The Catholic Book Club discussion

It is time to vote for our August 2025 BOTM. You may vote for up to 2 of the books listed below. You should vote by adding a comment here. If you vote in any other way, your votes may not be counted.

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 11:00 AM Eastern Time on Wednesday, June 18.

The Voting List for August is:

Behold the Man: A Catholic Vision of Male Spirituality by Harold Burke-Sivers, nominated by Jill
Lucid and inspiring, Behold the Man is a unique exploration of Catholic spirituality for men. Much of the literature written for Catholic men focuses on topical issues such as fatherhood and sexuality. While this book does not exclude these subjects, it is the first to present a comprehensive picture of Catholic male spirituality.
Voting History: July 2025: 2

Champions of the Rosary by Donald H. Calloway, nominated by Ann
From the best-selling author of the classic Catholic conversion story, No Turning Back: A Witness to Mercy by Fr. Donald H. Calloway, comes a powerful and comprehensive history of a spiritual weapon: the rosary.
Voting History: April 2025: 3; June 2025: 2; July 2025: 2

The Eighth Arrow: Odysseus in the Underworld, A Novel by Augustine Wetta nominated by Fonch
Condemned to burn in the eighth circle of Dante's Hell, Odysseus, legendary thief and liar of Homer's Odyssey and Iliad, decides he is going to break out. His adventure begins with a prayer to Athena Parthenos, who appears to him bearing gifts: his armor, his famous bow, a mysterious leather pouch, and seven unusual arrows. She then sends him on a quest through the Underworld along with Diomedes, his friend from the Trojan War who had been sharing in his eternal punishment. To complete their escape, the goddess warns them, they must recover their squandered honor and learn to use "the eighth arrow."
Voting History: July 2025: 3

Elfling by Corinna Turner, nominated by Fonch
Alone on the streets of London, young Serapia Ravena seeks her father, her only hope of survival. When the elusive Duke suddenly returns to the city, Serapia finds a loving father, who quickly thwarts her uncle’s murderous plans. But it soon becomes clear that he hides a dark secret, one that threatens his very life, and his very soul. The search for his salvation will carry Serapia hundreds of leagues, to the heart of the wild places, and to the fort of the elfin, bringing her face to face with her own mysterious heritage.
Voting History: July 2025: 2

Finding Happiness in a Complex World: Rules from Aristotle and Aquinas by Charles P Nemeth, nominated by Rachel
Why, since happiness is so universally sought after, are so many people so miserable? The answer can be found by unpacking the wisdom of two of history's intellectual giants who set out to answer the question that has confounded man from time What makes us happy? Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas existed sixteen centuries apart, yet each reached similar understandings about what makes a person happy and what makes him miserable.
Voting History: July 2025: 2

The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful by Joseph Pearce nominated by Fonch
Christ is "the way, and the truth, and the life";, but fallen mankind, although made in Christ's image, is not so pure. Human history—including Church history—is a tapestry woven of three the good, the bad, and the beautiful. This book tells the story of Christendom over two millennia, focusing on what was good, bad, and beautiful in each century. These three threads run through the heart of every person, revealing the pattern of our individual lives. These very same threads bind together the collective lives of men and make up the fabric of culture and civilization. No one saw this three-dimensional form more clearly than Benedict XVI. For him, the goodness of the saints and the beauty of art are the only antidote to the dark thread of evil that runs through history.
Voting History: July 2025: 2

Intercession by Kevin J Haar, nominated by Madeleine
Full of Irish and Catholic folklore, Intercession weaves through the history and myths of Ireland to its thrilling and mysterious conclusion. In a place steeped in legend, Aoife must decide for herself what stories are worth believing and suffer the consequences of those beliefs, for better or worse.
Voting History: NONE

The King's Achievement, by Robert Hugh Benson, nominated by Fonch
The brothers of the Torridon family make their way in the world -- the eldest, Ralph, in service to Cromwell and the youngest, Christopher, in service to God and the Catholic church as a monk in the Priory at Lewes. Their paths carry them to completely different destinations and Ralph is instrumental in turning Christopher and his fellow monks out of their monastery. Christopher, however, manages to rise above his pride and anger and ministers to Ralph in his hour of need.
Voting History: July 2025: 2

The Last Homily: Conversations with Fr. Arne Panula by Mary Eberstadt, nominated by John
The Last Homily captures with poignant authenticity the dying thoughts of a brilliant priest who dedicated his life to bringing others to Fr. Arne Panula, of Washington DC's fabled Catholic Information Center. Recorded with Fr. Arne's permission during his months in hospice care, his exchanges with noted author Mary Eberstadt expound on the Church and history, art and music, books and ideas, as well as on more immediate questions about how the faithful should live, how they should work, and how they can best help to build the Kingdom on earth. Via this gift to posterity, Fr. Arne's spiritual guidance is no longer limited to those who knew him, but extends to generations of the present and future.
Voting History: NONE

Oddsfish! by Robert Hugh Benson, nominated by Fonch
Interwoven with the accurately portrayed events and places of the time are fictitious characters, including the narrator, Mr. Roger Mallock and his cousin and lady-love Dolly. Sent by Pope Innocent XI to Charles' court as a diplomatic representative of the Vatican, Mallock becomes a trusted confidant of the King and acts upon Charles's deathbed wish to give his confession to, and receive absolution from, a Catholic priest.
Voting History: NONE

Paradoxes of Catholicism, by Robert Hugh Benson, nominated by Sergio
Only a Catholic can receive the Gospels as they were written, only a man who believes that Christ is both God and man, who is willing to bow before the paradox of paradoxes we call the Incarnation, to accept the extraordinary mystery that the infinite and the finite natures were united in one Person, that the Eternal manifests in time, and the Uncreated Creator united creation to Himself. In short, only a Catholic is capable of knowing, without exception, the mysterious phenomena of Christ's life.
Voting History: NONE

Race with the Devil, by Joseph Pearce, nominated by Fonch.
Growing up on the rough streets of Dagenham, England, Joseph Pearce was thrown into a life that led anywhere but to God and salvation. A world of hate and violence was all he knew, until one day he picked up the writings of G.K Chesterton and everything changed. "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: June 2025: 2; July 2025: 3

The Spirit of the Liturgy by Joseph Ratzinger nominated by John
Considered by Ratzinger devotees as his greatest work on the Liturgy, this profound and beautifully written treatment of the great prayer of the Church will help readers rediscover the Liturgy in all its hidden spiritual wealth and transcendent grandeur as the very center of our Christian life. In his own foreward to the book, Cardinal Ratzinger compares this work to a much earlier classic of the same title by Romano Guardini because Ratzinger feels that his insights here are similar with what Guardini achieved in his time regarding a renewed understanding of the Liturgy.
Voting History: April 2025: 3; June 2025: 3; July 2025: 4

This Thing of Darkness by K.V. Turley and Fiorella De Maria, nominated by Emmy
Hollywood, 1956. Journalist and war widow Evangeline Kilhooley is assigned to write a "star profile" of the fading actor Bela Lugosi, made famous by his role as Count Dracula. During a series of interviews, Lugosi draws Evi into his curious Eastern European background, gradually revealing the link between Old World shadows and the twilight realm of modern horror films.
Voting History: June 2025: 4; July 2025: 2

Wheat that Springeth Green by J.F. Powers, nominated by Steven R.
This book is a comic foray into the commercialized wilderness of modern American life. Its hero, Joe Hackett, is a high school track star who sets out to be a saint. But seminary life and priestly apprenticeship soon damp his ardor, and by the time he has been given a parish of his own he has traded in his hair shirt for the consolations of baseball and beer. Meanwhile Joe's higher-ups are pressing for an increase in profits from the collection plate, suburban Inglenook's biggest business wants to launch its new line of missiles with a blessing, and not all that far away, in Vietnam, a war is going on. Joe wants to duck and cover, but in the end, almost in spite of himself, he is condemned to do something right.
Voting History: NONE

Dilexit nos - He loved us: Encyclical letter about the human and divine love of the Heart of Jesus-Christ by Pope Francis, nominated by Manuel
The last Encyclical letter by Pope Francis.
Voting History: NONE

1. The Spirit of the Liturgy - Ratzinger

Eighth Arrow and This Thing of Darkness

The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful
The King's Achievement

Eighth Arrow, and
Behold the Man.

1. Race with the devil
2. Delixit nos

Spirit of the Liturgy
Dilexit nos

Elfing
Oddfish

Eight Arrow
This Thing of Darkness

Eighth Arrow
The Good, The Bad, The Beautiful

This Thing of Darkness by K.V. Turley and Fiorella De Maria
Wheat that Springeth Green by J.F. Powers

The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful, Joseph Pearce

Elfling
wheat that Springeth Green

Eighth Arrow
The Spirit of the Liturgy

"Intercession" and "The King's Achievement"

I have noticed that two of you have changed your votes from what you had voted at the beginning.

Please don't do that, and if you do, please advise us in a new comment. When you do this without advising, you increase the work of the moderator, and risk that your final votes will not be counted.

The Spirit of the Liturgy
Dilixit Nos

Intercession
Finding Happiness

1. The spirit of the liturgy
2. Champions of the rosary

Elfling
Paradoxes of Catholicism

Oddsfish!
Elfling

I vote for Elfling by Corinna Turner and Oddsfish by Robert Hugh Benson.

Wheat that Springeth Green by J.F. Powers,


This Thing of Darkness by K.V. Turley and Fiorella De Maria,

Champions of the Rosary
Finding Happiness in a Complex World

Behold the Man
Race with the Devil

Voting is closed. Results are here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...