The Catholic Book Club discussion

It is time to vote for our July BOTM. You may vote for up to 2 of the books listed below. The book(s) with the most votes will be our BOTM. If there is a tie, the moderator uses a random list generator to determine the order and they are all read over however many months. Books that receive fewer than 2 votes will be removed from the Voting List, with those that receive 1 vote being placed at the end of the Nominations List.

Voting will end at approximately 5:00 PM Central Time on Saturday, June 19.

The day for the end of voting has been corrected: Saturday is the 19th, not the 18th.

Bodies and souls, by Maxence Van der Meersch, nominated by Fonch.
This dramatic novel about doctors, students, nurses and patients, has become a classic. It seems to be difficult to obtain in English (it doesn't even have a page in Goodreads), but it can easily be got in other languages (French, Spanish or Italian). This is their page in Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Voting History: August 2020 - 2; September 2020 - 2; October 2020 - 3; November 2020 - 3; December 2020 - 2; January 2021 - 4; February 2021 - 2; March 2021 - 2; April 2021 - 2; May 2021 - 2

Champion of Valdeor, by Sandralena Hanley, Fonch
Alloryn faces a mythical creature to win a fabled sword, is taken under the wing of a mysterious mentor, and sets out to find the lost Princess Lauressa. Her quest is to free the land from cruel rulers and the evil warlord over them all who usurped her throne. Together they search for stones of power, which they win by practicing a corresponding virtue, while facing foes and dangers from every side. During their travels they make many allies, who join with them against the tyrannical warlord in the final battle for the kingdom.
Voting history: None

Characters of the Reformation, by Hilaire Belloc, nominated by Manuel
This may well be Belloc's most interesting work. It includes Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I, St. Thomas More, Cranmer, Calvin, Mary Tudor ("Bloody Mary"), Mary Stuart ("Queen of Scots"), Cardinal Richelieu and many others--23 in all--analyzing their strengths, weaknesses, motives and mistakes and showing how this or that seemingly insignificant factor actually changed the course of history. An amazing book!
Voting History: May 2021 - 6

Christus Vincit: Christ's Triumph Over the Darkness of the Age, by Athanasius Schneider, nominated by John
In this absorbing interview, Bishop Athanasius Schneider offers a candid, incisive examination of controversies raging in the Church and the most pressing issues of our times, providing clarity and hope for beleaguered Catholics. He addresses such topics as widespread doctrinal confusion, the limits of papal authority, the documents of Vatican II, the Society of St. Pius X, anti-Christian ideologies and political threats, the third secret of Fatima, the traditional Roman rite, and the Amazon Synod, among many others. Like his fourth-century patron, St. Athanasius the Great, Bishop Schneider says things that others won’t, fearlessly following St. Paul’s advice: “Preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching” (2 Tim 4:2). His insights into the challenges facing Christ’s flock today are essential reading for those who are, or wish to be, alert to the signs of the times. Reminiscent of The Ratzinger Report of 1985, Christus Vincit will be a key point of reference for years to come.
Voting History: February 2021 - 7; March 2021 - 5; April 2021 - 11; May 2021 - 7

Chronicles of the Magic Jigsaw Puzzle, https://www.goodreads.com/series/1836..., Manuel Alfonseca, Fonch
A set of five fantasy books in another world, where the seven lost pieces of a magic jigsaw puzzle must be found and rejoined. In the far country of Tiva, king Tivo learns that the only way to cure his betrothed, Aquamarine, will be by means of one of the lost pieces of the magic jigsaw puzzle. Fifty years later, his grandson Elvor wishes to imitate his exploits and become the owner of one of the pieces of the Magic Jigsaw Puzzle. And so on...
Voting History: April 2021 - 2; May 2021 - 4

The Day is Now Far Spent, by Robert Sarah, nominated by Mariangel
Robert Cardinal Sarah calls The Day Is Now Far Spent his most important book. He analyzes the spiritual, moral, and political collapse of the Western world and concludes that "the decadence of our time has all the faces of mortal peril."
A cultural identity crisis, he writes, is at the root of the problems facing Western societies. "The West no longer knows who it is, because it no longer knows and does not want to know who made it, who established it, as it was and as it is. Many countries today ignore their own history. This self-suffocation naturally leads to a decadence that opens the path to new, barbaric civilizations."
While making clear the gravity of the present situation, the cardinal demonstrates that it is possible to avoid the hell of a world without God, a world without hope. He calls for a renewal of devotion to Christ through prayer and the practice of virtue.
Voting History: May 2021 - 3

Eifelheim, by Michael Flynn, nominated by Fonch
In 1349, one small town in Germany disappeared and has never been resettled. Tom, a contemporary historian, and his theoretical physicist girlfriend Sharon, become interested. Tom indeed becomes obsessed. By all logic, the town should have survived, but it didn't and that violates everything Tom knows about history. What's was special about Eifelheim that it utterly disappeared more than 600 years ago?
Voting History: December 2020 - 5; January 2021 - 5; February 2021 - 5; March 2021 - 5; April 2021 - 2; May 2021 - 6

From Fire, by Water: My Journey to the Catholic Faith, by Sohrab Ahmari, nominated by Sohrab and John
Sohrab Ahmari was a teenager living under the Iranian ayatollahs when he decided that there is no God. Nearly two decades later, he would be received into the Catholic Church. In From Fire, by Water, he recounts this unlikely passage, from the strident Marxism and atheism of a youth misspent on both sides of the Atlantic to a moral and spiritual awakening prompted by the Mass. At once a young intellectual’s finely crafted self-portrait and a life story at the intersection of the great ideas and events of our time, the book marks the debut of a compelling new Catholic voice.
Voting History: February 2021 - 3; March 2021 -8; April 2021 - 9; May 2021 - 2

The Idol of Our Age: How the Religion of Humanity Subverts Christianity, Daniel Mahoney, John.
This book is a learned essay at the intersection of politics, philosophy, and religion. It is first and foremost a diagnosis and critique of the secular religion of our time, humanitarianism, or the “religion of humanity.” It argues that the humanitarian impulse to regard modern man as the measure of all things has begun to corrupt Christianity itself, reducing it to an inordinate concern for “social justice,” radical political change, and an increasingly fanatical egalitarianism. Christianity thus loses its transcendental reference points at the same time that it undermines balanced political judgment. Humanitarians, secular or religious, confuse peace with pacifism, equitable social arrangements with socialism, and moral judgment with utopianism and sentimentality.
Voting history: None

The Noonday Devil: Acedia, the Unnamed Evil of Our Times, Jean-Charles Nault, Ben
The noonday devil is the demon of acedia, the vice also known as sloth. The word "sloth," however, can be misleading, for acedia is not laziness; in fact it can manifest as busyness or activism. Rather, acedia is a gloomy combination of weariness, sadness, and a lack of purposefulness. It robs a person of his capacity for joy and leaves him feeling empty, or void of meaning.
Voting History: April 2021 - 4; May 2021 - 3

Poor Banished Children, by Fiorella De Maria, nominated by Fonch
An explosion is heard off the coast of sixteenth-century England, and a woman washes up on the shore. She is barely alive and does not speak English, but she asks for a priest... in Latin. She has a confession to make and a story to tell, but who is she and where has she come from? Cast out of her superstitious, Maltese family, Warda turns to begging and stealing until she is fostered by an understanding Catholic priest who teaches her the art of healing. Her willful nature and hard-earned independence make her unfit for marriage, and so the good priest sends Warda to serve an anchorite, in the hope that his protege will discern a religious vocation.
Voting History: August 2020 - 1; September 2020 - 5; October 2020 - 3; November 2020 - 2; December 2020 - 4; ; January 2021 - 3; February 2021 - 4; March 2021 - 2; April 2021 - 4; May 2021 - 4

Race with the Devil by Joseph Pearce proposed by Fonch.
Joseph Pearce is foremost Catholic biographer of our time, but it wasn't always so. Imagine discovering God for the first time in the confines of a jail cell. Imagine spending the first half your life amidst the seedy underground of the white supremacy movement before becoming one of the foremost Religious scholars in the world. Imagine being converted by the writings of Chesterton, and years later writing a biography on him. Joseph Pearce doesn't have to imagine it - he lived it.
"In Race With the Devil: My Journey from Racial Hatred to Rational Love" take a journey through the peaks and valleys of one of the most fascinating conversion stories of our time, written first-hand by Pearce himself.
Voting History: October 2020 - 4; November 2020 - 4; December 2020 - 6; January 2021 - 2; February 2021 - 4; March 2021 - 3; April 2021 - 2; May 2021 - 3

The Reed of God: A New Edition of a Spiritual Classic, by Caryll Houselander, nominated by Connie
First published in 1944 and now a spiritual classic for Catholics across the globe, The Reed of God contains meditations on the humanity of Mary, Mother of God. British Catholic writer and artist Caryll Houselander lovingly explores Mary’s intimately human side, depicting Our Lady as a musical instrument who makes divine love known to the world.
Voting History: May 2021 - 3

With Two Eyes Into Gehenna, Jane Lebak, Steven R.
Sister Magdalena never heard of the Catherinite nuns until the day she faced her own death sentence. Rome, 1562. It’s the era of the Index of Banned Books and the Roman Inquisition. Kings still burn heretics. The worst threats come from within the Church itself.
Voting History: April 2021 - 2; May 2021 - 2

The World's First Love: Mary, Mother of God, Fulton J. Sheen, Mariangel
Sheen presents a moving, eloquent portrayal of Mary, Mother of God. Combining profound spirituality, history, and theology, Mary's whole life is lovingly portrayed in this never failing source of information, consolation and inspiration.
Voting history: None

And from the Current Interest List:

Things Worth Dying For: Thoughts on a Life Worth Living, by Charles J. Chaput, nominated by Faith
The Goodreads page for this book doesn't have a summary of the book, but an biography of Archbishop Chaput. A collection of essays by Abp. Chaput regarding reflections on his five decades as a priest.
Voting history: None

The Champion of Valdeor.
Christus Vincit.

I vote for "Chronicles of the Magic Jigsaw Puzzle" by Manuel Alfonseca and "Eifelheim" by Michael D. Flynn.

Things Worth Dying For
The Reed of God

Poor Banished Children, by Fiorella De Maria
With Two Eyes Into Gehenna, Jane Lebak

The Day is Now Far Spent
Bodies and souls

Eifelheim, Characters of the Reformation

Poor Banished Children, by Fiorella De Maria
With Two Eyes Into Gehenna, Jane Lebak

The Champion of Valdeor
From Fire By Water

The Characters of the Reformation
Reed of God

Christus Vincit
Characters of the Reformation

The world's first love
Things worth dying for

Characters of the Reformation

Christus Vincit

From Fire by Water
Christus Vincit

By the way, this list displayed for me in a way that was hard to read, with each entry run-on into the next.

Characters of the reformation
With two eyes into Gehenna

Characters of the Reformation
Things Worth Dying For

Jill wrote: "From Fire by Water
Christus Vincit

By the way, this list displayed for me in a way that was hard to read, with each entry run-on into the next."

Sorry to hear that, Jill. It displays properly for me. I'm not sure there's anything we can do.

Eifelheim
The Noon-Day Devil

Christus vincit
The Day is now far spent

Race With the Devil

Characters of the Reformation

Characters of the Reformation
Poor Banished children

Christus Vincit
things Worth Dying for

Christus Vincit and With Two Eyes Into Gehenna

Christus Vincit

CBC wrote: "It is time to vote for our July BOTM. You may vote for up to 2 of the books listed below. The book(s) with the most votes will be our BOTM. If there is a tie, the moderator uses a random list gener..."

I have corrected the time for the end of voting. Sorry for any confusion.

Voting is closed, results will be posted shortly.