The Queue

I'm certain Catholics Go by the Bible is chockablock with useful information, but it wasn't holding my interest, so I wasn't picking it up very often. I fear the accessibility of the book's useful information is limited by the author's—forgive my bluntness—poor writing; Seinfeld articulated, as it so often did, something we had all previously intuited but never succinctly formulated: "People love interesting writing!" If I do not someday circle back & try Catholics Go by the Bible again, I will undoubtedly at some point use it as a reference work, for The Popish Plot or some other endeavor.

A Legacy of Spies is borrowed from the Genesee District Library, as a twenty-eight-day loan despite the "14 Day Loan" sticker formerly stuck to the spine. (I removed the sticker because it was no longer accurate. I'm worse than just a vandal, I'm a captious vandal.) I do so love espionage—books, both fiction & non-fiction, & motion pictures, too, both features & television series. I take seriously a bit of advice I heard when I lived my Cursillo weekend & subsequently as I've been on teams hosting men as they live their Cursillo weekends: "Don't just read good books. Read the best." I love reading about the faith & the Church, both high theology & earthy practicality, anything & everything to help my fellow pilgrims & me make our corporate & individual ways home, but we must always remember that the Lord God speaks to all His children, even the many who would hardly identify themselves as such. John le Carré's talent is as much a gift from God as was Venerable Fulton Sheen's. Le Carré may not use his God-given artistry as explicitly for the greater glory of God (ad maioriem Dei gloriam) as did Archbishop Sheen, but Scripture teaches us that even what men intend for evil the Lord God can turn to serve His infinitely good purpose (Genesis, 50:20). Deus vult!

Recently
Gary Chapman with Randy Southern, The 5 Love Languages for Men: Tools for Making a Good Relationship Great
Kevin Lowry, How God Hauled Me Kicking and Screaming into the Catholic Church
Deacon Eugene Hausmann, Catholics Go by the Bible: Biblical Sources of Catholic Theology & Liturgy ***abandoned***

Currently
John le Carré, A Legacy of Spies

Presently
Norman Davies, Vanished Kingdoms: The Rise and Fall of States and Nations ***paused***
Matthew Kelly, Perfectly Yourself: Discovering God's Dream for You
Sherry A. Weddell, Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus
William E. Simon Jr., Great Catholic Parishes: How Four Essential Practices Make Them Thrive
Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ
Bishop Robert Barron, Seeds of the Word: Finding God in the Culture
Mike Aquilina, Understanding the Mass: 100 Questions, 100 Answers
Scott & Kimberly Hahn, Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism
Xavier Rynne, Vatican Council II
John W. O'Malley, What Happened at Vatican II
Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love)
Pope Benedict XVI, Sacramentum Caritatis (The Sacrament of Charity)
Richard Price, Clockers
Sir Richard Francis Burton, translator, "Sinbad the Sailor" from The Arabian Nights
Sir Ernest Shackleton, South: A Memoir of the Endurance Voyage
William F. Buckley Jr., The Unmaking of a Mayor
Margaret MacMillan, Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World