One Catholic Life Blog

Nonfiction November

Books and Reading

Nonfiction November Week 1

Nonfiction November looks like a fun event to participate in, plus it gives me an incentive to keep writing, so count me in. Here is this week’s discussion prompt: Your Year in Nonfiction: Take a look back at your year of nonfiction and reflect on the following questions – What was your favorite nonfiction read of the year? What nonfiction book have you recommended the most? What is one topic or type of nonfiction you haven’t read enough of yet? What are you hoping to get out of...

The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni

Book Review / Books and Reading

Classics Club Book #1: The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni

Strange to say, although in times of immediate danger, in face of an enemy, the image of death always breathed new spirit into him and filled him with angry courage, the same image appearing to him in the silence of the night, in the safety of his own castle, afflicted him with sudden dismay. For this time it was not death at the hands of a mortal like himself that threatened him; not a death that could be driven off by better weapons or a quicker hand. It...

Classic Books

Books and Reading

50 Classic Books in 5 Years for My 50th Birthday

Since today is my 50th birthday, I thought I would start my next 50 years off right by joining the Classics Club and committing to read 50 classic novels by October 25, 2021. The idea behind the club is to read at least 50 classic books within five years, and to blog about each one. My main purpose in this project is to read more books from my Summary of Great Books Lists and my Catholic Classics List. I’ve selected books from those two lists along with a...

Ship in Stormy Sea by Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky

Books and Reading

Don’t Miss These Ice Waves, Nautical Paintings and More from the Aubrey-Maturin Appreciation Society

The amazing videos and links below come from one of my favorite Facebook groups. If you’re a fellow Patrick O’Brian fan and you’re not a member of the Aubrey-Maturin Appreciation Society on Facebook, you’re missing out on good fellowship, discussion, and amazing shared content. The group is for those of us who have read most or all of the Aubrey/Maturin books. From the group’s description: From Master & Commander through to the 21st incomplete instalment, this group is for those who have shared in the long ocean voyages,...

The Betrothed (I Promessi Sposi) by Alessandro Manzoni

Books and Reading

Reading The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni

I’ve been enjoying The Betrothed in a mellow sort of way, the way one enjoys a beer or glass of wine. Rather than gulping it down, I’ve been taking it in small sips. It’s that kind of book. The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni is one of the books on my Catholic Classics Reading List. It appears in Fr. John Hardon’s Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan, in Harold Bloom’s The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages, and it is number 94 in Daniel Burt’s The Novel 100: A Ranking of...

St. Luke icon

Spirituality

Life without St. Luke?

As I was thinking about today’s Feast of St. Luke, I began noting all the events we wouldn’t know about if not for his writings. Imagine what would be missing from our understanding of the Faith if we didn’t have The Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles: The Birth of John the Baptist The Annunciation and the Visitation The Magnifcat and the Canticle of Zechariah The Parable of the Good Samaritan The Parable of the Prodigal Son The Emmaus Encounter Pentecost The Martyrdom of St. Stephen...

Used Book Store

Books and Reading

Transform Your Life for Less Than the Cost of a Cup of Coffee

When I was younger I didn’t have a lot of money. But I always had enough to afford a book. I could always ride my bike to the used book store and find something interesting, something potentially life-changing, for a dollar or two. There are many ways to spend money on transformative experiences: travel, college, spiritual retreats. But for sheer cost-to-impact ratio, nothing beats a book. A good book is the best bargain in transforming one’s life. But don’t take my word for it. Check out how books...

Moses and Amalekites

Homily

C.S. Lewis, Joy, and Persistent Prayer: Homily for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C

The dramatic scene from the first reading, with Moses raising the staff of God during battle, and Joshua mowing down Amalek, almost feels like a scene from The Lord of the Rings. But it’s not Tolkien that I find most helpful in breaking open today’s scripture, but rather one of his best friends, C.S. Lewis. Lewis, as many of you know, was the author of the Narnia series, that wonderful set of books about Aslan, Prince Caspian, and the magical world on the other side of the wardrobe. Lewis...

Bob Dylan in Toronto

General / Music

The Spirituality of Bob Dylan, Nobel Laureate

Today Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for “having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.” In honor of this recognition I’ve collected a few resources that explore the spirituality of his works. You’ll find articles from America Magazine, videos from Bishop Robert Barron of Word on Fire, and concert footage of Dylan himself singing one of his spiritual songs that always moves me. America Magazine Shortly after the announcement today, Fr. James Martin posted the following links from America Magazine on his...

Reading by the lake

Books and Reading

This Is Your Brain On Books

What happens to the brain one hour after opening a book? That’s what The University of Virginia Library set out to explain in the following infographic.  It describes reading’s effect on the brain after ten minutes, thirty minutes, sixty minutes, even hours and years later (click the image to make it larger): For a more thorough exploration of the effects of reading on the brain, check out these articles: What Reading Does To Your Brain Is Truly Fascinating Reading Fiction Improves Brain Connectivity and Function 10 Benefits of Reading:...

World Book Encyclopedia

Books and Reading

(Re)Discovering Book Blogs

Did you ever read the encyclopedia when you were younger? I don’t mean Wikipedia, I mean an honest-to-goodness set of World Books or Brittanicas. And I don’t mean for a school paper, I mean for the sheer pleasure of it, discovering wondrous things about the world and letting one article send you on to the next, until before you knew it, several hours had gone by? That’s what reading Dana Huff’s blogroll links have been like for me over the past few days. But I’m getting ahead of myself....

Beautiful Library

Books and Reading

In Praise of Libraries

Maria Popova has a wonderful new article at Brain Pickings titled “How Libraries Save Lives.” Libraries have always been important to me, and to be honest, if I would have grown up near a college that offered a Master of Library Science degree, then I may well have ended up a librarian instead of a teacher. In her article, Popova offers a fine collection of quotes and stories in praise of libraries, as well as links to reflections, essays, and art work. You’ll find tributes from Ursula LeGuin, Nikki...