The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything:

The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life By: James Martin, SJ
Non-fiction: religion 406 pages
Book Count: 38

This book is about the spiritual practices of the Jesuits and of course St. Ignatius of Loyola who founded the Jesuits.  It includes information on: the six paths to God, the examen, imaginative prayer/contemplation, lectio divina, centering prayer, the colloquy, how the vows that Jesuits (and other religious orders) take can be useful in anyone's' life, decision making methods, and the contemplative in action.  Peppered throughout the book are also a lot of stories about the author's life, the lives of people that he knows, and  famous Jesuits including a lot of ones about the first members of the society of Jesus. These stories are used as a way of showing how the ideas that he is talking about work in real life, or to give an example of some idea that he is talking about.  And of course there are a number of jokes about the Jesuits like every other book by the author that I have read.

No mid-month books:

FYI: For those of you that know my schedule you will understand that I have not finished any books in the last fortnight so I will have no post until later in the month (hopefully!)

Death Comes to Town:

Death Comes to Town By: K. J. Emrick
Fiction: Mystery, e- book

First, I have to say, if you can talk with dead people, I would think you wouldn't have such a hard time solving murders.  But that is apparently not the case as the main character in this book series can talk to the dead and have visions of what happened to them, but still can not solve the case any faster then non-physic detectives.
Besides her surprisingly unhelpful abilities this story is a normal cozy mystery about a book seller whose friend/ neighbor and ex were killed, and who fears that they are the next on the killers list.  And so they decide to find the killer before they find her.

Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel's Secret War:

Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel's Secret War By: Hal Vaughan
Non-fiction: Biography 222 pages
Book Count: 37

This book is a biography of Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel dealing largely with her life as it related to WWII, a time that many of her other biographies gloss over. Most do this as she actively tried to hide her activities during the war after it and because many of the files and information about that time were lost, destroyed or ended up in the USSR after the war.   It turns out that the famous French fashion designer was also a spy for the Nazis during WWII.  Although the book points out in many spots that she was an extreme anti-Semite, which they claim is do to her religious upbringing with no reason given why she would be more an anti-Semite  then others with similar upbringing, her spying had little to do with her thoughts on the Nazis as a whole.  She did try to use the laws of France when under the German control to get control of her perfume business back, but that was due to a bad business deal and not because of the religion of the owners.  Largely she was a spy in order to help out her friends and family during the war and because her current lover at the time was a top level German spy.  Besides seeing a part of the life of a famous person that you would never expect, this book does a good job of showing how interconnected many of the top people on both sides of the war were with each other.

Manga and Philosophy:

Manga and Philosophy edited by: Josef Steiff and Adam Barkman
Non-fiction: Manga, Pop Culture, NYR 332 pages
Book Count: 36

Like other books in this series this book is a collection of essays on subjects relating to the title.  Some essays cover the world(s) made by a single manga artist. Some cover types of manga.  Some deal with themes in manga and how they relate to the culture and world that created them.  And some deal with other things that were in some ways connected with manga.  You start this book by reading a manga found in what would be the back of the book in American books, then you flip the book back over to read the essays.

Thoughts of the Cure D'Ars:

Thoughts of the Cure D'Ars By: St. John Vianney Compiled and Arranged by: W.M.B.
Non-fiction: Religion, NYR, 77 pages
Book Count: 35

This book is just a collection of short one the two line quotes from the various writings of St. John Vianney. The topics range from the love of God to not writing unnecessary letters to the editor.  And yes I did read this on the 4th.

The Autobiography of St. Ignatius:

 The Autobiography of St. Ignatius by: St. Ignatius as dictated to Fr. Louis Gonzalez S.J.  ed. by J. F. X. O'Conor, S.J.
Non-fiction: Biography, religion, e-book

Yes, Br. Summit, I did read this a couple of days ago, why do you ask?

This book is a rather short history of the life of St. Ignatius.  It includes major dates and places in his life, but do not include a lot of details on his spiritual life.  It does include details on all the times he tried to get the Spanish Inquisition and other courts to formally charge him with being a heretic, but they kept dropping/ ignoring the charges that people had. (The idea being that if there was an official court ruling that his spiritual exercises were not heretical there would be less rumors being spread around.  But, the idea of someone constantly trying to get the attention of the Spanish Inquisition is just humorous to us.)  It also includes after the book information on the history of the Jesuits in higher education.  (Which was not at all biased like it was written by a bunch of Jesuits. . . pay no attention to all of the S.J.s after people's names on the top of this post.)

The Everyday Catholic's Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours:

The Everyday Catholic's Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours By: Daria Sockey
Non-fiction: religion, NYR 115 pages
Book Count: 34

This book goes over the basic things you need to know in order to pray the Liturgy of the Hours or the Divine Office.  (As for some reason both the book and digital forms of the breviary don't bother to include this information in them. The book forms even have other books to buy just to know where in the book you should be reading each day.)  It covers: what it is, why pray the hours, resources, a break down of the hours and seasons, and common issues and problems people have with this method of prayer.  As you can tell from the page count this book is a quick read, but it does a good job as a starting point and the listing of resources included is helpful for people that want more information.

Note to Self: The Four Loves:

The Four Loves By: C.S. Lewis
Non-fiction: Religion, Classics 141 pages
Book Count: 33

C.S. Lewis's classic book on human and divine love.

The Calorie Myth:

The Calorie Myth: How to Eat More, Exercise Less, Lose Weight, and Live Better By: Jonathan Bailor
Non-Fiction:  Food, Science, 278 pages
Book Count: 32

I was going to say that friends following my diet should add this book to the recourse list, but I do already have a video about it on the list.  Along with all the diet info that it has in the video it has a short amount of information on the exercising method that he suggests for the maximum amount of results in the shortest time. I wish that it included more on this as like most diet books I have been reading it starts with the idea that conventional ideas on weight lost haven't been working, and so the way of working out is unusual.  It also has a listing of many different people in the back for you look up their current websites/blogs/books/etc, who might not follow the same diet but include many of the same ideas.

This diet is most concerned with getting lots of non-starchy veggies and protein, while not eating processed foods, starches, and sugary foods.   It is based on the ideas that different types of food affect weight more then the calorie count and that bodies have natural set-points that can be changed based on what you eat.  It can get a little annoying with the constant use of talking about SANE vs. inSANE foods and hormone clog, but it does have some good info on how to pick foods that will fill you up and are high in nutrients.

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer:

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer By: Lish McBride
Fiction: YA, paranormal, Audio Book

Sam was your average college drop out working at a fast food joint, until he caught the attention of Douglas a necromancer that insists that Sam is one too and Douglas is not happy about it.  Now Douglas is ruining Sam's life and Sam needs to learn about: his past, powers and many other things he never knew was real, and he needs to do so fast.  Also each chapter title is a song title, or based on one.


9 CDs 10.25 hrs

SHORT STORY: From FIRST Draft to FINAL Product:

SHORT STORY: From FIRST Draft to FINAL Product by: Michael Milton
Non-fiction: Writing, E-book

This book has an interesting way of showing the writing process.  It is a short story that the author wrote in the rough draft to the final copy with notes that readers gave on it as well as info on his writing and editing process and how to use other's notes to help your work.

Shapeshifters Anonymous:

Shapeshifters Anonymous by: J.A. Konrath and John Kilborn
Fiction: Paranormal, Short Story, E-book

It's Santa Claus verses the were-people. . . No, really that is the plot of the story.  Including a disclaimer at the start that Salvation Army Santas are not murderers, and the Book of Bob isn't a lost book of the Bible.

Note to Self- 33 Days to Morning Glory:

33 Days to Morning Glory - A Do-It-Yourself Retreat In Preparation for Marian Consecration By: Fr. Michael E. Gaitley, MIC
Non-fiction: Religion, NYR 180 pages
Book Count: 31

First, for my friend that found this book gave you more questions then answers might I suggest the original book on the subject by St. Louis de Montfort, (review of e-book including book here.)  It will not answer anymore questions, but will let you know why the author had a hard time explaining things.  Also, you might like the writing style more.
For everyone else, I'm only posting this for the NYR count. And yes, this post is way after I finished this time of reading it, my posts are a little late with trips and such.

The Woman in the Photograph:

The Woman in the Photograph By: Mani Feniger
Non-fiction: History, Memoir, E-book


A women goes on a mission to find out about the history of her mother and family after seeing a picture of her from when she was younger and totally different then the woman that she remembered her mother being. As her family were Jewish Germans that came to America right before WWII, this was a harder task then it would be for many.  

Note to Self Book: Be A Man!:

Be A Man!: Becoming the Man God Created You to Be By: Fr. Larry Richards
Non-fiction: religion 195 pages
Book Count: 30

First, I read most all the physical books that my husband does to make book conversations easier.  So that is why I read this book that is clearly geared only for guys.  Although, as one would expect 90% of the things in the book would work for anyone, but was just written in a more guy friendly way.  (And 10% is people getting hit along side the head. Just kidding, that's 5% tops, the rest is pointing out to guys that all the passages they like from the Bible about being in charge of their wife/family mean the exact opposite of what they think they do.)

Everything is Going to Kill Everybody:

Everything is Going to Kill Everybody: The Terrifyingly Real Ways the World Wants You Dead By: Robert Brockway
Non-fiction: Science, humor 243 pages
Book Count: 29

This book is written by one of the writers for the website Cracked and reads much like a really long article on the site.  It is also a  book on dozens of different ways that we all could die any moment now.  Some ways we are doomed include: supervolcanos, asteroids, pole shifts, nanolitter, vernshot, biotech, and of course the robot up rising.  The most scary thing about this book is that there is a bibliography detailing the fact that the author is not making this stuff up. (Or maybe scientist's sadistic need to make robots feel pain and sadness.)

Consoling the Heart of Jesus:

Consoling the Heart of Jesus - A Do-It-Yourself Retreat Inspired by the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius By: Fr. Michael E. Gaitley, MIC
Non-fiction: Religion, NYR 381 pages
Book Count: 28

First, for the purpose of my New Year's Resolution, I am counting all the books I read that I own a physical copy of.  (Some of you may have already noticed that I do not usually include books from classes or devotional books.)  But in the cases of books that I read more then once, I am only counting/noteing one reading of it.

Second, this was actually the second time that I have read the book, because it is so crammed full of things.  This book condenses a 30 day retreat into a weekend (although I read it over a much longer time.) But also with the additions of the little way of St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Faustina and the Divine Mercy.  And just a little bit of Mary, because as those of you doing Fr. Gaitley's 33 Days class know, he's going to put something about Mary in it.
Also, you aren't expected to read all 381 pages in a weekend, only the first 195 pages are the actual retreat and the rest are appendixes to read afterwards. (If you read all the references and notes it come to 428 pages.)

The League for the Suppression of Celery:

The League for the Suppression of Celery By: Wendy Russ
Fiction: E-book

The info on this book made it sound like it was a humorous book with a touch of romance in it. In truth it was a romance novel with some weird anti-celery subplot, that in the end turned out to be sad not funny.

Haunted Georgia:

Haunted Georgia: Ghost Stories and Paranormal Activity from the State of Georgia By: Sarah Ashley
Non-fiction: Paranormal, E-book

This book is a collection of real world ghost stories from the state of Georgia.  It is divided by city/ type of area haunted.  It is a rather short book that mainly glosses over many places.