September 2025 Book Reports

The Song at the Scaffold by Gertrud von le Fort - This book of historical fiction imagines the life of Blanche de la Force, who enters a convent full of fear, a fear that is perhaps her very gift to God as the French Revolution's Reign of Terror comes for the convent. It's based on the true stories of the Carmelite nuns of Compiègne, who sang as they were taken to the guillotine, offering themselves as a sacrifice. (purchased copy)

A Jesuit's Guide to the Stars: Exploring Wonder, Beauty, and Science by Brother Guy Consolmagno - Brother Guy is one of my heroes. I've read many of his books and they all speak eloquently of the wonder of creation, and how science can lead us to a deeper relationship with God. This book is full of gorgeous photographs and a bibliography of more wonderful books. Highly recommended. (received as a gift from my son)

The Rule of St. Benedict - Excerpts of the Rule are included in the second volume of the Mater Amabilis religion readings, but I decided to read the whole thing as it's not very long. This is a foundational text for the Catholic faith. (Kansas Dad's copy, but freely available online)

The Modern Scholar: Tolkien and the West: Recovering the Lost Tradition of Europe by Michael Drout - Professor Drout is an enthusiastic and enjoyable lecturer. I picked this up during a sale after listening to his another lecture series from the Modern Scholar, The Anglo-Saxon World (which is one of the honors texts for Mater Amabilis high school history). I enjoyed learning more about Tolkien, especially since I had recently read his essay on fairy tales. (purchased audiobook)

1066: The Year That Changed Everything by Jennifer Paxton - This is one of the Great Courses available on Audible. I'm sure I picked it up during one of the 2-for-1 sales (love those). This series is only about three hours long, but was fascinating as someone who has studied English history with my kids through many levels. (purchased audiobook)

Ode to Saint Cecilia - a Radio Theatre production from the Augustine Institute. I bought a few of these radio dramas during a sale because I thought the kids might enjoy them. It's well written, well performed, and well produced. Recommended! (purchased audiobook)

Martin Rising: Requiem for a King by Andrea Davis Pinkney - I listened to this as an audiobook based on a recommendation. It's a poem describing the end of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life. To be honest, it's not my favorite book from the Pinkneys, but it might make a good complement to a fuller study of Marting Luther King, Jr. (purchased audiobook)

Othello by William Shakespeare - I do not assign Othello to my high school students, but I have always wanted to read it myself. So I did! You can find lots of excellent information on Shakespeare and Othello online, so I won't try to write anything fancy. Read Shakespeare! The more you read, the better it gets! (purchased copy)

The Ballad of the White Horse by G. K. Chesterton - I've had this book on my shelf for ages after picking it up at a library book sale. I think I was finally inspired to read it by references in the Drout lectures on Tolkien I listened to earlier this month. Chesterton wrote this epic poem as a romance, a story to inspire a love of country and of faith. It's not my favorite epic poem (I suppose that would have to be The Odyssey, though I don't read epic poetry much for fun.), but I'm glad I read it. (purchased used copy, available free online)

Andy Catlett: Early Travels by Wendell Berry - This is a short novel set in Berry's Port William community when Andy Catlett is nine and takes a trip by himself to his grandparent's house. Told from his point of view at the end of his life, it's a book steeped in family and gratitude. I think Berry glosses over many of the difficulties in the small community life he champions, but he writes beautifully and it is still good to be reminded of what we can appreciate and value in times past and in modern times. (Kansas Dad's copy)

I have received nothing in exchange for this post. Links to Amazon and Bookshop are affiliate links.

October and November 2024 Book Reports

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger - This was our book club read for the month, and I absolutely loved it. I read it at the airport and on a couple of flights, finishing it in just over 24 hours. I will definitely be reading it again. (purchased copy)

The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church by Rachel L. Swarns - Kansas Dad recommended I read this book. "In 1838, a group of America's most prominent Catholic priests sold 272 enslaved people to save their largest mission project, what is now Georgetown University." It echoed many of the themes in The History of Black Catholics in the United States, but with even more modern sources. It is good to be aware of the sins of the past and to think deeply about how we can be a part of the reconciliation process. (Kansas Dad's purchased copy)

Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers - This is one of the novels recommended for Level 6 Year 2 (twelfth grade) in the Mater Amabilis English plans. I read it a little ahead of First Daughter. I haven't read any other Peter Wimsey novels, but I enjoyed this one. As I neared the end, I certainly neglected some of my chores because I was eager to read more. First Daughter loved it and promptly checked out every Peter Wimsey book she could find at the library. (shared by a member of PaperBackSwap.com)

Paul for Everyone: Romans Part One by N. T. Wright - I read the older version of Romans for Everyone, and am not entirely sure I should count it as its own book since there's a Part Two. (I'll get to that one, too.) I'll quote what I wrote about a different book in the Paul for Everyone series:

N. T. Wright is an Anglican priest and an expert on Paul. Using his own translations, he provides Scripture in short selections (but with nothing missing) and then thoughtfully reflects on them, always including a relevant story from his own life. For the most part, Wright's commentaries have nothing contrary to the Catholic faith, but it is good to have a knowledge of the major differences between Anglican and Catholic beliefs when reading, like the differences between the recognized books of the Bible and those of Jesus' immediate family. (purchased used)

I have received nothing in exchange for this post. Links to Bookshop and Amazon are affiliate links.

November 2022 Book Reports

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte - I had read this book a few years before we had kids, so it had been almost twenty years when I read it again with my book club. It seemed a little more trite to me this time around, though generally I think the main protagonist is a much more virtuous person than I would have been in her situation. (read free Kindle copy)

Out of Many, One: Portraits of America's Immigrants by George W. Bush - link to my post (borrowed copy from my dad) 

A Mercy by Toni Morrison - I read this as I was deciding on an African American literature selection for senior year. This book presents the stories of a single 1680s household from the differing perspectives of the master, mistress, and slaves. It is often difficult to read, both because the text can be challenging and because the events are harsh and tragic. Few people of privilege, wealth, or power are portrayed positively. But it is beautifully written. I think a high school senior could read it, though some will struggle in understanding some of the voices. There are also some pointed criticisms of Catholics that, while I think they are valid, would need context for a teenage Catholic reader. That is all in addition, of course, to all the content considerations you might imagine: rape, violence, slavery, witchcraft, intimacy outside of marriage and with people of the same gender, etc. (library copy)

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis - This was my second time through this audiobook and I loved it just as much as the first time. I picked up on many more of the jokes this time through because I had recently listened to Jerome K. Jerome's original travelogue, Three Men in a Boat. Back in 2020, I wrote:

This may be my favorite audiobook of all time. I enjoyed every single minute of it, invented chores so I could listen to it, and was both delighted with the ending and sorry it was over. It's a quirky tale of time-travel, Victorian England, the Blitz, and romance, "to say nothing of the dog" (and cat). (purchased from Audible during a sale)

 I'm sure the book is good, but the audiobook is an absolute delight.

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie - I've never been much of a mystery reader; I can never guess the murderer! But so many people rave about Agatha Christie, I thought I'd give a few of her books a try. I enjoyed this one, though of course I didn't figure out the solution until it was revealed. (library copy)

Leona by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino - I was looking on PaperBackSwap for books by this author because I love her book My Heart Lies South. This little out of print book about a brave but often over-looked woman in Mexico's history was available. It's written at about a middle school level, though the romance means it might be more interesting to older children. I enjoyed it, but I don't know that you have to seek it out. (received from another member of PaperBackSwap.com)

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston - link to my post (library copy)

Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival by Velma Wallis - I read this with my book club. The story tells of the perseverance of two women left alone in the Alaskan wilderness, the revival of their skills to survive, and the flourishing of their friendship. It's also a story of the healing of family relationships. I added this book to my Geography of the Americas shelf in case any high schoolers want to select it as a free-read (Level 5 or Level 6). (purchased used)

The Yellow Fairy Book edited by Andrew Lang - I have read fairy tales aloud to all my kids regularly since the very beginning of our homeschooling journey, but we don't read one every day, or even every week, so it can take a long time to get through a book. Fairy tales seem to be enjoying something of a moment, especially in the homeschooling crowd, but nothing can teach you about the wonderful and the weird as much as reading through a collection from beginning to end. I picked something different to read aloud after this one, but I'm considering returning to the Blue Fairy Book after that because my younger kids don't remember it. (purchased used)

I have received nothing in exchange for this post. Links to Amazon and Bookshop are affiliate links.

Hard Truths: The History of Black Catholics in the United States

The History of Black Catholics in the United States

by Cyprian Davis

I cannot recommend this book highly enough to any American Catholic. While I think the books my children have read do a relatively good job of talking about some of the hard truths of our history, none of them explore the history of our faith in America from the point of view of black Catholics like this one does.

This book is a treasure trove of amazing research. I imagine Cyprian Davis spent years reading letters, journals, newspaper articles, baptismal records, and other primary sources. He also conducted many interviews. The breadth and depth of this work is astounding, as is his humility. He reminds the reader regularly that more research is necessary.

The book was first published in 1990. I'm sure there have been great strides in scholarship at times and places, but I'm not sure there's been another book attempting to pull it all together in the way that this author does.

Reading the book, I found a recurring cycle of Catholics, even some in authority, speaking out the truth of the Gospel and how blacks, slave and free, should be incorporated as full members of the Church, but Catholics in practice deluded themselves into serving their own interests. As Fr. Cyprian points out, the black Catholics also spoke eloquently and repeatedly on their own behalf:

For the first time [in 1853] but not for the last, black lay Catholics had spoken out for themselves expressing both loyalty and love for the church and anger and dismay at the racist practices of those within the church...Still, the pattern of appeal to Rome regarding the plight of black Catholics, both on the part of blacks themselves and on the part of those who labored among them, will eventually result in a Roman response that will change the American church decisively. (page 97)

You may look at the text of this book and the number of pages in dismay, anticipating a dry academic treatise. Do not fear. Fr. Cyprian writes clearly but engagingly. I marveled at how eager I was to keep reading and how quickly the pages turned. 

I don't intend to assign this book to my high schoolers, simply because it is rather long, and the history curriculum is already pretty dense, but I will keep it prominently on our shelves and encourage them to read it. I'm making a list of books to gift my seminarian son if he becomes a priest (to begin building his library), and this is the first book on the list.

I received nothing in exchange for this post. Links to Amazon and Bookshop are affiliate links. I purchased a copy of this book.

Exodusters in Kansas: Follow Me Down to Nicodemus Town

 

Follow Me Down to Nicodemus Town

by A. LaFaye, illustrated by Nicole Tadgell

In this bright and cheerful picture book, Dede's family struggles to make ends meet at sharecroppers but are delighted to one day be able to start a new life in Nicodemus, KS, a town built by and for African American settlers after the Civil War (one of multiple communities like it). 

I'm sorry to say both of our attempts to visit Nicodemus have been thwarted (by vehicle break-downs and pandemic shut-downs).

This book was published in 2019, so my own children missed out on reading it for lessons, but it would be a great addition to either a Kansas history study or American history in the 1870s.

I have not received anything in exchange for this post. I read a library copy of this book. Links to Bookshop are affiliate links.