The Queue

I didn't read the complete The Complete Stories. In fact, I only read about one third of them & returned the book to the library with ten days left on the loan. This is not because I disliked Flannery O'Connor's writing. On the contrary, several of the stories I would describe as sublime, others as mediocre, & not a one as poor—but all of them grotesque, relentlessly so. I'll pick up the National Book Award-winning Complete Stories again, perhaps reading another third, & then someday return a second time for the last third.

Meanwhile, back to non-fictional, specifically ecclesiastical reading. Great Catholic Parishes isn't particularly spiritual reading, but it is practical, a research study into best practices that help great Catholic parishes flourish. I currently have the honor of serving as the chairman of the parish council at Holy Redeemer, & recently was flown to suburban Baltimore to attend the Rebuilt Conference; so, thinking specifically & intentionally about how we as a parish can better serve the Lord & fulfill the Great Commission is right up my alley.

After Great Catholic Parishes, next in the queue are Pope Francis's brand-new Guadete et Exsultate & Paul VI's seminal Humanae Vitae, celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this summer.

Recently
Father John Riccardo, Heaven Starts Now: Becoming a Saint Day by Day
Matthew Kelly, Perfectly Yourself: Discovering God's Dream for You
Flannery O'Connor, The Complete Stories

Currently
William E. Simon Jr., Great Catholic Parishes: A Living Mosaic—How Four Essential Practices Make Them Thrive

Presently
Norman Davies, Vanished Kingdoms: The Rise and Fall of States and Nations ***oft delayed***
Pope Francis, Guadete et Exsultate (Rejoice and Be Glad)
Pope Blessed Paul VI, et al., Humanae Vitae: 50th Anniversary Edition
Sherry A. Weddell, Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus
Bishop Robert Barron, Seeds of the Word: Finding God in the Culture
Mike Aquilina, Understanding the Mass: 100 Questions, 100 Answers
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)
Scott Hahn, A Father Who Keeps His Promises: God's Covenant Love in Scripture
Rosario Carello, Pope Francis Takes the Bus and Other Unexpected Stories
Father Mathias D. Thelen, Biblical Foundations for the Role of Healing in Evangelization
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
John le Carré, A Legacy of Spies