March Book Bracket Madness
There's nothing particularly sports-themed about my book brackets this month, but the NCAA basketball tournament was one of the inspirations for the format of this blog. I couldn't remember which books I finished when, so I kept just four books for this month to keep the bracket to a good number and pushed the others I couldn't remember well to April's post.
The Books
Heretics, by G. K. Chesterton**
Chesterton takes on many well-known individuals and "types" of his day and explains some of the problems with the perspectives of his subjects.
Why I picked it up: Librivox came through with another audiobook that had been on my list for a while but I hadn't made time to sit down and read. This was one of those books that I thought, "Well, since I read [x book](in this case, Orthodoxy), I should read the 'partner book', so to speak." However, it was pretty low on my list of priorities. Much like the Louisa May Alcott audiobooks, this felt like the perfect format to get this work read.
My impressions: Perhaps audiobook is not the ideal way to encounter Chesterton's more analytical texts. I did not find the book very memorable, and due to the lack of familiar names, I couldn't tell anyone more than one person Chesterton considered in this book. I've found that Chesterton sometimes hits the nail on the head with universal truths or platitudes, but sometimes, he focused so keenly on the issues of his time that I struggle to connect with what he is arguing. The latter case was the experience I had with this book. I think I would have appreciated the work more if I had more background knowledge on the people Chesterton was analyzing. One bright spot in the book was Chesterton's observations on family - although, due to my lack of memory, I couldn't tell you what it was that he said on that topic. This book does not approach the heights of Everlasting Man or Orthodoxy or even Tremendous Trifles. However, in the name of giving the work a fair chance, my experience might have been more positive - and more memorable - if I had read the work. I wouldn't recommend this work to others, especially since there are much better works to sample from this prolific writer.
Elijah in Jerusalem, by Michael D. O'Brien
This sequel to Father Elijah follows the titular character and his brother monk as they travel into Jerusalem to again call the antichrist to repentance.
Why I picked it up: I read Father Elijah a few years ago and I overheard a friend talking about these books recently, which reminded me I needed to try to learn what happened in the rest of the story.
My impressions: This book had a very similar feel to the previous work and they tied together smoothly. It felt shorter than Father Elijah and moved, overall, at a pretty decent pace with a few slightly slower parts here and there. I felt like the author has a strong grasp of spirituality and can develop characters and share their stories beautifully. There was not much plot to this book - much of the story involved hearing the life stories of many of the people whom Elijah meets - but there was enough to lead up to a climax and have me wondering how things would end. I was a bit bummed to find that, after finishing the book, I'm still trying to figure out how things ended. What happened to the main character was pretty clear, but the last few pages raised some important questions that weren't answered. Of course, that recalls Job to my mind, the biblical man who did not have his questions answered at the end in the way he wanted. Amongst a few other important things, I wondered about the ultimate choices of some of the characters and how the rest of the apocalypse played out. There were one or two kind of creepy parts in the book, but they were brief and probably more concerning to someone like me, who is pretty sensitive. O'Brien didn't shy away from sharing from troubling scenes that happened in the lives of a few of the characters, so this is definitely a book for adult/mature readers. I can't say I'd necessarily recommend this book to someone unless they are specifically looking for a sequel to a "religious thriller" (which seems like an extremely niche category to me), but it's a solid sequel to Father Elijah and would likely be appreciated by those who enjoyed that preceding work.
The Little Oratory, by David Clayton and Leila Lawler*
Catholic authors talk about how to set up a prayer space, or oratory, in the home and different ways to make the home a domestic church.
Why I picked it up: This was a free ebook via the formed.org app and has been on my to-read list since I saw it in the shop/bookstore at Clear Creek Monastery. I was on vacation and definitely needed something a bit lighter to read.
Quote: "A husband must be patient with his wife's attention to detail. A wife should never shame her husband with her competence, making him feel inadequate; but with her loving encouragement, he will overcome his doubts and perceived shortcomings. As Pope John Paul II notes, 'in many ways [the man] has to learn his own "fatherhood" from the mother' (Mulieris Dignitatem18). But she must do that as his loving, not scolding, wife."
My impressions: This book is a great companion read to the "Catholic All Year" liturgical living compendium book I read last year. The books cover different information, but it goes together beautifully. This book talked about the basic ideas behind why Catholic families would benefit from having a prayer table at home, decorating beautifully, praying the Divine Office, and participating in different devotions. There were also practical tips and tons of great resources to go along with the information - I was definitely interested in and looked up some of those resources after reading the book. I had a small issue with the book; namely, I felt that there were some claims made that didn't have a lot of supporting evidence. I agree that the home should be beautiful, but I don't know where ideas like 'folk music is especially beneficial to children' comes from (this is not an exact quote and taken out of context, but that's about as much as was said on the topic - there was no follow-up explanation for that claim). There were also a few parts that dragged a bit, so some skimming occurred here and there. I made probably at least twenty notes and highlighted different passages, so from that viewpoint, having the ebook version was great (I'd be very hesitant to make any marks in a book, even if it was my own). I was sad that I couldn't access the pictures at the link they listed (the page doesn't exist anymore), so from that perspective, it would be good to have the physical book. Overall, I'd recommend this to any Catholic adult who wants to think about how they might better incorporate the faith into their home life. I suppose liturgical living pros might basically know what's shared in this book, but I imagine they'd still be able to find something to take away from this book.
The Great Divorce, by C. S. Lewis
Lewis gives a fictional rendering of what the individual choosing Heaven or Hell after death might be like.
Why I picked it up: My boyfriend and I decided this would be a good book to read aloud together, following The Hobbit.
My impressions: This was my third time reading the book and it was again most excellent. I think it would be great to hear as an audiobook, but reading aloud and discussing different parts of it as we went was great. All the individual discussions in the purgatorial space were amazing, and some quite intense. I enjoyed similar parts to previous readings of the book and find them easy to recall - they stick in the memory. My boyfriend said he was invested in knowing how one or two of the stories ended when we paused at chapter endings, and he even had a dream that was uncomfortably similar to some aspects of the book (we made sure to finish it as soon as possible after that). Even though the souls we met were largely nameless, Lewis makes them so lifelike that the reader cares about their choice and can perhaps see such people, or aspects of them, in reality. There are a few topics that might not be totally appreciated by or appropriate for younger readers, but high school readers and above would definitely be encouraged (by me) to read this book.
Bracket Play
I pitted weaker books against the stronger ones, but noticed I had an even mix of fiction and non-fiction. In the non-fiction realm, Chesterton's work lost to "The Little Oratory." Though he had a brilliant mind, the people he considered in his work were too far removed from my experience to be of much interest to me - on the other hand, "The Little Oratory" is a work that I took many notes on and will probably reread, at least in part, some day. In the fiction face-off, O'Brien's work lost easily to "The Great Divorce". I found some elements of "Elijah in Jerusalem" were not satisfactory, at least to my taste. I will probably not reread it, but I enjoyed Lewis' work for a third time reading it. In the second and final round, "The Great Divorce" won over "The Little Oratory". Lewis' work is such a classic, and one of the few that I would say haunts the reader (pun not intended, but we'll claim it if it's there). It's a book that has no boring parts for me and would be more likely to be recommended to others generally; "The Little Oratory" had a couple slow sections and I would recommend the book only to a subset of Catholic adults.
