One Catholic Life Blog

Book Review / Books and Reading

Rumpole and the Golden Thread by John Mortimer

I first heard of the TV series Rumpole of the Bailey about twenty years ago when my friend Mike and I were talking about one of my favorite 1980s movies, Ladyhawke. Mike told me that the cantankerous monk in Ladyhawke was played by one of his favorite actors, Leo McKern, who also played the cantankerous barrister Horace Rumpole. To this day, Mike is still a big fan of Rumpole of the Bailey, having watched all the episodes on VHS multiple times, and having read all the stories in print. I, on the...

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

Book Review / Books and Reading

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done. I first heard of Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy during Nonfiction November 2016, and then again during Nonfiction November 2017. Both JoAnn at Lakeside Musing and Lory at The Emerald City Book Review were so enthusiastic in their recommendations that the book quickly rose to the top of my “want-to-read” list. Now, after reading Just Mercy myself, I have to say it most definitely was as good as they said it would be. Not only is it a compelling story well...

Art / Books and Reading

Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along: Illustrations by Émile Bayard

When Les Misérables was first published in 1862, it was illustrated by Émile Bayard, whose rendering of little Cosette perfectly captures the essence of what Hugo means by les misérables. To me it’s mostly in the eyes and the tiny mouth, but the massive broom in her hands as she sweeps adds to the sadness. Bayard’s image of Cosette’s face is known the world over, thanks to the Cameron Mackintosh musical, as it was adapted and used in countless promotional posters, advertisements, album covers–almost anything connected with the musical. But...

Cosette Twitter

Books and Reading / Twitter

#LesMisReadalong on Twitter: Week 6 Highlights

Here we at the end of Week 6 of the Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along, and the story is really beginning to move. We’ve read forty-two chapters so far–about 170 pages–and this past week we were introduced to some of the most important characters in the book.  It’s still not too late to join in the fun, simply download the reading schedule and do what you can to catch up. Speaking of joining in, we welcome Laura Roberts who jumped in this past week, as you can see below in...

The October Country by Ray Bradbury

Books and Reading

Deal Me in Stories #5 and #6: Two Bradbury Tales from The October Country

Card Drawn: 3♦ Anthology: The October Country by Ray Bradbury Story: “The Watchful Poker Chip of H. Matisse,” 1954 When we first meet George Garvey he is nothing at all. Later he’ll wear a white poker chip monocle, with a blue eye painted on it by Matisse himself. Later, a golden bird cage might trill within George Garvey’s false leg, and his good left hand might possibly be fashioned of shimmering copper and jade. But at the beginning–gaze upon a terrifyingly ordinary man. So begins “The Watchful Poker Chip of H. Matisse”...

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Book Review / Books and Reading

Classics Club #19: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is a gem of a book. It’s one of those magical stories that book lovers appreciate in a special way. Not that it’s about books or reading, but it’s the kind of story that reveals itself and its characters slowly and gently, as only a book can. It’s about growing up and discovering the healing power of life. It’s a book for children of all ages, like The Wind in the Willows or The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The story centers...

Fantine on Twitter

Books and Reading / Twitter

#LesMisReadalong on Twitter: Week 5 Highlights

I’ve been out of town for most of this week, so pardon me if I haven’t been as active on Twitter, but I’ve definitely kept up with the conversation on Twitter at #LesMisReadalong. Here are some of the highlights from this past week: Slow Reading #LesMisReadalong https://t.co/WIriLooPxJ — ?Roaring Stories? (@RoaringStories) January 29, 2018 #LesMisReadalong V1B3C2 Tholomyès does not sound like a great catch for 'little Fantine' though. "A 30 year old pleasure seeker and badly preserved". Although the 4,000 Francs per year would add to his charms...

The Bishop and the Candlesticks

Books and Reading

Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along Discussion: The Fall

I’m a little short on time this week, so for week four’s post in the Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along, I’m going to simply pose a question in the hopes of starting a discussion. This is an honest question I have, a question to which I do not have a definitive answer. As we try to answer it, I ask that we stick only to the events of Book One and Book Two out of courtesy to those who are reading Les Misérables for the first time. So here’s my question:...

#LesMisReadalong on Twitter

Books and Reading / Twitter

#LesMisReadalong on Twitter: Week 4 Highlights

This past week in the Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along featured one of the most famous scenes in the novel, and perhaps in all of literature: The Bishop’s Candlesticks. The twitter chat at #LesMisReadalong was abuzz with reactions to it, along with a host of other thoughts and favorite quotes. Here are a few highlights: For him the external world had scarcely an existence. It would almost be true to say that for Jean Valjean there was no sun, no beautiful summer days, no radiant sky, no fresh April dawn. Some dim window light was...

The Drifter by William W. Johnstone

Book Review / Books and Reading

The Drifter (The Last Gunfighter Book 1) by William W. Johnstone

The Drifter by William W. Johnstone is exactly what I look for in a western, which made it a perfect book to begin the 2018 Wild Wild West Reading Challenge. There was plenty of gun-fighting action, a fair share of humor, and even a bit of romance. I had picked up the Kindle edition of The Drifter at a bargain price without knowing much about the story or the author, so I had moderate expectations about how good it was going to be. After finishing it, though, I’d have...

The Hardboiled Dicks edited by Ron Goulart

Books and Reading

Deal Me In Story #4: Winter Kill by Frederick Nebel

Card Drawn: 8♥ Anthology: The Hardboiled Dicks edited by Ron Goulart Story: “Winter Kill” by Frederick Nebel, 1935 If you pour water over a guy and take him outside when it’s zero, ten to one the guy will freeze in a hurry. Kennedy of the Free Press and Captain Steve MacBride of the Richmond City Police Department were featured in almost forty stories by Frederick Nebel from 1928 to 1936. In “Winter Kill” the newspaperman and the cop try to figure out who killed Russel Parcell by drenching him in...