Jenn

This book, while long, was an engrossing read. I read the bulk of it in two days. I liked how each chapter was written from a different character's perspective. She evoked a great sense of empathy with all of her characters; they were very realistic, and each has his or her own unique set of strengths and foibles.

This was a great book. I love St. Therese! And the insight into her relationship with seminarian-priest Maurice is beautiful. I feel a kinship with this saint and appreciate the inheritance we have received from her writings.

St. Robert Bellarmine has some great insights in this book, particularly with how he deals with the sacraments. There were some parts of his discussion on matrimony on which I think the Church has come to a different understanding, however.

I enjoyed the first half of the book more than the second half of the book. The second half deals, in part, with a plan for dying, including suggestions on what to do (per day?!), if possible.

His section on confirmation was amazing – something to share with people in RCIA or teens about to be confirmed.

This was a cute little book! I liked that you could interact with the text. Evie and I had fun pointing to the various parts, especially top parts and inside parts (Aaaahhh!). :)

As always, Jodi Picoult writes a book that is very difficult to put down, with interesting ethical questions and characters you really care about. This one is no exception. At the end of the book, I am always yearning to know just a little more about how all the characters lives will play out, beyond the resolution of the plot at hand.

Some of the stories of the saints were written very well and were quite engaging. Others were written in a more circuitous fashion and were much harder to follow and to stay focused on.

For a small book, this one is anything but superficial. It is perfect for anyone who really want to sink his teeth into the substance of the faith, but who may not have a great deal of time to devote to the study.

I read this while I was at a Bible study concerning 2 Corinthians. I found that these when together exceedingly well, as Paul spoke a great deal about suffering.

What I think is a great strength of this book is that it doesn't waste time being polite. The questions and practical things to do at the end of each chapter are particularly helpful, since it's often difficult to concretize abstract ideas into positive action items.

I think it is a needed book. Men don't know, many times, what it really means to be a man. And from this, women don't really know what it means to be a woman. We need to help each other find our identities in Christ, so that we can more authentically live as we were created to live.

I'm having a hard time choosing whether this book was just “ok” or whether I liked it. The characters were fairly believable and the plot was interesting; however, it was very slow-moving. It feels more like you are actually watching the events unfold, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but for a book, you expect the pace to be a bit quicker. In addition, there were several scenes where the action was suspenseful, yet the writing was too calm and didn't make you feel the excitement of the event.

Overall, it was decent, yet probably not one that I will run to read again. Although, I will probably read the other books in the series, because I do want to see what happens with the characters (and the authors change, so perhaps I will like one of the others better). :)

This was a good book, but certainly not one which you can plow through. Meditating upon the various insights certainly enhances the experience. :)

This book had an interesting perspective on the roles of certain women in the newly formed Church. I was a little skeptical about the level of detail afforded each woman, as information in scarce; however, the author did appear to have done a lot of historical and archaeological research, which stands behind the words on the page. Alas, this is not documented, so one is left wondering how much is based on fact and how much is conjecture.

That issue set aside, it is a quick read and offers insight into these mysterious women in the Bible, as well as an idea of the example they set and the role they played in the early Church. Anything which piques your interest and gets you to read more of Scripture text is a good thing. :)

I love that this book is so full of pop culture. I tend to like to see God in the most unusual places, such as in the music which I listen to (although the main message may not be the most wholesome) and the books that I read. What Fr. Mossa makes a point of is telling us that God will find us wherever we happen to be. There is nothing in this world which is not touched by God, but we have to be open to Him to be aware of that touch.

It was great to be able to find a really well-done book about spirituality that was at the same time a joy and pleasure to read.

This book was a good biography of Teilhard de Chardin. While brief, it let us get to know the man, and not just his works. True to Teilhard's vision, the biographer showed him to be a man of deep integrity in all facets of his life, although he was frequently misunderstood by his peers and those of his own community.

Perhaps the best recommendation that I can make of a biographical novel is that it is inspiring me to read more of Teilhard's works, and to dive into the thought behind this complex man.

I wasn't really sure that I'd like this book because there was a lot that I didn't think I'd relate to. After all, it's a book about a couple converting from the Protestant faith to Catholicism, and I came from an atheist background. Second, Dr. Hahn and his wife studied their way into the Church, and my conversion was anything but academic.

However, the Holy Spirit was so present in this book that, despite myself, I often found myself laughing out loud or on the verge of tears! And this is anything but typical for me!

The integrity that the Hahns show and the love that they have for Our Lord are inspiring.

I loved this book! It gave a very honest and realistic portrait of the day-to-day life of the priest, beyond the outward appearances, and outlined some of the common struggles and pitfalls of that vocation.

As a lay woman, it gave me an insight into their life and led me to have an increased sense of empathy toward my priests and a renewed desire to support them however I can, especially with my daily prayers.

Not only does Fr. Heher outline some common pitfalls, but he also makes some great suggestions for overcoming these (or even just to recognize them in the first place) to his brother priests.

I would definitely recommend this book to any priest I know, and also to anyone with a heart for our shepherds. :)

This was a very fun book to read. Obviously, the author took liberty with the Biblical tales to flesh them out, yet his stories are plausible and help the reader to relate to the Biblical characters. What was an extra bonus, was how this new perspective on these tales made me want to open the Bible and read these passages along with the book, to compare the actual stories with Mr. Craughwell's accounts.

The “morals of the stories” listed after his retelling of the events and lives of these bad kids were spot on for a book of this type – not too preachy, but still containing truth and insight into human behavior. The fact that he paired each “moral” with at least one Biblical quote was great.

As an adult, I found these to be quite enjoyable, but I would also highly recommend these stories to Catholic parents. In reading them to their children, not only will they learn moral lessons, but they will become more excited about and familiar with various characters and stories of the Bible.

I loved this book as a kid! It was fun to read it again. I'll certainly read it and recommend it to the little kids I know! :)

It was okay. I think that, as a child's book, the archaic forms of the English language should be updated. Overall, it was concise, but I'd probably prefer to read the story of Moses to my children out of the Bible.

I approached this book cautiously, wondering if it was going to be another session of pope-bashing. Upon reading it, although it presents events in a rather humorous way, it seems to this non-historian to be based upon the facts of the events and does not undermine the papacy, but rather shows the human nature of the Church. Thank God, that He provided a guide for us in the Holy Spirit! We surely would have been lost as a Church without Him!

I got this book last Christmas, it only took me a year and a day to finish! What book did I get this year from my brother? “Bad Kids of the Bible” LOL!

This book, in some way, is crafted like our response to death, both in how we should approach it and how we do approach it. 97% of the book is a great, logical, philosophical discussion of the 5 faces of death, hashing it out so that we may better understand this phenomenon while is incomprehensible and that we typically prefer to ignore until it slaps us in the face. So, for much of the book, we gain knowledge about the nature of death.

However, in the last 3% of the book, we are given an insight into his personal meeting with death in the possibility of losing his daughter to a brain tumor. Here we see the emotive response to death when we are face to face with it. In some way, whatever we might know intellectually goes out the window and we are placed back at square one with death as a stranger and an enemy and have to work through the emotions when our intellect cannot be heard by our heart.

We need that 97% of knowledge of truth, because it is that 3% that we are inclined to pay more attention to, and to let the emotions overwhelm us and lead us into despair. If we can cling to our certain knowledge of truth and of Him, we will make it through – mind, spirit and heart – intact.

I loved this book in that it really has you engage the Gospels. It fleshes out the stories and helps you to know (and want to know) more about Jesus. One particularly great part about this book was the way that the author would refer you to Scripture (read this part of the Bible before reading on in the book). There should always be prayer and Scripture reading involved with any serious attempt to get to know God, and the fact that this was assumed for the reader just makes my heart smile. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. It was not only informative, but highly entertaining and a great read. :)

This is the cutest book EVER! I love, love, love it! I think I've bought 4-5 copies and given them to various friends' kids. I still need to buy a copy for myself. I love Little Pea!

For as full as this book is of statistics and facts pertaining to media, this book is a very engaging read. Teresa has a great blend of anecdote and solid information which makes you interested in the subject matter. She also is careful to balance her presentation with both the sobering reality of negative media influence, hope for positive media usage and practical suggestions for what people can do about the situation.

I suppose most of my issues with the book stem from the fact that I am a convert from atheism. However, not atheism as the protagonist views it. From what I gather, she is speaking specifically to what is termed “New Atheism,” which appears to be anti-theist, as opposed to strictly atheist.

Atheism as I understand it, is more of a null position. It just means that you do not believe there is a God. If you are agnostic, then you do not know if there is a God (and perhaps don't think that it's possible to know whether or not there is a God). If you are antitheistic, then you are opposed to the idea of a God and/or religion in general.

Atheists as I have experienced are most likely to mark “None” when asked for their religion, instead of “Atheist.” They (we) are typically not a cohesive group and do not claim to hold the same views, beliefs or opinions as other atheists.

This book repeatedly argues from the positions that atheists are united in world-view and that they have a pointedly antagonistic attitude towards religion and religious people.

If only specifically addressing “New Atheists,” I suppose this work accomplishes what it sets out to do, but can be confusing to those who do not know the difference between “new atheists” and people who do not believe there is a God. I'm not sure if I would have preferred the book to be expanded in its scope or more precise in its terminology.

In general, the arguments (or suggestions for improvement) that the protagonist gives are somewhat convincing, although a little too simplistic for the topics. It is however, a decent outline of potential problems with an atheist worldview and a starting point for true intellectual discussion.

One thing I would question is the claim made that without God, one cannot have morality. Isn't it possible to work within a paradigm of natural law ethics?

This book was not only a pleasure to read, but it was quite informative. They did a great job of pointing out first century Jewish customs which could enrich our understanding of Jesus' teaching. The note they made about being careful about which Jewish customs to bring into our current spiritual practice was a good one to remember. With everything, we need to discern what we are doing and the reasons why we are doing it. The style of the book was like having a chat with a friend – very accessible.