Similar to those never-ending "What Are You Listening To?" threads I see on countless messageboards, I thought I would start a thread about the books we are reading. And what better place than the Word forum. Phatcatholic, you might want to make this a sticky.

Here goes:

At the moment I am finishing up The History of the Bible in English, by the late Scripture scholar F.F. Bruce. As its title implies, the book chronicles the development of the English Bible from a historical (and critical) standpoint, from the earliest indecipherable Old English translations to Wycliffe's Bible to the Douay-Rheims and Authorized Versions, all the way through to the modern biggies like the RSV, JB, NEB, NAB, NIV, etc. Many, many rare "specialty" translations, Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish, are also discussed. It is excellent; insurmountably informative, and quite an entertaining read to boot. I recommend it highly.

What about you?

"The Miracle Detective" by Randell Sullivan

I've been reading endless commentaries in hopes of finishing my exegesis paper (man, it's gonna be a long night... I may have to unplug my internet to get it done... haha)

Aside from that I've been reading:
"The Privilege of Being a Woman" by Alice von Hildebrand
"Leisure, the Basis of Culture" by Josef Pieper
and
"Mary in the Redemption" by Adrienne von Speyr

The Book of Mormon (bet with Mormon buddy- I go LDS or he goes Catholic)

The Bible

Faith and Reason: The Philosophy of Religion by Peter Kreft

The Lamb's Supper by Scott Hahn

Summa of the Summa by Peter Kreft

Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Liseaux

I love The Lamb's Supper and Story of a Soul! Two of my favorite books. And how is Summa of the Summa? Does it condense Aquinas well?

Summa of the Summa is fantastic. Cool, too, is Kreeft's A Shorter Summa, which is a compilation of the key philosophical passages in St. Thomas' magnum opus. I would actually recommend reading the latter before tackling the former, if you are a beginner like myself.

Anyway...

Just started reading The Meaning of Conservatism by Roger Scruton, the British political philosopher. So far, so good. Scruton is a staunch conservative. It isn't easy to find an academic philosophy of conservatism these days that actually supports the position. John Kekes' A Case for Conservatism and Against Liberalism are the only other modern ones that come to mind.

I'm reading a tiny 2 in a half inch book I got from Sister Joseph Andrew, called The Eucharist Lord, prayers to our Lord. Something like that.

I haven't been able to do as much spiritual reading because of school, but I've been working on St. Teresa of Avila's Interior Castle and St. Augustine's City of God.

I'm plodding through The Imitation of Christ and am enjoying it immensely.

Is the Interior Castle a difficult read? I've always wanted to read it.

I'm always in the middle of alot of books, right now...

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

Padre Pio: The True Story by C. Bernard Ruffin

and countless comics and fantasy stuff that I read for entertainment when I don't want to think!

Awesome! I've been wanting to tackle some Aquinas for a while now, and it looks like this would be a good place to start.

Right now I'm reading:

The Bible
The Open Circle- the Meaning of Christian Brotherhood, by the Pope when he was still "Joseph Ratzinger"
Witness to Hope by George Weigel
The Chronicles of the Crusades
Divine Comedy
Pilgrim's Regress by CS Lewis
and Narnia and Beyond by Thomas Howard.

Narnia and Beyond-Thomas Howard
The Lambs Supper-Scott Hahn
Orthodoxy(again)-G.K. chesterton
Mere Christianity- C.S. Lewis

Screwtape Letters is excellent. Interior Castle is difficult in a way. I'm reading this translation, which isn't hard to understand. But it's a very mystical work, so I think it might be best to read in small doses. At least, that's what I've been doing (partly because of school, too). But I do recommend it!

I've been reading E.V. Rieu's translation of the Gospels over the last couple of days (The Four Gospels, Penguin Classics, 1952). Rieu, a British Classics scholar, was a lifelong agnostic by the time he undertook his translation at the age of 60; a year later he joined the Church of England and apparently became quite the devout Anglican as a result of his work.

The translation is quite good! Scholarly and very readable; essentially a literal translation, but with a master classicist's flair. Unfortunately, it is extremely rare -- to the best of my knowledge, Penguin has never released a subsequent edition. If you come across this forgotten gem, do not pass it up.

Thanks. That's what I figured. I don't have time for much more than small doses of reading anyway, lol.

*sigh* i add more books to my amazon wish list every day! right now, i'm reading The Courage to be Catholic: Crisis, Reform, and the Future of the Catholic Church. it's very good and informative!

True Devotion to Mary by Louis DeMontfort

And I want to get a chance to read Confessions of St. Augustine by the man himself. I love the books the Saints write.

I love that one. This is the translation I have, and it's really good.

"Hail Holy Queen" Scott Hann
"Screwtape Letters" C. S. Lewis
and the Bible, always reading the Bible

the New Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture that amy just got me as an early birthday present

The Lamb's Supper Scott Hahn
Catholicism and Fundamentalsim Karl Keating

For pleasure, I'm reading Let Freedom Ring by Sean Hannity and Pierced by a Sword. I can't remeber the author of the latter at the moment, but I highly recomend this book. It's fiction with a Catholic twist (but it incorporates Catholicism into the book in a manner that shows its truth. It doesn't convolute it at all).

I'm reading both of those right now, the Imitation for the second time and True Devotion to Mary for the first. A friend recommended True Devotion to me since I'm still a fairly new Catholic and I want to learn more about our Blessed Mother.

It's one of my favorites. I only just found out about it recently though.

I am currently reading:

"The Privilege of Being a Woman" by Alice von Hildebrand
"Love and Responsibility" by Karol Wotjywa (sp?)
"Swear to God" by Scott Hahn

and my meditation book is
"Heart of the World" by Hans urs von Balthasar - it's very beautiful!

I can name a few...

Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton
Triumph: the Power and glory of the Catholic Church by H.W. Crocker III
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
The Wasteland and othe writings by T.S. Elliot
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol 1. by Alan Moore
and to top it off...
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

I can't ever read just one book at a time...I would never get them done.

i have about 30 or so that i have started or that i want to read

some include

Interior Castle

7 Story Moutain

Confessions by Saint Augustine

Orthodoxy by Chesterton

and many more.

There are some good books on this thread already though.

Right now I'm reading The Fifth Sun: Aztec Gods, Aztec World by Burr Cartwright Brundage. I love Aztec mythology and history, and this is an excellent study.

Also, Bernard Lonergan's A Second Collection (W.F. Ryan, S.J. & Bernard J. Tyrrell, S.J., eds.). Basically, a collection of papers and lectures, along with an interview, by the late, great Canadian Jesuit philosopher and theologian. Lonergan is not an easy read (to put it mildly), but this volume is a reasonably accessible introduction to his thought.

The Autobiography of G. K. Chesterton

Most of my books are in boxes, but I have retained a few of them since I go on retreat this weekend. Since I always take it with me when I am on retreat, and still have not finished it, I am reading on/off "The Soul of the Apostolate." However, seeing as the academic year is winding down (or done for me) and I really have no desire to do anything academic I have been reading and actually am always reading poetry, mostly contemporary. Some of the poets I have been reading:

Franz Wright
Czeslaw Milosz
Colette Inez
and always occasional ones by:
Li-Young Lee
Anne Sexton
John Donne

Theopolitical Imagination by Dr. Cavenaugh(**St. Thomas rep)
Embrace and Exclusion by Volf(**good book, cant say enough)
The Mass of Early Christians (Aquilla, good patristics book)

oh yea, and whatever for class

Ahhh! I love The Soul of the Apostolate I've been reading it on and off for the last few months, and I'm really enjoying it!!

I've just finished a bunch of books by Michael O'Brien which I thought were fantastic, and really thought provoking...

I'm also reding St Teresa of Avila's Way of Perfection which is also really good!

Not in any particular order (I ought to fix that at some point)...

(Catholic/Christian) Library of Jillian: (Revised 2006)***

1962 Roman Missal (Pub. by Baronius Press)
Christian Prayer: The Liturgy of the Hours (Pauline Press)
National Directory for Catechesis (USCCB)
Catholic Encyclopedia (Our Sunday Visitor)
Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine (Our Sunday Visitor)
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma (Ludwigg Ott)
Navarre Bible: Pentateuch
Navarre Bible: Joshua-Kings
Navarre Bible: Chronicles-Maccabees
Navarre Bible: Wisdom Books
Navarre Bible: Psalms & Song of Solomon
Navarre Bible: Gospel of John
Navarre Bible: Romans & Galatians
Navarre Bible: Revelation
The Teaching of Christ (Bishop Donald Wuerl)
Father McBride's College Catechism
The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church (Pontifical Biblical Commission)
The Jewish People and Their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible (Pontifical Biblical Commission)
Fides et Ratio (Pope JPII)
Veritatis Splendor (Pope JPII)
Evangelium Vitae (Pope JPII)
Rosarium Virginis Mariae (Pope JPII)
Redemptoris Mater (Pope JPII)
Centesimus Annus (Pope JPII)
Familiaris Consortio (Pope JPII)
Love & Responsibility (Pope JPII)
Theology of the Body (Pope JPII)
The Rosary Hour (Pope JPII)
The Jeweler's Shop (Karol Wojtyla/Pope JPII)
Looking at the Liturgy (Aidan Nichols)
Behold the Pierced One (Ratzinger)
Called to Communion (Ratzinger)
Feast of Faith (Ratzinger)
Gospel, Catechesis, Catechism (Ratzinger)
Salt of the Earth (Ratzinger)
God is Near Us (Ratzinger)
Milestones (Ratzinger)
Truth & Tolerance (Ratzinger)
Many Religions, One Covenant (Ratzinger)
Pilgrim Fellowship of Faith (Ratzinger)
Introduction to Christianity (Ratzinger)
Deus Caritas Est (Pope Benedict XVI)
Living the Catechism, vol 1: The Creed (Schonborn)
Living the Catechism, vol 2: The Sacraments (Schonborn)
Living the Catechism, vol 3: Jesus Christ (Schonborn)
Living the Catechism, vol 4: Paths of Prayer (Schonborn)
Loving the Church (Schonborn)
Casti Connubii (Pope Pius XI)
Arcanum (Pope Leo XIII)
Prayer (Hans Urs von Balthasar)
Love Alone is Credible (Hans Urs von Balthasar)
The Privilege of Being a Woman (Alice von Hildebrand)
Sickness unto Death (Soren Kierkegaard)
Theology of the Body: Explained (Christopher West)
The Good News About Sex & Marriage (Christopher West)
Handbook of Christian Apologetics (Peter Kreeft)
Love is Stronger than Death (Peter Kreeft)
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Heaven (Peter Kreeft)
A Shorter Summa (Peter Kreeft)
The Seven Storey Mountain (Thomas Merton)
No Man is an Island (Thomas Merton)
Essays of a Catholic (Hillare Belloc)
Orthodoxy (GK Chesterton)
What's Wrong with the World (GK Chesterton)
The Man who was Thursday (GK Chesterton)
The Everlasting Man (GK Chesterton)
Heretics (GK Chesterton)
St. Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox (GK Chesterton)
St. Francis of Assisi (GK Chesterton)
Life is Worth Living (Fulton Sheen)
Life of Christ (Fulton Sheen)
The Cross & the Beatitudes (Fulton Sheen)
The Seven Last Words (Fulton Sheen)
An Anthology (Josef Pieper)
Leisure, the Basis of Culture (Josef Pieper)
In Search of the Sacred (Josef Pieper)
Mary in the Redemption (Adrienne von Speyr)
The Christian Meaning of Human Sexuality (Fr. Paul Quay)
The Conjugal Act as a Personal Act (Donald Asci)
More Paradoxes (Henry de LuBac)
Fire Within (Dubay)
Making All Things New (Nouwen)
The Way of the Heart (Nouwen)
Suprised by Truth (Patrick Madrid)
The Writings of St. Francis of Assisi (trans. by Brady)
Catholic Moral Tradition (David Bohr)
Veritatis Splendor & the Renewal of Moral Theology (DiNoia & Cessario)
Joan of Arc (Clin)
TRIUMPH: The Power & Glory of the Catholic Church (H.W. Crocker)
Letters to a Young Catholic (George Weigel)
Witness to Hope: Biography of JPII (Weigel)
True Devotion to Mary (St. Louis de Montfort)
The Secret of the Rosary (St. Louis de Montfort)
Story of a Soul (St. Terese of Lisieux)
City of God (St. Augustine)
Confessions (St. Augustine)
Rule (St. Benedict)
The Soul's Journey Into God (Bonaventure)
The Tree of Life (Bonaventure)
The Life of St. Francis (Bonaventure)
Life of Moses (Gregory of Nyssa)
Against the Heresies (St. Irenaeus of Lyons)
Commentary on the Song of Songs (Origen)
On the Incarnation (St. Athanasius)
Introduction to the Devout Life (St. Francis de Sales)
Imitation of Christ (Thomas a'Kempis)
On the Passion of Christ (Thomas a'Kempis)
Dark Night of the Soul (St. John of the Cross)
The Way of Perfection (St. Teresa of Avila)
Interior Castle (St. Teresa of Avila)
How to Converse Continually and Familiarly with God (St. Alphonsus Liguori)
The Sinner's Guide (Ven. Louis of Granada)
John of the Cross (Kavanaugh)
Treatise on Happiness (St. Thomas Aquinas)
The Complete Philosophical and Theological Treatises of Anselm of Canterbury (St. Anselm)
Inferno (Dante)
Purgatorio (Dante)
Paradiso (Dante)
Introduction to Mary (Dr. Mark Miravalle)
Contemporary Insights on a 5th Marian Dogma (Dr. Miravalle)
CoRedemptrix, Mediatrix, Advocate (Dr. Miravalle)
Immaculate Conception and the Holy Spirit (Manteau-Bonamy, OP)
Sermons on the Song of Songs (St. Bernard of Clairvaux)
On Coversion (St. Bernard of Clairvaux)
On the Steps of Humility and Pride (St. Bernard of Clairvaux)
On Consideration (St. Bernard of Clairvaux)
On Loving God (St. Bernard of Clairvaux)
The Consolation of Philosophy (Boethius)
Loves's Sacred Order (Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis)
The Last Ugly Person (Roger Thomas)
The Happiness of Heaven (F.J. Boudreaux)
Responses to 101 Questions on Death and Eternal Life (Peter Phan)
The Resurrection of Life (Bernard Sesboue)
The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament (James Jeffers)
Apostle of the Crucified Lord (Michael Gorman)
The Son Rises (William Craig)
An Introduction to Christology (Gerard Luttenberger)
Letters Liturgical (Eltin Griffin)
Aquinas and His Role in Theology (Chenu)
Knowing the Love of Christ (Dauphinais)
Selected Writings of Thomas Aquinas (McInerny)

(though technically not Catholic, I am including Lewis.. he was close enough)
The Abolition of Man (CS Lewis)
The Problem of Pain (CS Lewis)
Mere Christianity (CS Lewis)
The Screwtape Letters (CS Lewis)
The Weight of Glory (CS Lewis)
The Great Divorce (CS Lewis)
Miracles (CS Lewis)
The Four Loves (CS Lewis)
Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold (CS Lewis)
Collected Letters: Vol. 1 (CS Lewis)
Chronicles of Narnia (7 Volume set) (CS Lewis)

And (not counting Navarre): 7 Bibles (5 Catholic: RSV, 3 NABs, TEV ; 2 non-Catholic: NIV, RSV) and 3 New Testaments (NIV, CEV, and NL)... and the ever coveted Haydock Bible

Books saved on computer:
Treatise on the Love of God (St. Francis de Sales)
On First Principles (Origen)
Letters of St. Ignatius of Antioch
Christ the Instructor (Clement of Alexandria)
The Cloud of Unknowing (Anonymous)
Assent of Mount Carmel (St. John of the Cross)
An Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent (Newman)



**dicounting other owned philosophy (i.e., non Christian/Catholic philosophers) and other Literature (i.e., the good stuffs: Hugo, Dickens, Austen, Bronte, Homer, and the other Greeks... etc.)

Wow... that is a lot... I thought I was reading many books at once! Wow... I had at least 3 or 4 I am in the middle of currently...


That is a good read I read it while on pilgrimage to WYD... we stopped in Assisi...

I think it was a fun read... another one to read is the Little Flowers of St. Francis... great stories...

Diary of St. Faustina Kowalska

Currently i am working on Parish Priest (The KC book about Fr. McGivney)

Then i am going to take a whack at the rest of my collection.

Im reading Cantana of Love: A Verse By Verse Reading Of The Song Of Songs by Blaise Arminjon S.J.

Its analysis is less about married love and more about Gods relationship with Israel. I like it a lot.

Two words come to mind:

1st: Show off

2nd: Nerd

BTW, I have read a lot of what you have listed. All of them quite good.

thanks for reminding me of the 10th commandment (b/c i'm certainly breaking it right now )

Pope Fiction by Patrick Madrid

decent...when my school had us fill out a sheet for insurance I had to stop at roughly 390 books. I am a book junkie and I have a lil bit of coin. My fiancee half-heartedly put a 80-120 cap on my monthly book binges. Also, for holidays and birthdays a barns and noble card is the most common gift.

Im impressed with your selection

One of my all time favorites!!

I gotta read some Chesterton...

if only i had the money.........

There's this Catholic history textbook that I want...it looks uber-cool. But it's $50. ::sigh::

Right now I am in the middle of....

The Life you Save May be Your Own By: Peter Elie, it is the biographies of Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, Walker Percy, and Flannery O'Conner. It is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A real "thinking" book.
.
The Diary of St.Faustina

and Lord of the Flies....for school.

-Yours in Christ
Lauren




Oh....i read a really good history of the Catholic Church called Church History By: Fr. John Laux. It was really good. I really liked it...plus i could get it cheap online used.

JMJ
5/7 - Good Shepherd Sunday

I started reading Cardinal Newman's Loss and Gain on Friday. It's an amazing look into his own conversion story. Good stuff.

Basically everything ever written by the Carmelite saints or anything on Carmelite spirituality, one I must list is "Fire Within" by Fr. Thomas Dubay. True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort, the Imitation of Christ, Diary of St. Fuastina, Crown of Glory, The Life of Pope Pius XII, and so many others I can't even list. I'm also reading Hamlet for school.....not very spiritual but interesting.

seriously, every Catholic needs to read this book! it is amazing!

okay, so right now i'm reading:

Pope Fiction by Patrick Madrid
The New Anti-Catholicism : The Last Acceptable Prejudice by Philip Jenkins
The New Faithful: Why Young Adults Are Embracing Christian Orthodoxy by Colleen Carroll

where do you people have the money to buy all of these books?

I finished the book Parish Priest and now have moved on to skimming How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization.

I saw some books here that i have read that i further recommend:

Mere Christianity by CS Lewis.
The New Anti-Catholicism by Phillip Jenkins.
Everybody should read the Confessions by St. Augustine.

I am also reading the Interior Castle by St. Teresa. Its a slow read for such a short book, that is if i really want to get something out of it.

The Da Vinci Hoax by Carl Olson.

I also finished recently reading a GK Chesterton book i would recommend The Everlasting Man. It is a very inspirational read for the serious religious mind.

SHALOM