The Ball and the Cross

by G.K. Chesterton. This was an excellent book that I read last year. I quickly got drawn into the story. I fell in love with one of the characters, hated and later liked another, and could hardly put the book down. I was reading it on my iPad and woke up in the morning a few times to find I had fallen asleep while reading. There is a lot of believable and interesting character development as well as typical Chestertonian humor. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

Come Rack! Come Rope!

by Robert Hugh Benson is one of the best books I've ever read. It reminded me a bit of Crossbows and Crucifixes, except this one is for older/mature readers or listeners. The author does a wonderful job keeping the reader's attention throughout the story, making it a great possibility for a read-aloud, in which case some younger children might be able to listen since the story could be "edited" by the reader if necessary.*

Set in Elizabethan England, when Catholics were persecuted, this is a wonderful love story. (If you don't like love stories, please read it anyway, because it's not the usual kind.) I can't say it's the greatest, because, as Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen said, "The greatest love story of all time is contained in a tiny white Host."  Additionally, Robert Hugh Benson portrays the beauty of sacrifice and of the priesthood. He shows the meaning of true love, both for God and for your fellow men. 

Now for a few of my favorite quotes from the book:
"A broken heart and God's will done would be better than that God's will should be avoided and her own satisfied."
"To love is to wish the other's highest good, as I understand it...That is the love of a Christian, at least."
This last one is (at least close to) what Mary Stuart, also known as Mary Queen of Scots said before she died: "As Thy arms, O Christ, were extended on the Cross, even so receive me into the arms of Thy mercy and blot out all my sins with Thy most precious Blood." Isn't that just beautiful?

*Two characters kiss on the lips, which shouldn't be done before marriage, but there's nothing wrong with the book aside from that. Most of the editing would probably need to be done later on in the book at the parts with the rack, as younger (or more sensitive listeners) might have a hard time with those bits. Although I will say, it's very inspiring to read about things like that happening to people, especially with the way the world is today.

Poetry Friday: "The Gifford Girl"

by Leonard Feeney, S.J.

Two dresses laid she by at night

And loosed her flowing hair,

She rose at dawn and stood in fright

And wondered which to wear.

Should it be white for her delight,

Or black for her despair?

She saw a widow weep—and now

She saw a laughing bride.

A little bit she laughed, but how

More bitterly she cried!

And the wedding-veil upon her brow

She very tightly tied.

She walked triumphantly at dawn

Across the lonesome vale.

Beyond the dim boreen and lawn

She heard a curlew wail.

She stood and tapped her fingers on

The door of Richmond jail.

That Richmond jail might open wide

She smote it with her hand.

“Who knocks?” the sleepy warden cried

And could not understand.

A trembling, girlish voice replied:

“A woman of Ireland!”

A hush that chilled the very stone

Upon the prison fell.

Young Plunkett straightened up alone

Within his narrow cell;

He bade the prison gong intone

And be their wedding bell.

O ye who know a lover’s grief

And feel a lover’s pride:

What gave this breaking heart relief

And cheered this drooping bride?

What said this lover in the brief

Last hour before he died?

Whatever lovers say—he said,

And then he passed along.

They put a hood upon his head

And bound it with a thong.

Then—England lost a ball of lead

And Ireland lost a song.

A hero and a soldier, too,

They buried him in lime.

Upon his wedding-morn they slew

A lover in his prime.

Into a burning ditch they threw

A poet and his rhyme.

O brood of riflemen, who vie

With brute and knave and churl!

On Judgment Day I prophesy

You'll hear his ashes swirl—

And God will make you stare it eye

For eye with the Gifford Girl!

Victory Over Vice

by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. This is an excellent book in which Archbishop Sheen covers the seven deadly sins (pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth). He demonstrates how Christ made atonement for each of these vices during his life and gives advice on how to overcome them. I would highly recommend it for any Catholic young man or woman.

Top 10 Books I Read in 2014

These (in order from least to greatest) are the top 10 books that I read in 2014. Individual posts on each of these books will be forthcoming.

1. Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen
2. The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
3. Manalive, by G. K. Chesterton
4. Outlaws of Ravenhurst, by Sister Imelda Wallace
5. The Living Wood, by Louis de Wohl
6. Lay Siege to Heaven, by Louis de Wohl
7. The Ball and the Cross, by G. K. Chesterton
8. Come Rack! Come Rope!, by Robert Hugh Benson
9. The Catholic Girl's Guide, by Father Lasance
10. Victory Over Vice, by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

The Catholic Girl's Guide

edited by Father F. X. Lasance. This is an excellent book which every Catholic girl should own. The advice imparted to the reader is so useful and relevant today, even though it was first published in the forties or fifties. It is available here and would make a great birthday, graduation, Christmas, or Confirmation gift for any girl around twelve or so and above.
It is the best gift I have ever received! Thank you so much, Mrs. B!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everybody! I hope everyone will have a blessed 2015.

Has it really been over two years since I last posted?!? I plan to post more, since I've read so many good books and would really like to write about and recommend them. I'll start by posting about the best gift I ever received.

Where the Red Fern Grows

by Wilson Rawls. This is a good story about a boy and his two coonhounds, and the many adventures that they have together.

I had to read this for school, and I hoped that it wouldn't be like the book The Yearling, which I didn't enjoy at all. It was nothing like The Yearling, and I really liked the book. My sister also read it, and so I was able to discuss it with her. After I had read it and told my brother a little bit about it, he decided to read it too. That was nice, because then I was able to discuss the book with two of my siblings, instead of just one. Anyone who likes dogs will especially enjoy this book.

Faces of Holiness

by Ann Ball. I actually read this book back in February or March, but I forgot to post it. This is another collection of biographies of saints, along with pictures of them. Ann Ball does a wonderful job depicting the lives of all of the saints in this book.

Modern Saints: Their Lives and Faces

by Ann Ball. This collection of short biographies of many different saints is very interesting to read. Even though they are short biographies, they are packed with information about the saints. The book is also illustrated with photos of each of the saints, except in a few cases where no photograph exists.

My family's pastor read some of the stories from it at a Confirmation retreat, and I found the stories he read interesting. Since the library had the book, I read it and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is definitely one which I would recommend.

Lay Siege to Heaven

by Louis de Wohl. This is a very good biographical novel about Saint Catherine of Siena. Even though it's a long book, I got through it pretty quickly. It's a book that I would want to read again and one that I would definitely recommend to others. The author is very good at writing dialogue, which makes it even more interesting in my opinion.

Jo's Boys

by Louisa May Alcott. The final book in the Little Women series, readers will learn about what happens to each of the "little men" as they grow up. They will also enjoy reading about Jo's last scrape in chapter 3. A good book, which I would recommend but the end is kind of sad because you know that it's really the end.

Little Men

by Louisa May Alcott. The sequel to Little Women, this book is set at Plumfield (Aunt Josephine March's old home) and is about boys who go to the school which Jo and her husband started there. While I would say that Little Women is decidedly a girls' book (though boys might enjoy bits of it), Little Men would probably be enjoyed by boys and girls alike.

The Lilies of the Field

by William E. Barrett. I read this book for school, and enjoyed reading it. Although it isn't a book that I would read over and over again, there are amusing parts in it and it was a good book.

Homer Smith, an ex-GI is on his way to "see the West", and stops to help some nuns build a fence. When they ask him to build a chapel, he, and everyone in the the town are sure he won't do it. However, thanks to the faith of Mother Maria (and partly the people from town, Homer gets the chapel built for "Lilies of the Field".

An Old-Fashioned Girl

by Louisa May Alcott. I read this book once before and got absolutely nothing out of reading it. However, this time I really enjoyed reading and definitely got more out of it than before.

When Polly Milton, a poor country girl, goes to visit Fanny Shaw and her family in the city, she learns how wonderful being poor really is. Although she occasionally wishes that she could dress up and be fashionable like Fanny, she keeps her simple, attractive, old-fashioned ways.

The Vision Books

These are WONDERFUL books about the saints, written by various Catholic authors. I have read lots of them and have thoroughly enjoyed each one. They are available from Ignatius Press. From Saint Therese's Little Way, to Saint Edmund Campion's adventures in Protestant England, these are all enjoyable books. My favorites are probably Joan of Arc, by Louis de Wohl, Saint John Bosco, by Catherine Beebe. However, all of them are excellent and would make very good read-alouds.

The House of the Seven Gables

by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a good book. Briefly, it is about Hepzibah Pyncheon, Clifford Pyncheon, Phoebe Pyncheon, and Judge Pyncheon. Hepzibah Pyncheon is a sour, grouchy old lady until young relative (Phoebe) comes and brightens up the lives of Hepzibah and Clifford. Clifford had spent many years in prison, on the charge of murdering his uncle, Jaffrey Pyncheon. Clifford is rather like his sister until Phoebe comes to stay with them for a while. Judge Pyncheon is Hepzibah and Clifford’s cousin and while some of his offers to help them seem kindly, he is really harsh and unjust and definitely deserved his fate at the end of the story.

Sorry that I haven't posted anything for awhile, but my family and I are busy.

The Lord of the Rings

by J. R. R. Tolkien. This is actually a trilogy, and while some might call a it a fairy tale, it is very different from fairy tales such as Snow White, Goldilocks, and Rapunzel.

The Fellowship of the Ring : In the first book, two hobbits, Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee set out, per Gandalf's request, to destroy the ring made many, many years before by Sauron. They are joined by two other hobbits, and five other companions, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Boromir, making nine members of the fellowship.

The Two Towers : The first half of the second book focuses on the adventures of Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Gandalf. The second half focuses on Frodo and Sam, who, having been seperated from the rest of the party, continue on their way to Mount Doom, with the assistance of Gollum.

The Return of the King : The conclusion, I will leave for you to find out for yourselves. However, you can comment and ask me to write a little something if you would like.   

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

by Elizabeth George Speare.  I read this book once before for the Literary Club which my sister and I were  a part of.  I recently read it again, and thoroughly enjoyed it as before.  Kit Tyler, looking at the shores of New England where she is going to live with her mother's sister and her family, realizes that her life will be very different from the life she enjoyed with her grandfather in the Caribbean.  This book is a good book which I would recommend for Grade 5 and up.  In reading or listening to it, one learns a lot about life in New England in the 1600's.   

The Hidden Treasure of Glaston

by Eleanore M. Jewett.  As one can see on the side-bar of my blog, this is one of my favorite books.  Set in twelth century Glaston, England this story is about young Hugh, whose father bring him to Glastonbury Abbey and leaves him in the care of the monks there.  Hugh, along with his friend, Dickon find themselves caught in a mystery of the Holy Grail (the chalice that Our Lord used at the Last Supper).  An old, supposedly mad hermit, the exciting setting, and the details of life in a twelth century monastery all add to the enjoyment of this book.