20 Answers Challenge:Part 2

20 Answers: The Sacraments By: Fr. Mike Driscoll
Non-Fiction: Religion-C 70 pages
Physical Book Count: 26
Book Count: 29

20 Answers: The Real Jesus by: Trent Horn
Non-Fiction: Religion-C 61 pages
Physical Book Count: 27
Book Count: 30

20 Answers Challenge: Part 1

So right before Lent, Catholic Answers had a 20 Answers Challenge, which was to read the 20 booklets that they made called 20 Answers- (blank), each of which has 20 questions and answers on some subject related to the faith, before the end of Easter (i.e. 50 days after Easter Sunday/Pentecost.)  And if you bought the complete set of books you would get the books for half off and $10 of the sale would go to help St. Paul Street Evangelization. So on Fat Tuesday I ordered the books to do the challenge/ get them on sale at the last possible minute.  As Lent was spent reading about vampires, because why wouldn't you, I started this challenge late.  Also as apparently Lent and Easter is a busy time when you work at a church, I started even later then that.  So I have about 20 days to read 20 books, luckily they are shorter books, so it should be possible.  Anyway as theses books/booklets are shorter and are part of a non-fiction series, I will be putting the "reviews" (Notes to myself that I have read them for the most part and proof to friends that I did do the challenge,) in a grouping of a few books at a time.

Also I will be counting them each as books, just so my book count looks great at the end of the year.

And as these books were written by a group of people (with one author for each book) and the writers are also on the show from Catholic Answers that I see on youtube, it is interesting to see the way that the author's speaking style translates into their writing style, as there are a number of times that I can "hear" the writing in the author's voice and wonder how one of the other authors would answer one of the questions differently.  

20 Answers: Salvation By: Jimmy Akin
Non-Fiction: Religion-C 71 pages
Physical Book Count: 23
Book Count: 26

I am picking the order of these books in mostly a random order.  When reading this book there were no pictures of Jimmy Akin with Batman, meaning we still have no proof that they are not the same person! Also this book does not have end notes, but the citation inside of the text of the book.

20 Answers: The Eucharist By: Trent Horn
Non-Fiction: Religion-C 64 pages
Physical Book Count: 24
Book Count: 27

This book has end notes, which is why I made a note about the 1st book not having them.  Also it had an end note with an idea that I have never heard of before, and which has not a lot to do with the subject of the book, and that is the idea that The Salvation Army isn't a Christian denomination because they don't do baptisms.  It noted that many Christian denominations have different beliefs on what, if anything baptism does, but argues that because they don't have baptisms it's not a denomination.

20 Answers: Miracles By: Karlo Broussard
Non-Fiction: Religion-C 68 pages
Physical Book Count: 25
Book Count: 28

Also with end notes!  This book reads like it should have been a much longer book for all the ideas that it is trying to share.  Also, I still haven't figured out how one determines if something outside of the relm of normal, scientific, reasonable, outcomes to an event, is within the nature of angels/demons or only something God can do.  Did someone do scientific testing on angels?!?

Alcatraz Vs. the Evil Librarians:

Alcatraz Vs. the Evil Librarians By: Brandon Sanderson
Fiction: Sci-fi/fantasy, Children's 290 pages
Physical Book Count: 22
Book Count: 25

The library just emailed me that they wanted this book back, sounds just like something that the librarians would like, get this book out of people's hands!

This book is the story of Alcatraz, a boy that just found out that he isn't a family-less orphan, but a member of the important Smedry family, who all have special gifts that help them fight the evil librarians that rule the Hushlands.  He grew up in the Hushlands (the USA) as a foster kid who constantly broke things in freak accidents.  When he gets a bag of sand as his inheritance on his 13th birthday,  it get taken, and he meets his grandfather, Leavenworth.  From then he learns about life in the Free Kingdoms, being an oculator, the evil librarians, and his family.  Also there is a great big adventure filled with danger, surprises, dinosaurs, and asides.  This is book one in the series of books that make up his autobiography, written under a pen name as fiction to trick the librarians.

Doctor Who: The American Adventures:

Doctor Who: The American Adventures by: Justin Richards
Fiction: Children's, Sci-fi, Pop Culture, 180 pages
Physical Book Count: 21
Book Count: 24

As the title suggests this book is a collection of stories involving The Doctor in America.  It features the 12th Doctor, and no companions besides ones the he picks up in each story, so it doesn't clearly tell when in the series the stories happen.  Also besides a few notes on what he is wearing and looks, it doesn't really have to be the 12th Doctor in the stories as it doesn't deal much with the different personalities of the Doctors.  The stories take place during many important historical times: the gold rush, Oregon trail, War of 1812, WWII, as well as 1902 New York, (which does reference"The Angels Take Manhattan") and modern day times.

Pope Francis Takes the Bus and other unexpected stories:

Pope Francis Takes the Bus and other unexpected stories By: Rosario Carello
Non-Fiction: Biography, Religion-C, Pop Culture, 160 pages
Physical Book Count: 20
Book Count: 23

This is a collection of 80 short stories told in alphabetical order, off a key word or idea in each story, about the life of Pope Francis.  It was written about a year after he became Pope, and mostly tells stories from earlier in his life.   Most of the stories are from when he was just a priest or after he was made a bishop, but there are also a few stories about his earlier life, especially things in his life that lead him to becoming a priest/ the type of priest that he is.  There are a few stories about things that have happened after he became pope as well.  

The Dumbest Idea Ever!:

The Dumbest Idea Ever! by: Jimmy Gownley
Non-fiction: Graphic Novel, Memoir, 236 pages
Physical Book Count: 20
Book Count: 23

A graphic novel about how the author started out making a graphic novel as a teen.

Dragonbreath: No Such Think as Ghosts:

Dragonbreath: No Such Think as Ghosts by: Ursula Vernon
Fiction: Fantasy, Humor, Graphic Novel, Children's, 201 pages
Physical Book Count: 19
Book Count: 22

This is book 5 in the series, and for once Danny doesn't take a bus to a place that it would be impossible for him to reach by city bus.  Instead he, Wendell, and a girl named Christina Vanderpool who belongs to the Junior Skeptics, and doesn't even believe that Danny is a dragon, go on an adventure in their own town.  It's Halloween and they are out trick-or-treating in the neighborhood with the good candy.  The school bully Big Eddy, dares them to go into the haunted house on the road.  They agree to knock on the door, as they can't break into a house with Danny's dad watching them.  They knock on the door, and of course it opens, and they step in.  The door shuts behind them and will not open.  Christina doesn't believe in ghost and helps the boys see that Big Eddy and his friends are the ones banging on the doors outside to scare them and steal their candy.  They scare off the bullies, but there is still the real ghost.

Dragonbreath: Lair of the Bat Monster:

Dragonbreath: Lair of the Bat Monster by: Ursula Vernon
Fiction: Fantasy, Humor, Graphic Novel, Children's, 204 pages
Physical Book Count: 18
Book Count: 21

This is book 4 in the series, (3 was not in the library.) In this book it is summer and Danny and Wendell find a half-drown bat at the city pool.  So they take a bus (well actually a couple of buses in a few hour trip) to see Danny's cousin Steve in Mexico.  Steve studies a cave full of bats in the jungles of Mexico.  He is also trying the save the cave from developers.  When Steve shows off the cave to the boys, Danny gets kidnapped by a giant bat, which they call Camazotz after a giant bat god that people in the area use to worship. Steve and Wendell track the bat in the jungle to find it's lair; meanwhile, Danny is trying to escape from the bat which seams to think he is it's baby.  In the end Wendell is the one who saves the day, as well as Camazotz, who's existence also saves the other bats in the area as it will need to be studied as a new species

Cracked: The De-Textbook:

Cracked: The De-Textbook: The Stuff You Didn't Know About the Stuff You Thought You Knew By: the Cracked Writers
Non:fiction: History, Science, Humor, Pop Culture, 207 pages
Physical Book Count: 17
Book Count: 20

For those of you that haven't heard of Cracked, it is a website of humorous articles / lists that are often informative and NSFW.  They often do articles on how everything you were taught in school was wrong.  There are also ones on pop culture, crazy things that you might have not heard in the news, photo shop picture on a theme, etc.  This book is about the things that you were taught that were wrong, skipped all the fun parts, or just got glossed over in order the get the the things you needed for standardized tests. Much to all of the information has already been published in the website, but it was arranged like a text book and had humorous pictures labeled as figure (blank) with the sentence explaining it just like a text book.  

Dragonbreath: Attack of the Ninja Frogs

Dragonbreath: Attack of the Ninja Frogs by: Ursula Vernon
Fiction: Fantasy, Humor, Graphic Novel, Children's, 206 pages
Physical Book Count: 16
Book Count: 19

This is book 2 in the series, in this book there is a foreign exchange student at the school.  Her name is Suki a salamander from Japan who Wendell likes.  And she is being attacked by ninja frogs.  So Danny, Wendell and her take the bus to Japan to visit Danny's great-grandfather who is a Japanese dragon (who cheats at Trivial Pursuit.) It turns out that Suki is the reincarnation of the queen of the ninjas who want her to lead them again.  As she wants to be a veterinarian, they get help from a group of samurais to stop the frogs.

Dragonbreath:

Dragonbreath by: Ursula Vernon
Fiction: Fantasy, Humor, Graphic Novel, Children's, 148 pages
Physical Book Count: 15
Book Count: 18

Danny Dragonbreath is a real dragon (although he can't breath fire yet,)who is best friends with Wendell an iguana.  They go to a school filled with reptiles and amphibians. After getting an F on his paper on the ocean, (because snorkelbats aren't real,) he and his friend take the bus to the Sargasso Sea to visit a cousin that is a sea serpent. They then go on an adventure involving a ship wreak, giant squid, jelly fish and sharks.

Cholesterol Clarity:

Cholesterol Clarity: What the HDL is Wrong with My Numbers? By: Jimmy Moore with Eric C. Westman, MD
Non-fiction: Food/cooking, Science, 241 pages
Physical Book Count: 14
Book Count: 17

Besides the author and the doctor that co-wrote small sections of the book, (he had a section at the end of each chapter and some inside the chapters) there was also information from other doctors, scientists, dietitians and people that decided to take their health into there own hands by studying the science and trying changes out on themselves.  Like many books dealing with topics that people had thought the science was settled on, before much of any science was done there are slightly different thoughts on what we should due given what we know now.  But overall there is a great overlap in what things are important, with people having slight differences in what they would do in some situations.  It is written so that someone without a lot of scientific knowledge could read and understand it, but it does include the data from studies and where to get more info, so that if you want to look at the raw numbers you can.  It also includes information on other test you can get that seam to be better indicators of having a increased risk of a cardiac event and a number of practice test results at the end, so you can look at cholesterol numbers yourself and take the info that you have learned to see if the "person" had health, unhealthy or somewhere in-between numbers.
Like many books that question the status quo on health and nutrition this one believes that the modern diet is a main cause of many of the modern health problems, and that most to all (again there were some slight disagreements between the experts on somethings) people can fix their cholesterol issues by changes in diet and lifestyle (i.e. stop smoking, sleep enough, do light exercising, reduce stress, the usual.)

The Chopped Cookbook:

The Chopped Cookbook: Use What You've Got to Cook Something Great By: the Food Network Kitchen
Non-fiction: Food/Cooking, 233 pages
Physical Book Count: 13
Book Count: 16

This book will not tell you how to make a meal out of canned whole chicken and pizza crusts.  But what it does is taking the ideas behind the show chopped to make meals out of the types of things that most people have in their kitchen, which a few items that might be new to people.  It includes short question and answers from the various chopped judges.  It also includes charts for how to quickly and easily make many versions of basic things, i.e. what combination of acid, oil and flavors to use to make all sorts of vinaigrettes.  There are also pages that take the same 3-5 items and make 3 or 4 different type of meals out of them.  Sadly the dessert section includes no bread puddings.

Plants vs. Zombies: Bully For You

Plants vs. Zombies: Bully For You By: Paul Tobin Art by: Ron Chan
Non-fiction: Graphic novel, Sci-fi, Humor, Pop Culture, 92 pages
Physical Book Count: 12
Book Count: 15

This time there are 2 groups of zombies, not only is Dr. Zomboss up to his normal tricks, but a separate group of zombies that were all bullied have gotten together to stop Dr. Zomboss and take over the neighborhood themselves.  Also staring the hedgehog Mr. Stubbins.

Plants vs. Zombies: Timepocalypse

Plants vs. Zombies: Timepocalypse By: Paul Tobin Art by: Ron Chan
Non-fiction: Graphic novel, Sci-fi, Humor, Pop Culture, 76 pages
Physical Book Count: 11
Book Count: 14

In this story the machine that Dr. Edgar Zomboss made to stop the plants gets blown up and goes threw all of time.  Luckily Crazy Dave had just made a time machine.  Dave, his niece Patrice and Nate have to travel back and forward in time fighting zombies, dinosaurs, pirates, sharks, and disco to get all the parts before the zombies and save the world.

Plants vs. Zombies: Lawnageddon

Plants vs. Zombies: Lawnageddon By: Paul Tobin Art by: Ron Chan
Non-fiction: Graphic novel, Sci-fi, Humor, Pop Culture, 76 pages
Physical Book Count: 10
Book Count: 13

This book is the first in the series and goes over the start of the story line of the plants vs. zombies video game, with the addition of more story line of who Crazy Dave is and with a niece of his and a boy from the neighborhood as the main characters.

Spending Lent in Dracula's Castle:

Spending Lent in Dracula's Castle by: Steven J. Rolfes
Non-fiction: religion-C, P, Classic lit, E-books
E-Book Count:3
Book Count:12 

This book is a journey through Lent by following the journey of the book version of Dracula.  One should read Dracula before the book to get the most out of it, and possibly watch some of the movies, as there are references to how the movies are different in  some cases.  Like many books for Lent or Advent there is a section to read each day for every day.  It also starts at Fat Tuesday and goes all the way to Easter.  It deals with the spiritual journey that the cast of Dracula goes through in their fight against Dracula, who is an embodiment of evil/the devil in the book.

Socrates in the City:

Socrates in the City: Conversations on "Life, God, and Other Small Topics"  Ed. By: Eric Metaxas
Non-fiction: philosophy, Religion- C, P, G, A, Humor
Physical Book Count: 9
Book Count: 11

(Note: Includes Catholic, Protestant, General religion and Atheist speakers or topics)

 This book is a collection of talks followed by a series of Q and A time, that were the transcripts of various events from the Socrates in the City series of events.  It deals with thinking about the big questions in life.  Topics include the interplay of science and religion and religion and public life; as told by a theoretical physicist and priest in the church of England, (and also a knight, but he was not in chain mail for the talk),  a scientist that worked on the human genome,  Bible scholars, writers, religious leaders, and others connected to the ideas of the talks.  

Serenity: Leaves on the Wind:

Serenity: Leaves on the Wind By: Zack Whedon, George Jeanty, Fabio Moon
Non-Fiction: Graphic Novel,   152 pages
Physical Book Count: 8
Book Count: 10

This book is also the continuing adventures of the characters from the TV show Firefly and the movie Serenity.  This one happening months after the end of the movie.   

I'm Gluten Furious! a Get Fuzzy Treasury:

I'm Gluten Furious! a Get Fuzzy Treasury by: Darby Conley
Non-Fiction: Graphic Novel,  250 pages
Physical Book Count: 7
Book Count: 9

Another book from the search down the graphic novel shelf.  This one is a collection of Get Fuzzy comics.  

Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale:

Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale: By Joss and Zack Whedon Art by: Chris Samnee
Non-Fiction: Graphic Novel, 56 pages
Physical Book Count: 6
Book Count: 8

This book is a story about the characters in the Firefly TV show and Serenity movie.  This one is a series of flashbacks telling the story of Shepherd going farther and farther back to his childhood. 

Harley Quinn: Vol 6- Black, White and Red all Over:

Harley Quinn: Vol 6- Black, White and Red all Over by: Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti Art by: Timms, Hardin,Charretier & Moritat
Non-fiction: Graphic novel, 144 pages
Physical Book Count: 5
Book Count: 7

I had to pick up a lot of things from the library for someone else and so ended up getting a ton of books myself.  As I knew I would pick up a bunch of books running to the library all the time, I thought I would get graphic novels as they are quick reads.

Prayer Works: Getting a Grip on Catholic Spirituality:

Prayer Works: Getting a Grip on Catholic Spirituality by: Matthew Leonard
Non-fiction: Religion-C, E-book
E-Book Count:2
Book Count: 6

After reading this other book from the author, link here.  I decided to read this book too.  It also was a mix of complex spiritual ideas and humor.  We also learn that Scott Hahn, (who wrote the forward) is not a pillar of salt, there is more small talk about the weather then you would think in the Bible and that the hypostatic union is not what happens to your socks in the dryer.  (If you do not know what it is really see the "Catechism of the Catholic Church # 470-483.)  
It also deals with the major types of prayer: vocal, mental, and contemplation; personal, and liturgical.  

Ghostbusters Mass Hysteria:

Ghostbusters Mass Hysteria by: Erik Burnham, art by: Dan Schoening
Non-fiction: Graphic Novel, Paranormal, Pop Culture, 460 pages
Physical Book Count: 4
Book Count: 5

This graphic novel is an omnibus of stories about the Ghostbusters. (1980's cast.)  It includes stories that are a continuation of the movies as well as stories that contain mostly new characters.  There are some stories that are only a few pages long any others that are book length.  

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Alamo All Stars:

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Alamo All Stars By: Nathan Hale
Non-Fiction: History, Graphic Novel, Humor, Children's 128 pages
Physical Book Count: 3
Book Count: 4

This is part of the series of graphic novels for children teaching American history with a time traveling Nathan Hale.  Link to review of first book in series here.  
In this book we learn the story of the events that lead up to the battle of the Alamo and what effect it had on American history.  There is also a cross over with the "El Gran Libro Enorme de la Historia Mexicana" which involves Vicente Guerrero and his executioners.  ( Who as they were a firing squad constantly shoot their guns into the air making a bird fall on the British solider.) 

Eat Bacon, Don't Jog:

Eat Bacon, Don't Jog: Get Strong. Get Lean. No Bullshit. by: Grant Petersen
Non-fiction: diet, science, cooking, 216 pages
Physical Book Count:2
Book Count:3

This book is a series of short one or two page essays on a low carb diet that uses short strength training exercises for work outs that require minimum equipment. (Mostly your own body weight and kettle balls.)  The book does a good job explaining the science and reasons behind the diet. It does rely heavily on the idea that eating meat is what helped humans evolve faster then the other great apes while minimizing that vegetation was still a major component to diet.   Although, it does a good job of pointed out that the work to gather was greater then modern shopping and the sugar content was much much lower in wild plants.  There were a few things that it said that sounded not right in an essay, but then in a later one clarified what it meant.  And the more controversial essays were  in a section to let people know that this is things you might not agree with even if you agree with the rest of the book.  Overall the book was a good introduction to things, but due to the limits of using words and a couple of pictures to describe how to do an exercise,  I would go online for more info on proper form for exercises I was not familiar with before trying.  It also has a section with a number of easy recipes that would work on the diet including replacements for common carby foods like: desserts, cereal, and croutons.  And it ends with more resources for one to look into.  

Divine Renovation:

Divine Renovation: Bringing your parish from maintenance to mission By: Fr. James Mallon
Non-fiction: Religion-C 286 pages
Physical Book Count:1
Book Count:2

This is the type of book that one would want to read twice, once to read through and once to stop and highlight every couple of paragraphs a good quote, other work to read later, new idea, etc, for when you need it for later. As it is more for the people that run a parish then the parishioners, I shall wait to do the re-reading for some other time, as I have a pile of books to read about as tall as me. The main idea of the book is that you can't keep doing what didn't work in the past and expect it to work now.  That in the magical past churches could keep their doors open expecting little from the people, and giving little to them beyond a social club, (i.e. maintenance) because it was a culture in which if you were "born Catholic" you stayed a "practicing Catholic"  for your life.  So people forgot the main reason for church, mission; to make disciples, help the needy, be a true community, and so forth. It does this by quoting the consistent statements from popes, councils, and church documents about this, as well as talking about what the author has tried to do; what worked, what didn't, and things that he is still working on.  Although it deals with a complex issue it is very readable and easy to understand.

Louder than Words: The Art of Living as a Catholic

Louder than Words: The Art of Living as a Catholic By: Matthew Leonard
Non-Fiction: Religion-C, E-book
E-Book Count:1
Book Count:1

This book is about living life as a Catholic.  It has a good mix of piety and levity.  For example, it points out that the main goal of life is to become a saint, which it refers to as getting yourself on a laminated bookmark. (Which any Catholic serious about their faith knows what they are talking about.)  It also includes quotes from the saints, classic poetry, papal encyclicals, and other scholarly things, (with many footnotes at the end), while reading as something that a beginner could understand.

Note on Labels:

I have decided to make it a bit easier to tell what each book I read is about by adding additional tags to all the religion books that I read. As it: mysteries, sci-fi, and paranormal are the main types of books I read.  I might add tags to these fiction books that I read as well, but as I do not often re-read fiction besides books that I love and know what is in it, it is not as necessary.  So now books will be labeled Religion-(letter)  So C- for Catholic, P- for Protestant, O- for Orthodox, J- for Jewish,  G- for books on religion in general, etc. (As, I do not read many books that would not fit into these categories I will not list all the possible religion's abbreviations.)  These will just be in the body of the entry and not under the labels section, which will only list them all as religion.

End of the Year:

Well I have done 1 of my 3 goals for sure and 2 of them most likely.  Next year, I think that I will skip new year resolutions for a year.

Happy New Year!!!!
(in a few hours)

A Collection of Short, Disappointing E-books:

Unusually Effective: 25 Unusual yet Effective Social Media Marketing Strategies for Creating an Irresistible Brand, Ultimate Business Growth and Massive Profits: By Akshay Desai
Non-fiction: E-book
E-book Count: 28

Besides the super long title this book was the least disappointing of the books I read.  It was only disappointing as I was looking for books that would deal with general social media marketing, and this short book only dealt with if you had a brick and mortar business and wanted to do lots of ads all over the internet with the most bang for your buck.

 How to do Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Monetization of YouTube Videos by: Jyoti Jitendra
Non-fiction: E-book
E-book Count: 29

This also short book seamed like it would be more of what I was looking for; however, it also was mostly made for business that want to make ad videos on YouTube.  And then use SEO, and sites that you can buy views from to make them popular, although, everything that it suggested would most likely result in downvotes and clicking off before the video was done in the real world.

SEO for Beginners and YouTube Traffic for Beginners By: Red Michael
Non-fiction: E-book
E-book Count: 30 & 31

This set of books were by far the most disappointing, spammy, & shady acting in the group.  The SEO one suggesting things like spamming blogs with your url links, making links to bigger websites to piggyback on their name, buying expired domains to build backlinks, and sharing MP3s of you talking about how great your website is and sharing it on filesharing sites. 
The YouTube one was all about a business that wanted to make a youtube ad.  It also had paying for people to watch it and paying people to make backlinks to your video using multiple urls.   

Youtube Books:

Both of these books were 10-15 minute reads and on the same subject, so I placed then together.

The 10 YouTube Commandments by: Matt Gielen
Non-fiction, E-book
E-book Count: 26

Literally a list of the 10 things you need to do to run a successful YouTube channel with a short amount of info on what that means and real life examples.

YouTube Domination Startup in 10 Minutes by: Freebie Johnny
Non-fiction, E-book
E-book Count: 27

How to set up a YouTube channel.  

Ketogenic Fat Bomb Recipes:

Ketogenic Fat Bomb Recipes by: Nom Foodie
Non:fiction: Food, E-book
E-book Count: 25

Note: this book is too short to count as a book.

Besides that it is exactly what the title says it is.  A short collection of fat bomb recipes along with the basics for how to make a fat bomb recipe and a little on the Keto diet.  

Blessed is She Who Believed:

Blessed is She Who Believed: Mary's Pilgrimage of Faith by: Juan Jose Bartolome SDB
Non-fiction: Religion, E-book
E-book Count: 24
Book Count: 39

I thought for Christmas a book on Mary would be interesting.  As I read this book there were many times that I stopped reading the book for a moment to double check that this book was not written by a Protestant.  (Not that I would be against reading a book on Mary by a Protestant or haven't before, just that a number of the things in the book sounded like the author was Protestant.)  As you might see there are letters after the author's name, they are for the Salesians of Don Bosco, so the author is probably a monk or priest, making some of the things in this book even more confusing.   

The main idea of the book is about Mary's faith journey and how it connects the the journey that all Christians are called to.  A sort of, what Mary did in her life physically all believers are called to do spiritually, idea.   It is broken up into sections based on only events recorded in the Bible.  So it starts at the beginning of Luke and ended in the Acts of the Apostles.  It also mostly only uses what was written in the Bible for their ideas on the events, (hence, part of my thoughts on it being written by a Protestant,)  so in this book Mary thought that once she gave birth to the Savior she was done and could go back to the "normal" life that she had planed out with Joseph because that was all the the angel asked of her, and that because she wasn't noted as following Jesus around, she in the rest of His family didn't see his vision, etc.   There is also a section which implies that most Catholics do all the Mary worshiping things that Protestants accuse people of, followed by the statement that you could be as great as Mary.  This is followed by a chapter on how one needs Mary to get to Jesus which would seam expected in a book of this type, but not after a chapter on how you all use Mary as a way to not get to Jesus.  At that point in the book I was going to finish it, just to finish it, so when it got to it's ideas on Jesus telling John to treat Mary like his mother, (who in this book is just the unnamed disciple that Jesus loved, because that was what the Bible said literally,)  I was not surprised that this wasn't a touching moment of a son providing for his mother, or a symbol of the Church and how we are all brothers and sisters, but just God once again giving Mary a new job with out asking her first.  

The Devil and Pastor Gus:

The Devil and Pastor Gus By: Roger Bruner
Fiction: Religious, E-book
E-book Count: 23
Book Count: 38

This idea behind this book was quite interesting, a retelling of the basic ideas from the book of Job, in a modern setting.  The story itself was a fun read.  There were a number of issues with the theology and it did have the hitting you over the head with the message problem that many religious fiction works have.  For example pastor Gus's last name has Gospel right in it and another character is  named De Foe.  But besides the times that those issues come to the front of the story it was about what I was expecting of the story with some surprising twists, so unlike all the diet books that I have been picking up, it was what I wanted to read when I got the book.

How to Customize Your Own Ketogenic Diet Meal Plan:

How to Customize Your Own Ketogenic Diet Meal Plan by: Orlando Scott
Non-fiction: E-book
E-book Count: 22
Book Count: 37

First this book is the sequel to another book on dieting.  Second it is clear that the author besides jumping on the keto bandwagon follows all the main stream dieting advice that most people that follow a keto diet disagree with.  There was a section on how to most exactly determine how many calories you are currently burning, so that you can then calculate how many fewer ones you need to eat to lose at the rate that you want to. There is the suggestion that you should eat many small meals and snacks all day long because otherwise you will be too hungry.   It has almost no actual advice on how to customize a keto diet and the things that it does suggest is crazy.  For example it says to make things easy you can make 6-12 meals ahead (1-2 days) and then just eat the same thing at each meal.   And then it gives samples of what to eat in a day for a 2,000 calorie a day diet for someone at a 20% deficit, These include 1.4 cups of tuna and 3/5 cups of brown rice with 12 tablespoons of olive oil, divided up into your 6 meals for the day, or 12 oz of Pork Loin, 35 teaspoons of canola oil and 9 cups of cauliflower again divided into 6 servings. Yummy!

Get into Keto!: A 10 Day Rapid Weight Loss Meal Plan

Get into Keto! By: Teresa Gomez
Nonfiction: Diet, E-book
E-book Count: 21
Book Count: 36


As I am going back on my diet, I thought I would look at a few books for reminders, hints, and new recipes. I should have known from the ! in the title that the reviews were not to be trusted.  For one thing a book on this should understand the difference between nutritional ketoses and diabetic ketoacidosis.  And the difference is more then dehydration.  The list of foods has artificial sweeteners as both as something to avoid, eat with caution, and in half the recipes in the book.  Also how many foods are labeled "hot dogs" besides hot dogs?  

Mantilla: the Veil of the Bride of Christ:

Mantilla: the Veil of the Bride of Christ by: Anna Elissa
Non-fiction: Religion, E-book
E-book Count: 21
Book Count: 35


I once again last month waited to the last minute to pick up my free e-book.  And as it was around the time of the Day of the Dead, from October 29th to November 2nd I wore a cheap Day of the Dead headband with red and black roses on it and black lace going down the back of it. (The one from Clair's.) Which when I wore to church the comments I got were; 1. joking about how we should all wear roses in our hair (in a playful way), 2. asking if I was going to go with a full Spanish mantilla (clearly meaning with the combs under it and yards of lace and not just a modern veil made with Spanish lace,) and 3. thanking me for wearing it including wishing more people would bring back the tradition, (this person was Mexican-American, so there is a slight possibility that they were talking about celebrating the Day of the Dead, but the way that they said it every time they saw me makes me thing that they meant it as they saw me wearing a mantilla and not a costume piece.)  Which lead to two revelations: 1.  apparently, my family has reached the point of being known for being out there/individualistic/weird that people are not fazed by anything we wear, and if we have to ask ourselves is this something we could wear to X thing, the answer is most likely yes.  And 2, when I wear a hat or hair fascinator to church women comment on how cute/nice/pretty it is, when I wear a veil men comment on the tradition/history of the veil as an idea. 

So having just learned that full block the view of the person behind me huge hair piece was an option, I found this book.  After reading the reviews of it I found that it was written for Indonesians originally and didn't see any red flags in the reviews, I thought I would try it.  (American pieces on veiling for church tend to often feature people that think that rules of covering ones hair never was removed from church law, even if it literally is not in the current Code of Cannon Law, and that not doing so is a giant, evil, feminist conspiracy,  or that the Bible clearly states that women must protect themselves from horny angels with a hair fetish, or that covering one's hair is some magical mystical experience that God calls women to on par with becoming a nun or getting married.    So basically all the reasons that a modern faithful Catholic women would give as reasons not to veil, for fear of being lumped in with those people.)   So, I was hoping that this would avoid those things and get to the actual history/traditions/reasons that someone might want to wear a veil.  As that info is hard to find in America and the reason I went from not wearing an actual veil to church to doing so, is because I decided that the "Pre-Vatican II was a magic time when the Church was prefect" people didn't get to take any tradition that they liked and ruin it for everyone else.  

This book for the most part did not disappoint.  It pointed out that the "angels" from that Bible passage might be seen as the priest; who in a society where women's hair was seen as very sexy and was usually covered in public, might get distracted by a female not covering it.  It noted that there are many different head coverings besides lace veils.  It noted that it was a private devotion and so it should not be either required or forbidden by a local parish.  It also had stories of women that decided to follow this devotion and well as some priest's thoughts on the devotion.  It pointed out how the devotion was related to Christ and ways that it can lead to a greater holiness, without implying that it makes one holier then people that don't.  There was only one place where it went a little too far, and that was in a bonus essay in the end and not even in the main part of the book, nor was it directly related to wearing a veil.  

All Saints' Secrets:

All Saints' Secrets by: Nicole Loughan
Fiction: mystery, E-book
E-book Count: 20
Book Count: 34

This book is book 2 in the series, and does not work as a stand alone book.  It starts right after, I think, the last book drops off.  And it is not until after a few pages and  the characters enjoy "purse-spiced jambalaya" do you learn the main character's name, gender, or much other background info you need.  But, it does relate to All Saints' Day, and therefore fits with today.  In this book Fanchon is recovering from her adventures from book 1, and they reopen the case about one of her friend's dead.  Also, they are still looking for the bad guy for book 1.

The Saints Go Dying:

The Saints Go Dying: Arthur Beautyman Mysteries book 1 by: Erik Hanberg
Fiction: mystery, E-book
E-book Count: 19
Book Count: 33


Arthur Beautyman is a detective in LA.  He gets a case involving a serial killer that is killing, shaving, and draining their victims of blood. Also, they are only killing people that might be called a saint; people that give to charities, volunteer, teach, etc.  In fact, they are using calling cards with Bible references to The Whore of Babylon in reference to themselves, causing the FBI profilers helping with this case to note that that is very unusual.  Also there is a local TV show that does news/true crime stories that is airing episodes on the Babylon killer that the police have to carefully work with for PR reasons.

Chasing Secrets:

Chasing Secrets by: Gennifer Choldenko
Fiction: mystery, historic, YA 274 pagrs
Physical Book Count: 16
Book Count: 32

Lizzie is a teenage girl in San Francisco in the year 1900. But unlike the other girls at her finishing school she loves science, wants to be a doctor like her father, and hates dancing.  So when her Chinese cook goes missing and is thought to be stuck in the quarantine for the plague she sets to work on finding him and getting him home, against the desire of her aunt, who wants Lizzie to act like a proper lady.

CHF: The Messengers

The Messengers - 2007

* Kirsten Stewart
* Black and white flashback
* Cigarette smoking man
* So many jump scares
* Out, damned spot!
* Murder of crows
* The Birds

Who Done It?:

Who Done It? Investigation of Murder Most Foul, an anthology edited by: Jon Scieszka
fiction: mystery, short stories, YA, 352 pages
Physical Book Count: 15
Book Count: 31

This book has a premise much like the Clue movie/game, a collection of people, all with reasons to kill a man, are invited to the some out of the way place, and after he is murdered the rest is about who did it.  In this case the suspects are 80+  young adult authors and/or illustrators who each write their own alibi, on why they didn't kill their hated editor.  It is clear from the stories that each author involved were given a short outline of information on the premise of the book and details about the "victim" and event.  It is also clear they they didn't give them the info on how the murder took place as a number of ones accidentally confess of: poisoning, freezing, bludgeoning, and otherwise killing their editor in different ways.    Also the sale of the book helps a charity, which is why all of these popular writers worked on the book.

CHF: Maniac Cop

Maniac Cop - 1988

*  Bruce Campbell
*  Broken down car
*  Mysterious phone calls
*  What do you expect to find following someone to a cheap motel?
*  Revenge
*  Don't bother with names, vague descriptions work just as well

The Fireman:

The Fireman by: Joe Hill
Fiction: Sci-fi, 749 pages
Physical Book Count: 14
Book Count: 30

First, this book is more then a book.  It is divided up into 9 smaller books within it's pages, each with a title and a reset of the chapter count.  Of course 749 pages isn't enough for 9 whole books, but each mini book does follow a story arc within the larger arc of the whole book.
The storyline of this epic is based on a worldwide breakdown in society caused by a fungus known as dragon scale that infects people and causes spontaneous human combustion.  It starts out as a beautiful tatoo looking pattern on the skin, but as it goes deeper into the brain people smoke, smoulder, and then set on fire.  There are a few stories of people that can control it, including a mysterious fireman.
The story centers around nurse Harper.  She starts out as a Mary Poppins loving school nurse who witnesses one of the first cases of a burner in her area. Then after the schools close down she works at a hospital. It was at the hospital where she meets a fireman carrying in a deaf boy in need of surgery.

CHF: The Houses October Built

The Houses October Build - 2014

* Documentary
* Found footage
* Creepy clowns
* Mysterious film
* Clues

Suspicions Minds:

Suspicious Minds: Why we Believe Conspiracy Theories by: Rob Brotherton
Nonfiction: Science, History, 244 pages
Physical Book Count: 13
Book Count: 29

This book is on the psychology of how and why people believe conspiracy theories.  It points out the evolutionary factors that would be useful for staying safe that also would increase people's willingness to believe conspiracy theories.  It points out that intelligence,  or political leanings have no bearing on if you believe in conspiracy theories but might affect which ones you believe.  However, some things that would increase your likelihood of belief in a theory include believing other conspiracy theories, belief in the supernatural, belief in pseudoscience and being a member of a group who had a conspiracy theory sounding thing actually proven to happen to them. For example, researchers found African Americans had a higher belief in theories involving the government doing secret medical testing on people due to the Tuskegee Study, where the government secretly gave African American men syphilis to study it.
Also, it points out that tin foil hats can actually amplify some radio wave frequencies, ones used by the US government for GPS communications.

CHF: The Chosen

The Chosen - 2015

*Religious Iconography
* Dead twin
* Deadline
* Lilith
* Creepy ghost nun
* Murder list

CHF: Most Likely to Die

Most Likely to Die - 2015

* High school reunion
* Slutty girl dies first
* Perez Hilton
* Revenge plot points
* No cell phone reception or landline

Ghostly Interests:

Ghostly Interests ( A Harper Harlow Mystery book 1) by: Lily Harper Hart
Fiction: Mystery, Paranormal, E-book
E-book Count:18
Book Count: 28

First, I give this book bonus points as it both takes place in Michigan, and points out Trixie Belden's role in children's mystery series, with somewhat implying that she was better then Nancy Drew.

Now about the story, Harper sees dead people and has since she was a child.  Now she runs a ghost hunting company with her best friend Zander.  One day she happens on a new ghost, a college co-ed who had just been murdered, and found washed up on the shore nearby.  There is also a new police officer on the local force who got the case.  Harper feels compelled to help the ghost by finding her killer, as she can not remember her death as she blocked out the event.  Jared the new police officer, at first doesn't believe she can see ghosts, and has problems with Harper's interest in the case.  This results in humorous situations as his partner is family with Zander and both Zander's and Harper's families are gossips who are very involved in the two friend's lives.

CHF: The Wicker Man

The Wicker Man - 2006

* Nicholas Cage
* Alternative Ghost Rider Back story
* Mysterious letter
* Secretive private island
* Bees
* Creepy twins
* Could you just pick a time period for your old timey clothes?
* Book of convenient plot points

CHF: Bleed

Bleed- 2016

* Hillbillies
*  Birthmarks
* They see dead people
* Butterflies
* Haunted prison
* Evil folk beliefs
* Baby

Room with a Clue:

Room with a Clue (Pennyfoot Hotel Mystery) by: Kate Kingsbury
Fiction: mystery, history, e-book
E-book Count: 17
Book Count: 27

This book takes place in Edwardian England in a resort hotel for the rich and famous.  One of the ladies visiting the hotel was found dead, it looked like she fell off of a crumbling wall on the third floor, but as there was a large sign missing from the wall warning of the danger, the owner of the hotel thinks it was murder.  As the owner was a widow, the local police officer discounts it to the excitability of women, so she feels the need to find out what happened herself.  There is also a missing python and a mystery guest.

CHF: Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead

Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead - 2014

Note: this film was in English, I believe the first film was only in Norwegian. Also the entire first film is summarized in the first 5 minutes of the film.

* Nazi gold
* Nazi zombies
* Blood, guts, and gore
* Zombie arm
* Magic zombie powers
* Nerds
* Hardware store zombie fighting supplies run
* Self referencing
* Commie zombies
* Bumbling cops

Tales Around the Jack O'Lantern 3:

Tales Around the Jack O'Lantern 3 - A Mary O'Reilly Series Short Story By: Terri Reid
Fiction: Paranormal, Short Stories, E-book
E-book count: 16
Book count: 26

A collection of short stories, all about ghosts.  It is part of a series of books, but there is no need to read any of the other ones first.

CHF: The Secrets of Emily Blair

The Secrets of Emily Blair - 2016

Fun fact according the the international movie database this film is not out yet.  (Insert creepy sound effects here.)

* Movie is all a flashback
* Possession via kiss
* Creepy dream world
* Priest is family friend
* Demon eyes
* Puke
* Creepy Latin sounding whispers
* Its just Pregnancy brain, stress, the flu, mental illness, etc
* Abandoned church

A Witch's Guide to Murder:

A Witch's Guide to Murder (A Book & Candle Mystery book 1) by: Aubrey Harper
Fiction: Mystery, Paranormal, E-book
E-book count: 15
Book count: 25

Rory and her friend Scott go back to her small hometown for her grandma's funeral.  She didn't know her grandmother well as she wasn't allowed to talk to her after her mother moved out when she was still a kid.  But she had inherited her house and her store "Book & Candle."  When there she learns that her grandma didn't just run a store of occult/witchcraft supplies but was a real witch, and Rory is too.  Both things she learns from the ghost of her dead grandma who wants her to solve her murder, although the police ruled it an accident.  She isn't too sure about how she feels about being a witch or solving a murder that may or may not have happened.  But then more people die, a mysterious man who turns out to be the son of her grandmother's rivals comes to town and she isn't so sure that something horrible didn't happen or won't happen to her.

Brooklyn Bartender:

Brooklyn Bartender: A Modern Guide to Cocktails and Spirits
Non-fiction: food 280 pages
Physical Book Count: 12
Book Count: 24

Not only are new recipes a fun part of the holidays, but this book is on spirits, so totally a Halloween book.
This book is a collection of cocktail recipes based off of bars from Brooklyn.  It is divided according to the main alcohol like many books, but it goes beyond the main clear/brown bases and includes brandy, beer, wine, and Amari.  It also has short sections on all of the bars and maps of their location.  They also have a section on infusions and syrups that you can make at home with more ideas on how to use them.   The recipes range from twists on classics to the hot new drinks of New York.  There is even the story behind the creation of the pickleback.  

CHF: They're Watching

They're Watching - 2016

*found footage
*Eastern Europe location
*superstition locals
*history repeating
*red haired witch
*bad special effects

Cheesy Horror Films

As Halloween is the perfect excuse to watch cheesy horror films, ( other good excuses include I was home alone, it was raining, and I wanted some popcorn,) but links often change, this year I though that instead of linking classic I.e. public domain horror films to the blog I would just review the ones I watch for their cheesiness/cliché factor. These reviews will be short, so as not to put more effort in then some of the creators of the films.

Holiday List:

October:
1: Feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux
     International Coffee Day
2. International Day of Non-Violence
     Islamic New Year
     Rosh Hashana
4. World Animal Day
     Feast of St. Francis of Assisi
5. World Teachers' Day
     International Day of No Prostitution
     Feast of St. Faustina Kowalska
6. German-American Day
7. Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary
8. Indigenous Peoples' Day
9. Leif Erikson Day
10. World Mental Health Day
11.  International Day of the Girl Child
12. Freethought Day
     Yom Kippur
13. International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction
15. National Latino AIDS Awareness Day
     Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day
     White Cane Safety Day
     Feast of St. Teresa of Ávila
16. Boss's Day
     World Food Day
     Sukkot
17. International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
20. World Statistics Day
21. International Day of the Nacho
22. Feast of St. Pope John Paul II
23. Mole Day
24. United Nations Day
     World Development Information Day
     World Polio Day
     Food Day
     Shemini Atzeret
25. Simchat Torah
26. Intersex Awareness Day
27. Black Cat Appreciation Day
28. National Chocolate Day
29. National Cat Day
30. Mischief Night/ Devil's Night
     Diwali
31. HALLOWEEN aka Samhain/Beltane, Start of The Day of the Dead, All Hallow's Eve, Allhalloween, All Saints' Eve,  Allantide, Hop-tu-Naa, Calan Gaeaf, & Nos Galan Gaeaf
 

Happy Month of Halloween!

It is October 1st, which means it is the start of the last 3 months of the year, a non-stop holiday party!!!!!

Waking Up Catholic:

Waking Up Catholic by: Chad R. Torgerson
Non:fiction, religion, e-book
E-book count: 14
Book count:23

This book is half the author's story and half on different Catholic beliefs intertwined.  Also Facebook can stop suggesting this book now.

What Einstein Told His Cook:

What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained by: Robert L. Wolke
Nonfiction: science, home economics, audio book

This book is all about the science behind food and cooking.  It breaks things up in sections that can be read independently of all the other sections and includes topics like: protein, fats, salt, baking, refrigeration, and more.  It also has some recipes that you can download off of a website by the author.  It was very much like the science parts of "Good Eats" with some less crazy "Mythbusters" style scientific testing of popular beliefs.  

8 CDs 9.5 hours

The Boxcar Children:

The Boxcar Children by: Gertrude Chandler Warner
Fiction: children's, 154 pages
Physical Book Count: 11
Book Count: 22

Someone just had to read this book for the summer.  It was on their to do list and everything. Then I get it in from the library, and they are all meh.  So I read it, because someone at this house was going to enjoy the book, after waiting 2 months for it. 

The Brick Testament:

The Brick Testament: Stories from the Book of Genesis retold and illustrated by: Brendan Powell Smith
Nonfiction: religion, 173 pages
Physical Book Count: 10
Book Count: 21

Ten biblical stories as told in Lego bricks.  

The Templar's Cross: A Medieval Mystery:

The Templar's Cross: A Medieval Mystery By: J.R.Tomlin
Fiction: Mystery, History, E-book
E-Book Count: 13
Book Count: 20

After last time picking out a free e-book that was a disappointment, I decided to pick up something that could only surprise me in a positive way.  I mean it has Templar and mystery right in the title.  It even takes place after the Templars were disbanded and  it was a treasure hunt and murder mystery.  However, the most annoying thing about the book was it's use of old and or Scottish slang words and phrases.  Most of them were easy to understand and there is a dictionary of those words in the back of the book, they just sometimes took you out of the story as you determined what the word means.   

This book is about an older knight that just lost his employment and is injured, so he is trying to get any work that he can.  He takes a job to look for a man, although he is sure that the person who gave him the job is lying about the reasons he was to find the man.  He has one of his friends help him, only to have both his friend and the man end up dead on the same night.  Then he ends up deeper and deeper in the web of lies and half truths surrounding this situation.   

City of Stairs:

City of Stairs by: Robert Jackson Bennett
Fiction: Sci-fi/Fantasy, 452 pages
Physical Book Count: 9
Book Count: 19

This was another book that a friend suggested that I would like.  It is much more a fantasy then a sci-fi novel, but as we were talking about sci-fi books and it has a dystopian feel and human like, but not human life forms in it, I put both in the labels.
As stated above this story doesn't take place on earth.  It is on a world where there are 3 very different humanoid  lifeforms; one that were chosen by the Divinities, one that were slaves until they found out how to kill the Divinities, and one that we know little about besides that they are sailors with out a king.  The killing of the Divinities happened many generations before this story started.  In fact the main character, Shara is a descendant of the Kaj, who is the one who killed the Divinities.  She goes to the city of Bulikov, the city of stairs, that once was the center of the Continent where the gods and their chosen people lived, to investigate a murder of a historian that she knew.  Once there she finds she finds much more going on then a simple murder.  She also has to deal with her past, as a former lover is an important city official, who may or may not be a part of the conspiracy that she has got caught up in.  

The Anatomy of a Disciple:

The Anatomy of a Disciple: So Many Believers. So Few Disciples. By: Rick Taylor
Non-fiction: religion, E-book
E-Book Count: 12
Book Count: 18

Okay, so on Amazon Prime you get one free e-book a month from a large list of books.  It was the end of the month of June, I had an almost dead battery and I needed to pick something quickly or forfeit my free book for the month.  This book's title looked interesting enough to be better then nothing.  I did not give it the normal amount of looking over that I usually do for my monthly book.  And that is why I finished reading this book, as otherwise I would still have lost my free book.
That being said, this books main idea is that God is the one that does all the work and so all you need to do is: read your Bible, "bend the knees of your heart" in prayer, and be around other Christians that will hold you accountable to become a disciple and not just a believer who fails constantly and burns out by trying on their own to be a good Christian. . . you know by reading their Bible, praying and doing Christianly things with other Christians. So it reads like a self-help book with a neat graph on things to aim for, stories on how it works in real life, Biblical examples, bullet-point lists, and end notes; however, as it isn't about what you will be doing it feels long and rambling.  Like if it had the beginning with the graph of actions and practices of a disciple and the end with it's reiterating on how to be open to God making you a disciple (minus the plug to buy their personality test.) it might have been an okay read.

No Price Too High:

No Price Too High: A Pentecostal Preacher Becomes Catholic By: Diane Hanson
Non-fiction: Religion, Biography, NYR, 258 pages
Physical Book Count: 8
Book Count: 17

This is the conversion story of Alex Jones as well as his wife, Donna.  Each shared their own story with the author, so it is like two books in one, with the author writing it in each of their voices.  

My Badass Book of Saints:

My Badass Book of Saints: Courageous Women Who Showed Me How to Live By: Maria Morera Johnson
Non-fiction: Religion, Biography, NYR, 132 pages
Physical Book Count: 7
Book Count: 16

This book both tells stories about the author's life as well as that of saints and other women that she looks up to.  There are 11 chapters, each that deals with one topic and includes the stories of at least 2 women that are an example for how to live out that virtue, one of them a saint or blessed.  Most of the other women are also Catholic, but she also draws inspiration from a couple of women that were not necessarily religiously motivated in their activities.  After that the book ends on Mary.  There are a couple questions at the end of each chapter as well as a guide at the end to use it in a 6 week study.

 At the start of the book it does go into how she ended up writing a book about saints titled bad ass.  The short version is that as she is bi-lingual she read the Spanish version of a friend's book where one word translated more to mean bad ass in Spanish then the meaning of the original word, and also she wanted a book on women saints where it showcased their boldness.  

The Everything Saint Book:

The Everything Saint Book by: Jenny Schroedel
Non-fiction: religion,biography, NYR,  e-book

E-Book Count: 11

Book Count: 15

First, some notes: there are a number of formatting issues, typos, and minor mistakes in the book.  Most are not a big deal; as you learn that the e-fact is in the middle of the rest of the text and  read accordingly etc, but the book cuts out at the beginning of appendix a in the e-book for some reason, which is annoying.  And it includes some information that isn't correct; for example most priests in the Latin Rite of the Catholic church can not be married, but in the Eastern Rites there are different traditions, and there are some situations in which a married man can become a priest in the Latin Rite.  Which is something that I would expect a book that deals with saints in both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches to know. 

Second, as noted earlier,  this book deals with people that are seen as a saints in both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.   Some are considered saints in both churches as they lived before the Great Schism, but unlike many books I have read, it deals with saints that are modern and from Orthodox Churches.   So it was interesting to read about people that I would not otherwise learn about.   Also as this book is a few years old there are a number of people that were listed as on the path to being declared a saint that since the publishing of this book have been declared a saint.  But it also has a number of notes on other books one can read for more in-depth biographies of some of the people, so if one wanted more then a couple pages of information they could find out more.   

A Canticle for Leibowitz:

A Canticle for Leibowitz By: Walter M. Miller Jr.
Fiction: Sci-fi, religion, NYR, 338 pages
Physical Book Count: 6
Book Count: 14

I picked up this book because after working a convention, at the after party over some Scotch old enough to drink Scotch, a not religious friend( I think he is agnostic but I'm not sure what label he would use for sure,)  of my husband and me, who knew we were Catholic and that we were looking for some good sci-fi to read, suggested this book.  (as well as a couple others.)   After I finished this book, one of the religious websites that I follow, listed this as one of the 10 books Catholics should read in their life. (Besides the Bible and other  religious non-fiction books, as it was a list of fiction books only.) So as you might have guessed this book is both a good sci-fi epic and a book that deals with the deeper issues of faith, belief and religion.  

As this book is an epic, there isn't just one or two main characters that the book follows.  The story is broke into 3 parts and takes place over generations of humanity.  The common thread is that it is the story of the monks of the Albertian Order of Leibowitz.  An order founded by Leibowitz, who at the start of the book isn't even officially  a saint, a man who lived threw the fire deluge (nuclear war) and who's order was dedicated to saving the writings and intellectualism of the past during a time of a violent reaction against the knowledge that caused the cataclysmic events that set the world back a millennium plus.    The story starts when the world is still at a time of war against intellect, even though the time from the fire deluge is enough that people only know of it from stories and legends, and a number of things that they "know" about it is not based on facts.  It then jumps to a time when people are rediscovering science and technology.  And it ends at the time when humanity has advanced to the level like that of the time of the fire deluge and the question of will humanity destroy itself is once again an issue.  

Although the story is set well into the future, a basic knowledge of Ecclesiastical Lain will be helpful in reading this book, as they are monks.  At the start of the book they do translate important phrases, and it is not necessary to translate all of the Latin to understand the story line.  A basic knowledge of monastic life would be helpful and as always the parts of the Mass that are still in Greek are still in Greek.  Also, interesting right before reading this book I had a conversation during Taco Tuesday (the smallest, most unofficial small group in our parish) about why there wasn't a completely missing the point legend about a certain Biblical figure like there was of the wandering Jew from Matt 24:34/Mk 13:30/Lk 21:34 and they were in there in the legendary storyline that I was thinking of.  Also in the future Litanies sound much more hardcore, while still keeping with the traditional format.  

Swept Under the Rug:

Swept Under the Rug (Laundry Hag Series, Book 2) By: Jennifer L. Hart

Fiction, Mystery, E-book

E-Book Count: 10

Book Count: 13

This is book two in the series.   The review of book one is here.   This book happens shortly after the end of book one.   Maggie is cleaning houses in her new business and stumbles on a mysterious fax.  From there she gets into a whole new mess of a mystery.  She also is dealing with finding that her best friend's husband is cheating, her brother coming home with his very pregnant new girlfriend,  and a guy named Richard Head.