Remember that Halloween is simply the eve of All Hallows, All Saints Day, which is followed by All Souls Day on the Christian calendar. Death, and one’s own future death in particular, ought to be remembered, but not as a morbid fascination. Rather, it should be meditated on as the inevitable gateway to eternal life [...]
In "Pride and Prejudice," Elizabeth Bennet is vehement that the character of the person must be determined in order to make a good choice. While spouses may change over time in superficial ways, the essentials remain constant. While one may hope for the conversion of a scoundrel or a fool, it is not worth banking [...]
"Women of the Catholic Imagination" highlights Catholic novelists whose perspective is expressly female, not because they wrote about women’s issues, but because the writers are women. The stories are not about Catholic things, but are Catholic because the authors have a Catholic world view, which can’t help but permeate their works. It never ceases to [...]
Pick up a Jane Austen novel, and you will discover that behind the long gowns and country dances, people in her era struggled with the same weaknesses we struggle with today. Well-written stories like Austen’s bring to life the human drama that is played out in every age, in every heart. I’ve been reading Jane [...]
George Orwell’s novels are not exactly where you turn when you are looking for uplifting reading with happy endings. The one lesser known exception is his short, bright novel, “Keep the Aspidistra Flying.” I would go as far as to call it charming and delightful. Most people, when asked if they’re familiar with the works [...]
In addition to being a story-telling genius, Tim Powers is a devout Catholic. While his novels in no way come across as religious, his regard for theological truth is evident to a fellow believer. While his books might not be described by all as wholesome, they undeniably transmit truth. And the Truth always prevails. “Power [...]
Louisa May Alcott’s subtle insight into the enduring truths of human nature has been overlooked by academics, yet she deftly navigated the rapid current of change in her time to produce a valuable piece of literature that refuses to be relegated to the nursery as “just a children’s book.” Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women (1868) [...]
Even though Walter R. Brooks’ “Freddy the Pig” series doesn’t aim to teach a moral story, deliver great epiphanies, or grapple directly with universal human themes, the books are refreshingly unself-conscious and yet still make a considerable contribution to American literature in the same way the works of P.G. Wodehouse have done for English literature—through [...]
Reading the great works allows one to grapple with the big questions of life vicariously. When one begins, one enters into a great conversation that has been ongoing for centuries. I might have come late to the party, but I’m at the party. Anyone, at any age, can become a lover of literature and will [...]
I like to read other people’s mail. Don’t worry, I only read the mail of dead people. Mainly dead people whose books I’ve read. Let me explain. I like to read published letters of my favorite authors. I’m currently dipping into two volumes of selected letters: Willa Cather’s to virtually everyone with whom she corresponded [...]
The greatness of some children’s books is apparent at the time of publication, but it is only confirmed over time. As the reader grows older, the book still speaks to him. It stands up to many readings (a mercy when parents are called on to read it again and again to children), remaining fresh and [...]
It is interesting that at least half the great books I considered for this list were stories I would not want to enter, but loved reading. Literature allows us to gain a breadth of experience our own circumstances would not permit and at very little expense to us… If there’s something book lovers like almost [...]