Catholicism- Robert Barron

About the book-
“What I propose to do in this book is to take you on a guided exploration of the Catholic world, but not in the manner of a docent, for I am not interested in showing you the artifacts of Catholicism as though they were dusty objets d’art in a museum of culture.  I want to function rather as a mystagogue, conducting you ever deeper into the mystery of the incarnation in the hopes that you might be transformed by its power.” –Father Robert Barron

What is Catholicism? A 2,000 living tradition? A worldview? A way of life? A relationship? A mystery? In Catholicism Father Robert Barron examines all these questions and more, seeking to capture the body, heart and mind of the Catholic faith.

Starting from the essential foundation of Jesus Christ’s incarnation, life, and teaching, Father Barron moves through the defining elements of Catholicism – from sacraments, worship, and prayer, to Mary, the Apostles, and Saints, to grace, salvation, heaven, and hell – using his distinct and dynamic grasp of art, literature, architecture, personal stories, Scripture, theology, philosophy, and history to present the Church to the world. 

Paired with his documentary film series of the same title, Catholicism is an intimate journey, capturing “The Catholic Thing” in all its depth and beauty. Eclectic, unique, and inspiring, Father Barron brings the faith to life for a new generation, in a style that is both faithful to timeless truths, while simultaneously speaking in the language of contemporary life.

Includes over 100 black and white and color photos.

Based off his new series, Fr Robert Barron's new book Catholicism is very comprehensive and informative.

Chapters include:
The Revelation of God become Man
The Teachings of Jesus
The Ineffable Mystery of God
Mary, the Mother of God
Peter, Paul, and the Missionary Adventures
The Mystical Union of Christ and the Church
The Mystery of the Church's Sacrements and Worship
The Communion of Saints
Prayer and the Life of the Spirit
Last Things

He has such a way with words that really brings things to life.  I love this line "Catholicism is a matter of the body and senses as much as it is a matter of the mind and soul, precisely because the Word became flesh."

I love when he talks about a painting in pointillism style and compares God to the artist.  When viewed up close (by us) it just looks like a bunch of dots and doesn't make sense.  But when you see it from Gods view, the entire painting (His plans) becomes clear.  Fr Barron has such a great way of describing things.

It's a great book on Catholicism.  I recommend it for anyone that wants to learn more about the beautiful faith.

Blogging for Books provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review.

A History of the World in Six Glasses - Tom Standage

A history book divided by different types if drinks? Now this is my kind of book!! Beer, wine, distilled drinks, coffee, tea, and soda. What a great idea for a book! Tom might just be a new hero for me. I read this book for a food related book club that I'm part of - the Kitchen Reader.  (Awesome book club, by the way)

Over ten thousand years ago it was all about cereal grains. Not only did it nourish the people but the were paid in beer and bread. Paid. in. beer. Now, I know this is resonating with some of you! I see the sign now. Will work for beer. Actually I really did see this sign a couple weeks ago. Interested tidbit- beer was originally consumed through a straw because there was so much gunk (technical term) floating in it. 

Next we move to wine in Ancient Greece and the formal drinking parties where they discussed politics, poetry, and philosophy. Again, I know this is striking a cord with me. How about you?

Next stop on the history tour is the Age of Exploration and the discovery of distillers drinks.

The Age of Reason is next and seriously, after all that alcohol dong we all need a good cup of joe? Coffeehouse discussions brought about scientific societies, newspapers, banks, and revolutionary ideas.

Tea is next and here we learn about Britains national drink. We read about the British foreign policy, Americas independence, and tea production in India.

Last up is Americas national drink -Coke. Here we learn about America as a super power, twentieth century wars, capitalism, and the global marketplace.

This was such a fun (and informative) book to read!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

St. Peter's Bones - Thomas J Craughwell

This is a short book (only 102 pages) that contains a lot of information about the bones of St Peter- how they were lost and found and lost and found again.  I really like how the story is written - it switches between the archeological digs to the history of St Peter's life and other more modern information.  I think it if were organized differently - with all the information on the archeological dig, it might get a tad bit boring.  But with it woven together the way it is, it really works.

I enjoyed the book and learned a lot along the way.  I think it was the perfect length and contained the right amount of detail.

This is the second book I've read by Thomas Craughwell.  The first was Saints Behaving Badly, which is another great book!

Blogging for Books provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review.

Ten Days Without - Daniel Ryan Day

This nonfiction book is about how the author, Daniel Day, goes 10 days without certain 'necessities' to increase awareness/raise money for different organizations.

He conducts 8 different challenges where he goes 10 days without:
Shoes (to address disease)
A Coat (to address homelessness)
Media (to address distractions)
Furniture (to address global poverty)
Legs (to address our response to disabilities)
Waste (to address the environment)
Speech (to address modern day slavery)
Human touch (to address orphans, widows, prisoners, and other untouchables)

This book doesn't try to make you feel guilty about not doing anything to help.  Instead it motivates you in a very positive, loving way to want to go out and do something, anything to help NOW.

One of my favorite lines from the book is "So maybe instead of trying to change the world, we need to focus on changing someone's world."

The one thing about the book that felt out of place to me was when he went 10 days without media.  He didn't raise money for anyone in that 10 day challenge.  He minimized his use of media to spend more time with family.  While this is admirable, it didn't really follow the theme of the book.

I think the entire point of the challenges is best summed up when Day says this "It's about making a difference in the world.  Its about the sacrifice and pain that lead you to a better understanding of an important issue and what you can do about it."

If you'd like to learn more about 10 days without, visit the website here.  You can also read his blogs here.

Here is the book description from Amazon:


“Life is full of good intentions, but for too many, our good intentions never become good actions—they don’t move us forward, draw us closer to God, or make a difference in the world.
Good intentions are cans of paint that could have become amazing works of art…but never did.”
—Daniel Day, in Ten Days Without

Daniel Day could tell you all about his love for God and his desire to live as a follower of Jesus. But it took a simple but radical experiment to move from simply talking about it to actually living like it. For ten days at a time, Daniel chose to abandon a certain “necessity”—a coat, a voice, shoes, media, furniture, legs, touch—and to blog about it to raise funds and awareness for organizations that are doing amazing things to make a difference in the world. And then he invited others to join him in the experiments and spread the vision. Together they served God and others—and experienced significant personal change in the process. Ten Days Without is the story of their life-altering adventure.

Ten Days Without is a compelling story and practical guide that will equip you and your friends to break through walls of convenience and indifference, and join a movement that is confronting apathy and ignorance around the world to make an impact on people’s lives in a God-honoring way. Ten Days Without is where our good intentions end and making a difference in the world begins.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Provence, 1970 - Luke Barr

Unfortunately, I was not thrilled with this book.  It sounded like something I'd love - famous chefs/cooks gathering together for a holiday period in Provence.  But it turned out to be way to focused on how much of a snob of couple of them were. There were too many parts of the story that was high on gossip and low on cooking.  I wanted it to be  a book about chefs discussing and cooking amazing food.

Now, when it did come around to discussing food and cooking, it was awesome!  I kept getting hungry and looking up recipes!  If there was more of a focus on this stuff, I would have loved the book.

Overall, it was just not my cup of tea.

I will be trying to hunt down some of the cookbooks/memoirs discussed in this book though, so not a total loss.

Book description:  Provence, 1970 is about a singular historic moment. In the winter of that year, more or less coincidentally, the iconic culinary figures James Beard, M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, Richard Olney, Simone Beck, and Judith Jones found themselves together in the South of France. They cooked and ate, talked and argued, about the future of food in America, the meaning of taste, and the limits of snobbery. Without quite realizing it, they were shaping today’s tastes and culture, the way we eat now. The conversations among this group were chronicled by M.F.K. Fisher in journals and letters—some of which were later discovered by Luke Barr, her great-nephew. In Provence, 1970, he captures this seminal season, set against a stunning backdrop in cinematic scope—complete with gossip, drama, and contemporary relevance.

The Men Who United The States - Simon Winchester

I read this book because I enjoyed another of Winchester's books - The Professor and the Madman.  I am so happy that I did because this book is such a fantastic read! I liked it even more than The Professor and the Madman (and I liked that one a lot).

It is arranged in such a unique way.  He used the Chinese symbols of wood, earth, water, fire, and metal.  When I first read the theme, I wasn't sold on it but it really works.

One of my favorite stories is about Calbraith Rodgers - first man to fly across the United States.  But there are so many great characters and stories to learn about including Samuel Morse, Clarence King, Thomas MacDonald and Theodore Judah.  No, I won't give you more than their names.  You need to read this book to learn their very interesting stories.

It is pretty much settled that I will now have to read anything this man writes because he is a great storyteller of nonfiction.  And from my experience, that is a hard combo to find!


Amazon book description:

Simon Winchester, the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of Atlantic and The Professor and the Madman, delivers his first book about America: a fascinating popular history that illuminates the men who toiled fearlessly to discover, connect, and bond the citizenry and geography of the U.S.A. from its beginnings.

How did America become “one nation, indivisible”? What unified a growing number of disparate states into the modern country we recognize today? To answer these questions, Winchester follows in the footsteps of America’s most essential explorers, thinkers, and innovators, such as Lewis and Clark and the leaders of the Great Surveys; the builders of the first transcontinental telegraph and the powerful civil engineer behind the Interstate Highway System. He treks vast swaths of territory, from Pittsburgh to Portland, Rochester to San Francisco, Seattle to Anchorage, introducing the fascinating people who played a pivotal role in creating today’s United States.

Throughout, he ponders whether the historic work of uniting the States has succeeded, and to what degree. Featuring 32 illustrations throughout the text, The Men Who United the States is a fresh look at the way in which the most powerful nation on earth came together.

Becoming Odyssa- Jennifer Davis

This is such a great book!  It's the story of "Odyssa" (her trail name) and her hike along the Apalachian Trail.  She tells the story aof her immense accomplishment and of all the trials and tribulations, joys and sucesses.  Along the journey, she meets several interesting characters and finds herself in some exciting/unusual situations.  She starts the journey just after completing her four year degree and before she has to enter the 'real world.  She learns so much about herself and what she wants out of life.  I think every college grad should do this!  What an excellent way to transition from school to the workforce.

She is an excellent storyteller too.  It feels like you are hearing about these great adventures from a good friend, fresh off the trail.  It is a quick read and such a joy to read.

Some of my favorite lines from the book

Thoughts on why so many college grads on trail - "We've spend our entire lives under the influence of family, school, and religion, and we need to test out our doctrines. The trail provides a place to sort through the fact and fiction of our childhoods.

Thoughtts on God - "...the mountains were singing the praises of God beautifully and without shame.  I wish I could be more like a mountain."

I could probably list one from each page of the book but  I don't have that kind of time.  Just pick it up and read it for yourself.  You won't be disappointed.

This book is fantastic!  I definitely want to hike the Appalachian Trail once my husband retires!  It was always something he wanted to do but I was always like 'yeah, ok sure' and change the subject.  Now, I am completely on board with the idea.  Jennifer doesn't glamorize the hike it but just tells you about it - the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Page by page I became more set on the idea of doing it.  Now, I just have to wait it out.  

This is one of the best books I've read this year.  

Cooked by Michael Pollan

I read this book for The Kitchen Reader reading group that I'm part of and I am so glad that I did! I'm also counting it in my Foodie Readers Book Challenge for 2013. I don't know if I would have gotten around to reading it otherwise and it's a great book!  Be warned though - he goes into very detailed information in parts.  I found that I read most of it but some of it, I have to admit, I just skimmed.

Cooked is divided into four main sections fire, water, air, earth.

In Fire, he spends time with to two different barbeque pit masters in North Carolina where they do whole hog barbecue, to learn and get some hands on training. Great line about the pit room at the Starlight Inn  "The pit room was in fact an infernal chamber, and not a place likely to stimulate an appetite for cooked pig in many people."

His first taste of the barbecue - "So this was barbecue. Right away I realized I had never before tasted the real thing, and I was converted. This was easily one of the tastiest, most succulent meat dishes I had ever eaten, and certainly the most rewarding $ 2.75 I’d ever invested in a sandwich."

The time he spent with Ed Mitchell is when he finally got some hands-on experience and it was fantastic reading.  I'm going to try to find and watch the Throw Down with Bobby Flay episode where he went head to head with Ed Mitchell.

This section of the book includes a little history, a little mythology and a little bit about the Bible.  He's a good writer and keeps the book moving by adding in these interesting little tidbits along the way.

Needless to say, both the Starlight Inn  and The Pit are on my 'to visit' list the next time I'm road tripping along the east coast!

Next up in Water which covers braising, stews, and  soups.  I love the story about how Samin, his former student who gives him cooking lessons, got a job a Chez Panisse.

I was intrigued by the dish pork in milk maiale al latte and will try cooking it soon.

He really is a talented writer.  This line for instance - "Braise: the sound of that lovely word itself suggests a certain slow unfolding, the final “z” sound trailing off with no hard consonant to stop it." Awesome!

I enjoyed the stories about Sunday cooking and spending time his son and dinners around the family table.  Just lovely.  I also plan on eventually trying his recipe on braising at the end of the book.

Air. The section on baking was probably my favorite.  Just before reading this book, I began the process of making a sourdough starter.  So, the section of the book was not only interesting but very useful for me. I plan on baking bread with my starter soon and will post the recipe/blog here on my cooking/travel blog.

Earth was a fun section.  It was all about fermenting - vegetables, beer, cheese etc. I especially loved to part on cheese making with Sister Noella. The beer making was also super interesting (partly because my husband has also just started making beer at home).

This is a really good book that I would recommend to friends.  The author is good at weaving practical advice, stories, history, religion, and technical information all into one very readable book.