What Are You Reading Now?
Currently on my reading list for the summer - or at least the first part of the summer. I have no delusions of grandeur, and I'm certain that I won't get through all of these books. But I want to at least try.
I've also come to a personal decision regarding the literature I read: I will try to read the "classics" of literature, but if I find them uninteresting, boring, dry, etc., I will not bother myself with them any longer. Let the literary snobs scorn me if they must, but I see no sense in trudging through a rough read just so I can be able to say "yes I've read that" the next time someone asks.
Chesterton, G. K. The Catholic Church and Conversion. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1926
This is my third attempt at this book, and it grows on me a little more each time, although I've never read it straight through. I think I was initially disappointed because I expected this to be an "apologetics" book, according to the more modern meaning of that word - something along the lines of what Patrick Madrid, Scott Hahn, or Karl Keating would write. It is an apologetics book, but Chesterton doesn't really talk about specific doctrinal issues - he looks at a somewhat bigger picture, and his commentary is more social, historical, and even pragmatic than it is theological. Now that I know this, I know what to expect and what not to expect, so I'm enjoying the work more than before.
Newman, John Henry. An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1974
This is another title that I've started and stopped several times. You have to be in the mood for a very long discussion on some very abstract concepts if you want to get through the first several chapters. But his mastery of the patristic corpus is impressive, and very useful for future research. He makes some rather good points viz. the patristic witness (such as it is) to the later Nicene dogma of the Trinity, as compared to that same witness to the dogma of the papacy. The writings of the Fathers are not as explicit or unified as we might think, and so there must be room for "the development of Christian Doctrin" - the "historical space" in which a basic teaching (like the Trinity) is allowed to mature and develop as various minds consider it, meditate on it, and try to make its formulae clearer.
Waugh, Evelyn. Brideshead Revisited. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1951
I'm not far enough into this book to tell whether I like it or not. I'll give a few more chapters, and if it doesn't grab me, I'll put it away.
Belloc, Hilaire. The Path to Rome. Chicago: H. Regnery Co., 1954
Haven't started this title yet, but I've heard it's interesting, as Belloc recounts his pilgrimage (literally, not spiritually or metaphorically) to Rome and describes all the sights and sounds.
Belloc, Hilaire. The Great Heresies. Virginia: Trinity Communications, 1987
Very well written. I'm about half-way through, and I especially appreciate Belloc's attention to the issue of the Muslims.
St. Augustine. Confessiones. New York: Vintage Books, 1998
I'm putting this one back down. I've tried about four times to read it, but I find it rather dry - and maybe a tad boring, because in this day and age, St. Augustine's litany of personal sins is rather tame.
Carroll, Warren. The Founding of Christendom. Virginia: Christendom College Press, 1985
Carroll, Warren. The Building of Christendom. Virginia: Christendom College Press, 1987
Absolutely fantastic. I started with the second volume because I wanted to hear Carroll's account of the Crusades, and I was so impressed with both his content and style (his history is very, very well-written) that I decided I wanted to read the other three volumes in the set. I have not been disappointed, and his brilliant weaving of secular with ecclesiastical history makes for a very interesting, very well-rounded portrait of what's been happening in the world since the dawn of time.
Day, Thomas. Where Have You Gone, Michelangelo? The Loss of Soul in Catholic Culture. New York: Crossroad, 1993
Another winner from Mr. Day. His first book focused more on the issue of music in the Church since the Second Vatican Council - this one is a little more broad, encompassing music, art, architecture, and so on. The book is written in a very scattered kind of way - lots of little stories, random thoughts, and mini-essays, but he manages to pull it all together thematically. It's a lot like having a conversation with the author.
I've also come to a personal decision regarding the literature I read: I will try to read the "classics" of literature, but if I find them uninteresting, boring, dry, etc., I will not bother myself with them any longer. Let the literary snobs scorn me if they must, but I see no sense in trudging through a rough read just so I can be able to say "yes I've read that" the next time someone asks.
Chesterton, G. K. The Catholic Church and Conversion. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1926
This is my third attempt at this book, and it grows on me a little more each time, although I've never read it straight through. I think I was initially disappointed because I expected this to be an "apologetics" book, according to the more modern meaning of that word - something along the lines of what Patrick Madrid, Scott Hahn, or Karl Keating would write. It is an apologetics book, but Chesterton doesn't really talk about specific doctrinal issues - he looks at a somewhat bigger picture, and his commentary is more social, historical, and even pragmatic than it is theological. Now that I know this, I know what to expect and what not to expect, so I'm enjoying the work more than before.
Newman, John Henry. An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1974
This is another title that I've started and stopped several times. You have to be in the mood for a very long discussion on some very abstract concepts if you want to get through the first several chapters. But his mastery of the patristic corpus is impressive, and very useful for future research. He makes some rather good points viz. the patristic witness (such as it is) to the later Nicene dogma of the Trinity, as compared to that same witness to the dogma of the papacy. The writings of the Fathers are not as explicit or unified as we might think, and so there must be room for "the development of Christian Doctrin" - the "historical space" in which a basic teaching (like the Trinity) is allowed to mature and develop as various minds consider it, meditate on it, and try to make its formulae clearer.
Waugh, Evelyn. Brideshead Revisited. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1951
I'm not far enough into this book to tell whether I like it or not. I'll give a few more chapters, and if it doesn't grab me, I'll put it away.
Belloc, Hilaire. The Path to Rome. Chicago: H. Regnery Co., 1954
Haven't started this title yet, but I've heard it's interesting, as Belloc recounts his pilgrimage (literally, not spiritually or metaphorically) to Rome and describes all the sights and sounds.
Belloc, Hilaire. The Great Heresies. Virginia: Trinity Communications, 1987
Very well written. I'm about half-way through, and I especially appreciate Belloc's attention to the issue of the Muslims.
St. Augustine. Confessiones. New York: Vintage Books, 1998
I'm putting this one back down. I've tried about four times to read it, but I find it rather dry - and maybe a tad boring, because in this day and age, St. Augustine's litany of personal sins is rather tame.
Carroll, Warren. The Founding of Christendom. Virginia: Christendom College Press, 1985
Carroll, Warren. The Building of Christendom. Virginia: Christendom College Press, 1987
Absolutely fantastic. I started with the second volume because I wanted to hear Carroll's account of the Crusades, and I was so impressed with both his content and style (his history is very, very well-written) that I decided I wanted to read the other three volumes in the set. I have not been disappointed, and his brilliant weaving of secular with ecclesiastical history makes for a very interesting, very well-rounded portrait of what's been happening in the world since the dawn of time.
Day, Thomas. Where Have You Gone, Michelangelo? The Loss of Soul in Catholic Culture. New York: Crossroad, 1993
Another winner from Mr. Day. His first book focused more on the issue of music in the Church since the Second Vatican Council - this one is a little more broad, encompassing music, art, architecture, and so on. The book is written in a very scattered kind of way - lots of little stories, random thoughts, and mini-essays, but he manages to pull it all together thematically. It's a lot like having a conversation with the author.
