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#42. ST. VINCENT FERRER: THE ANGEL OF JUDGMENT by Fr. Andrew Pradel, OP // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop)
An interesting biography about a great saint. My only complaint with this book is that it is written in a way that makes St. Vincent Ferrer appear almost “super human” and doesn’t include any of his struggles. Inspiring but makes it hard to relate.
#43. THE BROTHERS K by David James Duncan // ★★★★☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)
This is such a hard book to describe. It’s an epic story about a family and baseball and religion and politics. It’s definitely a chunker at over 600 pages and some parts were a little slow going, but man, those last 100 pages were beautiful! A book that will make you laugh and cry.
#44. HOME by Harlan Coben // ★★☆☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)
Just okay. This was another used bookstore pick (for $1.85!) and I didn’t know anything about the author or the fact that it was #11 in a series. I can’t really pinpoint what bugged me about the book…something about the way he writes dialogue maybe?
#45. HOME ECONOMICS by Wendell Berry // ★★★★☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)
So thought-provoking and beautiful and inspiring and good. This collection contains essays from the 1980s and I was constantly amazed at how we still deal with much of the same issues today.
#46. BAD SHEPHERDS: THE DARK YEARS IN WHICH THE FAITHFUL THRIVED WHILE BISHOPS DID THE DEVIL’S WORK by Rod Bennett // ★★★☆☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)
Is it possible to feel hope after reading a book this depressing? While I was saddened/shocked/disgusted at the behavior of the religious hierarchy, it also very clearly showed the role that laity plays throughout the ages. Hold on to that one true faith that spans the generations!
#47. LORD OF THE WORLD by Robert Hugh Benson // ★★★★☆
(amazon // bookshop)
What a book. This is Benson’s imagining of the end times and the last battle with the anti-Christ. Even though it was written over 100 years ago, I found the joys and agonies of living the Christian life in a post-Christian world so astute and relatable. (This was also my 1907 pick for the 20th Century in Literature Challenge.)
#48. A PALM FOR MRS. POLLIFAX by Dorothy Gilman // ★★★★☆
(amazon // bookshop // better world books)
This was number four in the series and definitely the weakest so far. Even so, I still love Mrs. Pollifax’s character and will continue reading. 3.5 stars, rounded up.
MY 2024 UNREAD SHELF PROJECT
Unread Books as of January 1, 2024: 209
Books Finished in May: 7
Books Donated/Sold in May: -1
Books Added: +2
Unread Books Remaining: 210
Ashley, I love your book pictures so much!
I was curious- what makes a five star read for you? And have you had any five star reads this year?
Last question: what is your favorite book (or books) of all time?
Great question! I’m stingy with my five stars and assign them to books pretty irregularly. For fiction, I want to enjoy the book throughout and be sad once I reach the last page. (Like hold the book to your chest and sigh deep Anne Shirley sighs, ha!) For nonfiction, it doesn’t have to necessarily be a page turner if I learned a lot and it expanded my worldview in a way that will influence my thinking/behavior in the future. I think I’ve had eight 5-star reads this year and most have been religious texts. I did love the first books in the Mrs. Pollifax series though!
As for my favorite book of all time…that’s a tough one! I don’t think I have just one favorite, but my top picks would be Anne of Green Gables, Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry, These is My Words by Nancy Turner and Peace Like a River by Leif Enger. What’s yours?
Favorite fiction: Cutting For Stone, Sea Glass by Anita Shreve & Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Favorite comfort reads: Anne of Green Gables, The Winter Street series by Elin Hilderbrand, anything by Rosamunde Pilcher (She’s especially good on audio)
Favorite “everyone should read this”: Being Mortal by Atul Gawande & Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Great choices! I’ve read a lot of these.