April 2022 Book Bracket

This was a powerhouse month of books. Three, if not all four, of these titles could easily have been the top book for any other month. I really don't want to have to choose a winner.

What Every Catholic Needs to Know about Literature, by Joseph Pearce**

Convert, literature nerd/literary critic, and professor Joseph Pearce briefly touches on (I think?) 100 works of fiction, most of which are considered "literary classics", why Catholics should read them, and what perhaps can be gained from reading them.

Why I picked it up: I wanted to try the free audiobook through the Formed.org app since books are expensive.

My impressions: I listened to this one as an audiobook read by the author himself. Before I say anything else, I want to 100% recommend listening to the audiobook if it is available to you if only because listening to this man speak is about the most relaxing thing in the world. But, going off of that, this is a book that I'd love to have a physical copy of someday. The reason for this is that I want to go back to it and reread it, or at least parts of it. I found myself more determined than ever to read some works which I have failed to pick up ("The Betrothed", for example) and willing to revisit works that confused or troubled me on some level before. One such work includes "The Canterbury Tales" by Chaucer; Pearce gave me perspective on some of what could be going on by including such rascally sinners in a very Catholic work. I appreciated that he said some of these works could be troubling to readers - he didn't pretend that everything was squeaky-clean, and that there can be something to be gained by reading works that include very imperfect, fallen human beings doing terrible things; evil is evil, yes, but if it is being portrayed, that portrayal can serve a purpose (I hope that makes sense). I highly recommend this book to adults, but I'd wish it to be read even more so by high schoolers - I think it would be enormously helpful in forming their encounters with the classics they are required to read at school.

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist, by Brant Pitre*

Biblical scholar Brant Pitre describes what Jewish religious practices and beliefs were at the time of Jesus and what those cultural understandings mean for our understanding of the Eucharist today.

Why I picked it up: I'm not sure when I first heard about this book, but it was highly recommended by one friend and I chose it as my Lenten read.

My impressions: This is a great book - I'd heard some of the information in bits and pieces over the years, but it was nice to have it all together in one place. As with the Pitre work I read last year, I found this book well-researched and easy to read. I regretted reading it as an ebook from the library because the 2-week checkout limit made me feel rushed and I believe that feeling decreased what I soaked in because I was trying to read so much so quickly. However, reading it as a regular ebook without worrying about time limit would likely have been just as good a reading experience as that of other ebooks I've read. I can't say that I was enthralled by it, but I think this is a good book and should definitely be read by those who want to reflect upon Jesus' true presence in the Eucharist.

A Song for Nagasaki, by Paul Glynn**

This biography describes the life of Takashi Nagai, the saintly Japanese radiologist who converted to Catholicism and survived the dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki.

Why I picked it up: This book was highly recommended by a friend and, after my fantastic experience with the Joseph Pearce audiobook, I wanted to take advantage of this one - I started it during a sewing and Easter-egg-stuffing spree.

My impressions: Yes. This book is fantastic. It was beautiful; it touched my heart; it made me cry; it made me yearn for a saintly, God-filled marriage. It is a hard book at times, especially in the section describing the dropping of the atomic bomb and its effect on the victims. I eventually had to skip some of this section because the descriptions were too graphic for me. I think that we of the current time have lost the horror of war - specifically atomic warfare - that grew from the post-World War II era. The books was so well researched and engaging. It gave a view of Japan from what I think would be an authentic Japanese viewpoint, and described ways in which it differed and suffered from American or Western perspectives. Glynn quoted extensively from Nagai's own works and personal journal; this flowed well in audiobook format. I really enjoyed his description of Nagai's grappling with questions of faith and belief because it played like how an internal struggle might actually sound in someone's head. I highly recommend this book to adult readers, but with the warning that there are some graphic descriptions and extremely sad moments, especially in the last third or so of the book.

Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus, by Sherry A. Weddell

Weddell, the founder of the Called & Gifted discernment of spirits program for Catholics, dives into the stats of Catholics who leave the faith and what faithful Catholics can do to evangelize in our culture.

Why I picked it up: This was the book chosen by me and my book-club-of-two partner for this round.

My impressions: Wow, this was a hard book to read at times because I felt called out at times, but it was a book I was so grateful to have read by the end. I felt like there were extremely relevant and practical suggestions for evangelizing those in our parish and also for those who are not in communion with the Church. It was helpful to view evangelization from the perspective of forming intentional disciples - the path of conversion is not just a "believe or don't believe" dichotomy; there are stages that people go through, and the way we approach others should probably be influenced by the stage of conversion we find them in. These stages can happen in any person - Catholics and non-Catholics alike. I think I felt more empowered to evangelize by this book than I have by anything else I can recall having read or listened to. As always, it doesn't mean that I'm suddenly going out and evangelizing more, but it DOES mean I have a resource I can reference and feel more confident about my abilities to share the Gospel. I highly recommend this book for all Catholic adults, as well as for Catholic teenagers.

Bracket Play

It was hard to pick the winner this month since all the books I read in April were very good - and all in their own unique way.

In the first round, the two audiobooks faced each other. I gave the win to Joseph Pearce's book because I think it is an important book for Catholic educators and any Catholic pursuing a liberal arts education to read. However, "Song for Nagasaki" could just as easily have won due to its more objective, biographical nature and potentially wider appeal. It was also an excellent book - so good that it had me feeling things and crying at different times. In the other matchup, the physical book about evangelizing unbelievers and uncatechized believers beat the theological ebook. The reading of the former was a much more relaxed experience than reading the time-limited-checkout of the latter. While I felt I had encountered some of the information included in both works, I felt like "Forming Intentional Disciples" hit me a lot harder and has had me thinking a lot more about the topics it addressed. For this reason, it did win the second matchup against Pearce's book. I'm very likely to revisit both excellent books, but Weddell's work felt more impactful at the time and timely for what is going on in the Church (especially in our Western culture) today.