corpse" (Mark 9:26). Jesus "took him by the hand and lifted him up" (Mark 9:27). In the original Greek language, Mark's terminology foreshadowed Jesus' resurrection and hinted at another aspect of discipleship: Christians may sometimes feel powerless and lifeless, but beginning even now, Jesus delivers us and raises us to new life.

Mark: A Devotional Commentary
(The Word Among Us)

Worth a Thousand Words: Greylag Goose

Greylag Goose
taken by the incomparable Remo Savisaar

It almost looks like a motion study, doesn't it? Or an anatomy lesson? All conveyed in the simple beauty of these birds flying. Simply fantastic.

For the New Liturgical Year: Reading God's Word - Year A

The new liturgical year is coming up. When I realized that, I made a purchase for my Kindle that has become routine in the last couple of years ... Reading God's Word: Daily Mass Readings. In this case it will be for Year A.

It's inexpensive - $10.

It's incredibly useful. I wouldn't have believed how much I'd refer to it, whether simply in my own daily reading or for various other projects.

It's one of the books that "lives" on my Kindle. And I don't have a lot of those, usually preferring a book in the hand to one in the Kindle. (ha! yes, feel free to use that if you want). The formatting is well done and it's easy to navigate.

It's offered in print, Kindle, Nook, and iBookstore formats at the publisher's website. I just pick it up from Amazon myself.

Highly recommended.

The Thorny Grace of It by Brian Doyle

I think about the motley chaotic confusing house that is Catholicism. I think about the mad wondrous prayer of the Mass. I thing about how htere are such stunning and wonderful and confusing people in the clan of Catholic. I think about how we are all several kinds of people at once and hardly know ourselves let alone anybody else. I think about how possible the Church is, and how possible we are. I think about how really the Church is lots and lots of us mulish miracles gathered for little holy meals and story-swaps. I think about how religions are like people, capable of both extraordinary evil and unimaginable grace. I think about how the Church is sort of like the windows above me which catch these timbers of sun and focus them on the human comedy. I think about how I'd be a lot less of a man if I didn't have ways ot wake up to what I can be if I harness mercy and humor and grace and wisdom and attention and prayer and humility and courage and grace.

Which is what all true stories are about. Which is what we are, really, at our best--true stories. And true stories, stories with love and power in them, can save your life and save your soul and bring you, if even for only a flickering instant, face-to-face with the unimaginable creative force that once, a very long time ago, explained itself to Moses as, simply and confusingly, I Am. That force is in you, in every moment, in every story; which you know and I know, and which we hardly ever admit, which we should, so I do, amen.

(the clan of catholic)

Read it once. 

This is the essence and theme and a large portion of the style of The Thorny Grace of It by Brian Doyle.

In face, it is so truly the essence of it that I can't describe it better.

Read it a second time, perhaps aloud.

So I will just say that I liked this book very much. Some of the essays are written in a more standard form.

The third person to bless my rosary was a small girl in sage country. She is six years old. Whatever it is that we call the creative force that made us all and can be seen most unadorned in children beams out of this kid with the force of a thousand suns. She put my rosary on top of her head and held it there with her right hand as she put her left hand on my face and said I hope these beads will always have holy in them for when Mister Brian needs it, which is a very good blessing it seems to me.

(ten blessings)

Some are stream of consciousness.

At least look her in the eye and be gentle. Christ liveth in her, remember? ... Also in the grumpy imam, and in the surly teenager, and in the raving man under the clock at Flinders Street Station, and in the foulmouthed man at the footy, and in the cousin you detest with a deep and abiding detestation and have detested since you were tiny mammals fresh from the wombs of your mothers. When he calls to ask you airily to help him lug that awful vulgar elephantine couch to yet another of his shabby flats, do not roar and use vulgar and vituperative language, even though you have excellent cause to do so and who could blame you? But Christ liveth in him. Speak hard words into your closet and cast them thus into oblivion. Help him with the couch, for the ninth blessed time ...

(how to be good)

Some, like the example we began with way back at the top of this piece, are in-between.

In a way, they were like reading Ray Bradbury who reveled in words, flicked words against each other to talk to us in a new way, drowned in the poetry of them. If Bradbury had written about faith he'd have made me smile, nod, see myself. These hit me that way.

I will say that Doyle is from Portland, Oregon, which tends to imbue its inhabitants with a somewhat different viewpoint than those from my part of the country (Texas by way of the Midwest). The things that divide us are those that he lets roll off his tongue as matter-of-fact. However, those pointers tend to be lightly passed over to get to more important, personal ground. That makes it easy to ignore comments which would usually make me roll my eyes if they were emphasized more. And there are not very many of them. I appreciated that because the overall effect of the essays was to make me think more like the excerpt that started us off on the review.

This book is by a Catholic for imperfect Catholics. Doyle's light hand with divisive elements makes me think wonder if it wouldn't be a good one for Christians of any stripe. These essays make me think of how Pope Francis has so many enthusiastic supporters from outside Catholicism, spreading even into atheist ranks. They draw on the common things we all know about being human from the very good, to the striving, to the times that we fall and must haul ourselves up for another try.

Read it a third time.

Get the book. Keep it by your bed. Pick it up. Read it. Let the words roll over you. And be glad.

NOTE:
The review copy was provided by the Patheos Book Club. Publishers pay for Patheos to feature their books.My review is my own based solely on the book's merits.

The Basics ... in Prayer Together

I am swamped. It is my usual catalog season. And I have to be out of the office some for various other reasons. We're also short a person who is at the hospital with his family right now ... and that is what prompted me to stop and post these prayer requests.

Prayer Request #1
Our coworker's father had a bit of neck pain for a few weeks. When he went to the doctor they found that slow-growing kidney cancer had somehow lodged a tumor in his neck that had actually consumed one of the vertebrae.

Naturally this is devastating to the family and the poor father is undergoing numerous procedures and partial surgeries just to properly evaluate the situation.

The family is gratefully accepting offers of prayer. Please lift them up in your prayers that they will come through this dark time closer to God and with healing for body and soul.

Prayer Request #2
I can't say this better than Deacon Greg (and who can really ever say things better than Deacon Greg?).

Today stand up for someone who can't. 

That would be Thomas Peters.

As you probably know, he’s facing a long road back from the debilitating accident that crippled him this summer.

He’s written about it himself with pathos and poignancy—and a beautiful clarity. 

Now, his friends are rallying to help.

Pray. Donate. Spread the word. Visit this website to learn how.  

But if you do nothing else, please just whisper a prayer of trust and hope.

Sichuan-Style Orange Beef with Sugar Snap Peas

Super duper easy and super duper delicious ... find out more at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Worth a Thousand Words: Long-Tailed Tit

Long-Tailed Tit
taken by the brilliant Remo Savisaar

I simply cannot emphasize enough how talented Remo Savisaar is at nature photography. Please click through to see the photo in larger detail and to peruse his other outstanding photos.