March 2023 Book Bracket

March Book Bracket

Just a few books this month, but they were stellar books! I'm not doing a bracket this month like I usually do; there will be more details below.

The Heart of Perfection, by Colleen Carroll Campbell

Drawing from her own experiences and the lives of the saints, the author outlines what perfectionism is, why it's problematic for the spiritual life, and what can be done about it, through God's grace.

Why I picked it up: My spiritual director recommended the book. I was surprised to find it in the public library system, since it is definitely a very Catholic book.

My impressions: This is one of those months where I made the mistaking of waiting until well after a month later to record my impressions. Oh well! I know that reading this book was a good thing for me. I cried while reading the first chapter because the perfectionism she described resonated so strongly with my own experience of it. She did a great job of explaining why we should care about combating spiritual perfectionism - and the person she referred to as an example of spiritual perfectionism gone wrong has stuck with me. Reading this book confirmed me in my goal to read something by St. Alphonsis Liguori and the Rule of St. Benedict. It has also made me want to read the letters of St. Therese of Lisieux and maybe work on improving my devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. All in all, I'd say this was a great book and anyone who thinks they might struggle with perfectionism...and maybe those who don't think they do.

The Fellowship of the Ring, by J. R. R. Tolkien**

This is the first part of the epic tale chronicling the journey of Frodo and his eight companions to destroy the Ring of Power.

Why I picked it up: I picked up the audiobook version from my local library system because I was desperately behind in reading this book for the book club of two.

My impressions: I won't spend too much time here. Tolkien is a great writer. This is a great story. I love it. It would be great if everyone else loved it too.

Not-Bracket Play

I didn't want to give the victory to Tolkien automatically because I love The Fellowship, but I feel like it would be wrong to let any other book beat it because I love it. So, this month, I decided that I would not count The Fellowship as an individual work. I'll combine it with The Two Towers and The Return of the King (the reading of both of which is, I think, inevitable), count them as a single work (as Tolkien would have desired), and woe to any other books in the month it its finished! This also will presumably free up a month or two for other books to "win" the bracket.