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Summer Reading


HopefulHeart

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I agree.. I like Dostoevsky much better.

I mean, on a basic level it's a style preference (I know some people think Dostoevsky's style is terrible but I like it), but also, Tolstoy ended up mocking Christianity and then trying to invent a religion based on himself, whereas Dostoevsky was fully Orthodox, used bits of saints lives and motifs from the liturgical services, the Elder Zosima character in Brothers Karamazov is based on an actual real live saintly monk that Dostoevsky had been to visit, etc.

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MarysLittleFlower

I mean, on a basic level it's a style preference (I know some people think Dostoevsky's style is terrible but I like it), but also, Tolstoy ended up mocking Christianity and then trying to invent a religion based on himself, whereas Dostoevsky was fully Orthodox, used bits of saints lives and motifs from the liturgical services, the Elder Zosima character in Brothers Karamazov is based on an actual real live saintly monk that Dostoevsky had been to visit, etc.

thats sort of i meant too, Tolstoy had disagreement with some basic Christian beliefs... But also, I just find Dostoevsky's subject matter is more interesting to me. 

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HopefulHeart

I finally finished Eifelheim, by Michael Flynn. Overall, I really enjoyed it. As I mentioned earlier, it's about a village in 14th century Germany that is visited by a group of grasshopper-like aliens shortly before the advent of the plague. The main character is Father Deitrich, the village pastor. There's also a subplot, set in the present day. The novel is pretty dense, with explorations of theology, natural philosophy, and theoretical physics. I liked the respectful way in which Catholicism is treated and the well-developed interactions between the humans and the aliens.

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CatherineM

I'm re-reading The Sheperd Cannot Run about Fr. Stanley Rother, the priest from Oklahoma who was recognized by the Vatican as a martyr recently. 

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MarysLittleFlower

I have something to add about Tolstoy and Dostoevsky .. Upon more thought I have some difficulties with both sadly. Tolstoy seemed to disagree with some basic Christian beliefs... And though Dostoevsky accepted these beliefs (which is good), as I did some research I found that he highly disliked the Catholic Church. This is according to his letters and also some characters statements (Prince Myshkin, Ivan). Prince Myshkin apparently said in the book that theCatholic Church follows the anti-Christ, which shocked me - i dont think this is a statement of the Orthodox either and could have been avoided. i  I just found that sad and its something I didn't really know before today. Its too bad cause his writing has many good qualities and I always liked him before, but now that i found this out I feel disappointed :( 

Edited by MarysLittleFlower
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Basilisa Marie

I picked up The Nazi Officer's Wife in an airport and read that on a plane. It was pretty good and really interesting to read a different kind of holocaust memoir where she basically survived the Holocaust by assuming an Aryan identity. 

On my return flight I picked up Neil Gaiman's American Gods, and I'm about halfway through it. I think I might have enjoyed this better if I had read it when I was in college, but it's still not bad. 

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Credo in Deum

I just picked up: "The Noonday Devil: Acedia, the Unnamed Evil of Our Time" by Dom Jean-Charles Nault O.S.B.

 

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puellapaschalis

I just picked up: "The Noonday Devil: Acedia, the Unnamed Evil of Our Time" by Dom Jean-Charles Nault O.S.B.

 

Review pls kthx

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Archaeology cat

I've been reading the Lord Powerscourt series by David Dickinson. I'm on Death of a Pilgrim, which surprised me by being about a group of pilgrims making the Camino. We'll see how it ends up. 

@Basilisa Marie - I'll have to check out The Nazi Officer's Wife. :)

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OnlySunshine

I am using this downtime in the summer to get through the 8-book series of Outlander.  Currently, I am on the 4th book (Drums of Autumn) and, even though I just started, I am already more than halfway through the 880 pages.  I read it on Kindle so I am 60% of the way through.  I can't wait to get to the 5th book (The Fiery Cross).

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HopefulHeart

I picked up an Agatha Christie novel, The Body in the Library. Christie is one of my favorite authors to read for fun. This book is pretty short, so I should finish it within a few days.

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I have something to add about Tolstoy and Dostoevsky .. Upon more thought I have some difficulties with both sadly. Tolstoy seemed to disagree with some basic Christian beliefs... And though Dostoevsky accepted these beliefs (which is good), as I did some research I found that he highly disliked the Catholic Church. This is according to his letters and also some characters statements (Prince Myshkin, Ivan). Prince Myshkin apparently said in the book that theCatholic Church follows the anti-Christ, which shocked me - i dont think this is a statement of the Orthodox either and could have been avoided. i  I just found that sad and its something I didn't really know before today. Its too bad cause his writing has many good qualities and I always liked him before, but now that i found this out I feel disappointed :( 

The Orthodox Church does not teach that the Catholic Church follows the Antichrist.

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