Caty M's 2012 Reading

So, if my reading for 2012 carries on at the same torturously slow rate as the second half of 2011 I shan't get anywhere near 75, but the way life is going at the moment anything could happen.

Books completed:

January
1. Snuff - Terry Pratchett
2. Miss Buncle Married - DE Stevenson
3. The Everlasting Man - GK Chesterton
4. A History of English Christianity 1920-2000 - Adrian Hastings
5. Mere Christianity - CS Lewis

February
6. Orthodoxy - GK Chesterton
7. The Inklings - Humphrey Carpenter

March
8. The Meaning of Tradition - Yves Congar

April
9. New Habits - Isabel Losada
10. A Pelican at Blandings - PG Wodehouse
11. The Sacraments - Ross Thompson
12. The Didache: a window on the earliest Christians - Thomas O'Loughlin
13. Winnie-the-Pooh - AA Milne
14. The Catholic Church and Conversion - GK Chesterton

May
15. The Making of the Creeds - Frances Young
16. The Affair of the 39 Cufflinks - James Anderson

June

July
17. The English Sermon Revised - ed. Lori Ferrell & Peter Macculloch
18. The Word, Church and Sacraments in Protestantism and Catholicism - Louis Bouyer
19. Restoration England - Robert Bliss
20. If Protestantism is True - Devin Rose
21. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling
22. What is the Point of Being a Christian? - Timothy Radcliffe

August
23. The Mass of the Early Christians - Mike Aquilina
24. An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine - John Henry Newman
25. (Re-read of something from earlier this year)
26. Called to Communion - Pope Benedict XVI
27. Glimpses of the Moon - Edmund Crispin

September
28. The Great Partnership: God, science and the search for meaning - Jonathan Sacks
29. Why me? - Diane Komp
30. Guards, Guards - Terry Pratchett
31. Good Omens - Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
32. Fundamentals of the Faith - Peter Kreeft
33. Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch

October
34. Sin: A History - Gary A Anderson
35. Moon over Soho - Ben Aaronovitch
36. Take the Plunge: Living Baptism and Confirmation - Timothy Radcliffe

November
37. (Re-read of something from earlier this year)
38. ((Re-read of something from earlier this year)
39. The Napoleon of Notting Hill - GK Chesterton
40. The Last Superstition - Edward Feser
41. Why go to Church? The drama of the Eucharist - Timothy Radcliffe

December
42. Letters to a Young Catholic - George Weigel

Never mind the speed, feel the quality! Looking forward to sharing 2012 with you.

Welcome back!

*waves hello*

Dropping off a star, Caty.

#3/4/5/6 Hello and thanks. :)

However few or many books you finish, I'll still be looking forward to your normal pithy comments about each of them.

*waves*

Glad to see you back again, Caty! Maybe you and I can both shed the 2011 book blahs. . .

Hi Caty - welcome back!

Happy New Year, Caty! Dropping a star and wishes for a new year of good reading.

Caty look forward to keeping up more in 2012. Happy new year!

Hi Caty! Happy New Year!
You are starred -


btw, one of the books you sent me last year Rebecca is still making the rounds. Everyone loves it :)

Happy New Year, Caty!

#8-15 Hello, welcome, thanks, etc. :)

#14 It's good to know that one was a success, Claudia. :)

Happy New Year, Caty!

Hope you enjoy your reading no matter the pace!! xox

Happy New Year Caty, got you starred!

Happy New Year Caty!

Hi Caty, popping in to starr you. Will be checking to see what you read this year.

#17-21 Hello, a belated happy new year, welcome, etc. to you all.

So, I finished a book:

1. Snuff - Terry Pratchett

Verdict: a bit slow to get going, but once you get past the first 60 or so pages it's vintage Pratchett. Not his best, but solid stuff, and Sam Vimes is always good. 4/5.

#23 I think you've summarised my feelings about Snuff too. And well done on getting your first book for the year under your belt!

#24 Thanks

2. Miss Buncle Married - DE Stevenson

This is the sequel to Miss Buncle's Book, which I read (and loved) a year or two back. It's not quite as good as that one, but it is very enjoyable, and in much the same way. It does have a very 1930s attitude to the role of women, but seeing as it was published in 1936 that's not exactly surprising. Recommended for anyone who liked the first instalment.

"It does have a very 1930s attitude to the role of women, but seeing as it was published in 1936 that's not exactly surprising." LOL

Just wanted to say that Miss Buncle's Book was one of my favourite reads of last year. I had it for Christmas 2010 from my sister who also bought me Miss Buncle Married this year. I'm really looking forward to it - glad you liked it too.

#26 :)

#27 I hope you enjoy Miss Buncle Married when you read it.

3. The Everlasting Man - GK Chesterton
Theology/Apologetics. From my current reading list. Excellent stuff, albeit with some dated attitudes.

I also heard from my husband, who's reading Snuff, that it's not his best work but still entertaining. I haven't read a Vimes book yet, but I'm looking forward to that character arc.

My husband is also reading Snuff and said exactly the same thing. Vimes is his favorite of all the Pratchett characters, so he's especially enjoying that.

#29, 30 This does seem to be a fairly widespread verdict. :)

4. A History of English Christianity 1920-2000 - Adrian Hastings
Also from the reading list. A hefty tome - over 700 pages, plus notes - but pretty comprehensive and balanced.

Hi Caty. Glad you enjoyed the Chesterton. I've not read any of his for ages, but did read quite a bit back in the late 80s when I was first discovering all sorts of authors like him (if there's anyone quite like him...). I don't think I read that one, though.

#32 I think you'd enjoy it.

5. Mere Christianity - CS Lewis
Also from the reading list, but a re-read. It's a favourite of mine, but it had had been a few years since I last read the whole thing, rather than just specific passages, so it was good to have a proper look at it again.

Oh I'm fond of Mere Christianity too. I'm actually using it right now as a basis for a discussion class with teens at my church. It's going pretty well so far. :)

Thanks for the reminder about Mere Christianity, Caty. I hadn't entered it into my LT library, but I know I have a copy of it.

#35 ditto. At least I THINK I still have the copy I read back in college. I've always intended to do a re-read.

Hi Caty, just waving and passing through on my mission to catch up on threads.

Hi Caty, hope all is well with you... What are you reading at present?

#34 That's great. Hope it continues well. :)

#35 You're welcome, Darryl.

#36 It's one that merits re-reading, I think, Sandy.

#37 *waves bacl*

#38 Hi Genny. Lots of essay-related reading going on at the moment.

And on that note...

6. Orthodoxy - GK Chesterton
Not actually on my reading list, but related to it and relevant for my essay. I read it rather more quickly and superficially than I ought to have, but it was very good and I shall re-read it at some point when I don't have deadlines looming close and massive. And I shall pay it closer attention. It's not a typical work of apologetics, but a very subjective consideration by Chesterton of how he came to be persuaded that Christianity was true. Fascinating, and good stuff again.

7. The Inklings - Humphrey Carpenter
A biography of C S Lewis, J R R Tolkien, Charles Williams and the group of writers and academics who formed the Inklings.

Like the last book, not actually on the reading list but nonetheless relevant for my essay. It's got a good balance between looking at the individuals and looking at the group dynamics. Enjoyable and interesting, if these are writers that you like.

Here you are!! The book about the Inklings sounds absolutely fascinating. I'm intrigued by writers who form groupings, whether it's the Bloomsbury folks, the inklings, the Round Table. Do writers still do that?? I don't get the sense they do...

Apologetics tends to annoy me, but the Chesterton sounds interesting, too.

>39 Eat_Read_Knit:: Orthodoxy is one of those books I've always meant to get to, but just never have. I love reading apologetics as it makes me think and work through issues intellectually rather than accept things at face value... I'm going to stick this one back on the reading list!

I read Carpenter's Inklings biog many years ago now, when I was in Oxford and a member of the C S Lewis Society (which really should have been called the Inklings Society because we were interested in all that group and their influences, not just Lewis). In fact, I think we had Carpenter as one of our guest speakers (the group met weekly during term time, with a speaker most weeks, adjourning after the talk and formal questions to the 'Eagle and Child' pub down the road (popularly known as the 'Bird and Baby'), which was in fact where the Inklings themselves used to meet and discuss each other's work in progress etc. There's a plaque on the wall there about the Inklings, and it was great to feel that we were continuing in that tradition - though the only writing most of us were doing was essays or doctoral theses, not literature!

Some nights after last orders when the conversation was still going strong - about children's books, fantasy, philosophy, biography, theology, mythology and various combinations of any of those subjects - we all ended up back in my college rooms which were just round the corner, and continued with many cups of tea and biscuits until about 2 am. Those were some of the happiest times of my graduate years.

With many of your recent reads, Caty, I could see you fitting right into those discussions in the Bird and Baby! I remember I read a lot of Chesterton at that time too, and Charles Williams (have you tried him yet?).

>41 Chatterbox: I know there are some authors who meet up. I really love John Green and watch his youtube channel all the time, and when he still lived in New York, I know he would often take a day and just write with other YA authors (like Maureen Johnson, Scott Westerfeld, and David Levithan). So it does still happen. :)

#40 I've wanted to read the Inklings biography since enjoying Carpenter's biography of Tolkien so much the year before last.

#41 Hi Suz! *waves*

#42 I've rather stocked up on Chesterton as a result of that: I've got Heretics to read, and then I want to go back and re-read Orthodoxy and The Everlasting Man. The unit on 20th century Christianity and culture I've just done has had rather an unfortunate effect on my wishlist and my TBR pile.

#43 Genny, that sounds marvellous! I've not read Charles Williams yet. One of these days...

#44 That's fascinating! I'd not heard of any authors who still that.

#45 And likewise, I'm rather thinking now that I'd like to read his Tolkien biography. :) I probably ought to give Tolkien himself another go first, though. I didn't get on well with The Hobbit, and I've been refusing to read Lord of the Rings for about 15 years as a result.

Still lurking...

*cough* I am still alive. But I'm not reading much, and what I am reading is articles, papers, chapters, , etc rather than whole books. And the very few books I am reading are all moderately heavy (if not seriously heavy) theology. So for now I shall just wave hello to you all, and I shall come back later and talk about books. :)

Nice to see you, Caty. Good luck with the tomes!

8. The Meaning of Tradition - Yves Congar
9. New Habits - Isabel Losada

Um. Yes. So. Getting though a book a month at the moment, though I suspect it'll pick up again soon. At some point there might even be some books that are of interest to some of you, too. ;)

Happy Easter Caty!

50: LOL, Happy Easter Caty!

Happy Easter Caty!

#51, 52, 53 Happy Easter to you all!

Happy Easter, Caty! (Is there an echo here?)

#55 Happy Easter to you too, Darryl.

10. A Pelican at Blandings - PG Wodehouse

Standard Wodehouse fare: entertaining, but not outstanding among his work. (Though even a standard Wodehouse is a Very Good Book.)

Hi Caty. Just browsing through your readings this year. Some old friends of mine, Lewis and Chesterton. Reminding me that I have to read The Everlasting Man soon. It's the next Chesterton on my list, but I keep postponing.....

#58 I hope you enjoy it when you get to it. :)

11. The Sacraments - Ross Thompson
A basic, introductory level textbook. Does what it says on the tin. Bit too basic for my liking, but... *shrugs*

surely an antidote to the heavier-weight theology, however??

Like the Very Good Book label. I may abbreviate it to VGB and hijack it!

12. The Didache: a window on the earliest Christians - Thomas O'Loughlin

A very interesting introduction to the Didache: not a highly academic commentary, but a very thought-provoking work, and hugely readable.

(Also: that makes more books read in the first half of April than in all of February and March put together. Yay!)

(And additionally also: #60 Yes, indeed, Suze! And feel free. :) )

13. Winnie-the-Pooh - AA Milne

It's a classic and a work of genius. You're never too old. That is all.

14. The Catholic Church and Conversion - GK Chesterton

Having read Orthodoxy and dipped into Heretics*, I thought this one would also be interesting. And it is. It's a fascinating mixture of Catholic apologetics and memoir. Chesterton is himself rather apologetic** about not addressing the issues and challenges presenting those who convert from a Protestant denomination to Catholicism; that would have added an interesting dimension to the book, but would also have taken it further away from the realm of memoir.

Recommended for those who've been reading Chesterton's other apologetic writings, but probably not one for a general audience.

*note to self: organise yourself and finish it, pronto.
**pun not intended, but I couldn't think of a better way of putting it, so I ran with it. Possibly too far.

And now, prompted by feelings of severe guilt, I'm off for a wander around the group to see what's been happening in the last few weeks months.

ETA: I won't get to many threads today. But I shall try to get to a few every now and then, and catch up with as many of you as possible, and keep more or less caught up. Ish. Or thereabouts. Sigh. I shall try.

Hi, Caty!

#65 *waves* :)

Hi Caty. You are indeed doing some heavy duty reading. I'm taking a C. S. Lewis class this semester and loving it. We're bypassing his deepest books although my goal is to read everything by him someday.

Here's a quote on theology I read for today's class that you might enjoy:

"Theology! It's not theology I'm talking about, young man, but the Lord Jesus. Theology is talk--eyewash--a smoke screen--a game for rich men. It wasn't in lecture rooms I found the Lord Jesus. It was in the coal pits, and beside the coffin of my daughter..."

~ From That Hideous Strength (pg. 77)

It's good to see you posting from time to time. I wouldn't worry about not keeping up with threads. Everyone else is struggling with that, too. We are a chatty group!

Ahh, Winnie-the-Pooh. As you said, one can never be too old.....I enjoyed it a few years ago as an audiobook, and I guess it's about time for a re-listen.

A good April-reading for you :)

#63 I like your apologetic footnote about Chesterton's apologetic apologetics!

I did a placement with Ross Thompson during my training - interesting chap, Anglican priest but into theoretical physics, the Orthodox and Buddhism too!

Hi Caty!

" that makes more books read in the first half of April than in all of February and March put together. Yay!" Yay indeed!

I love WtP (who doesn't?), haven't read the later Blandings books although I would like to one day. I seem to be hoarding my unread Wodehouse's as if for an emergency although I'm not sure what emergency?

Hi Caty, happy Sunday to you!

Oh, good grief, has it really been a month since I wandered through and said hello? *feels guilty again* I really am rubbish at keeping in touch with people at the moment. I shall try to do better (she says, again.)

Sigh. Anyway. Hello everyone, and thank you for your comments.

I have finally finished another book.

15. The Making of the Creeds - Frances Young

I've no idea why it took me weeks to read this one. It's short(ish) and interesting(ish), and goes into the subject pretty efficiently. A very good introduction to the subject.

16. The Affair of the 39 Cufflinks - James Anderson

Amusing country-house crime fiction parody. Not quite as much fun as The Affair of the Blood-stained Egg Cosy (which is the first in the series, but not bad at all. 3.5/5

(It took me weeks to read this as well: started on April 20th, finished this morning. And I've pretty much only been reading this, and the Frances Young book on the creeds, and John Henry Newman's Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, which I'm half way through. Sigh. Slow progress.)

So, it seems that me being on Facebook is now a thing. I've sent a few friend requests to LTers, but if I've unaccountably missed you and you're deeply offended (or even if you're not) then a) behold me grovelling in apology, and b) there's a link in my profile if you want to add me.

Also, I am actually reading something fun again, that being The Third Policeman.

#74 Friend requested accepted :-) Somehow, I've never heard of The Third Policeman before - looks interesting.

Ah, I found your Facebook friend invitation before I read your update here. I'd have recognised your name sooner if I'd read this first!

The Third Policeman - that's the one with the bizarre things relating to a bicycle, isn't it? I read it about 20 years ago, very odd and funny book.

#75 It's very surreal, but good.

#76 It is. And yes, it certainly is both odd and funny. I've not reached any bicycle-themed parts of the book yet - I'm still only on chapter 3 - but I have read a bicycle-related extract that a friend pointed me to, which actually prompted me to read the whole thing.

Don't feel guilty about not posting or reading threads. If you do, then I'll have to too ;->

I didn't understand the nature of Orthodoxy, but after your explanation I'm eager to read it. I really love what I've read by him.

And, do you know? I don't think I've ever read Mere Christianity. I stuck that in the same category as More than a Carpenter ... they're just not my fav type of read.

I really want to read the Didache! Just read a fascinating little bio (~80pp) on Bunyan. As a result I've added his Grace Abounding to my list.

All you guys talking about school... makes me long for academia... LOL In fact earlier this week I perused the local offerings and found a program that made my mouth water. But it's not the direction for me to go now. (Boy howdy I'm chatty) And that reminds me of the bio I'm reading now of James O. Fraser. He was an accomplished pianist who presumably could have had a successful career there. He said sometimes he thought of that but it was not his path. That's how I view the masters in early music I'm passing up. (Fraser said it much better than I!) Wistful but no regrets.

You go gf -- so proud of you! xoxo

I hope you enjoy Orthodoxy, Susan.

I read Grace Abounding when I was an undergrad, alongside Pilgrim's Progress. I barely remember it now - I probably ought to re-read - but I do remember that I found it extremely interesting at the time.

There are so many paths, aren't there? So hard sometimes to pass one up in order to follow another, but it's just not possible to do everything.

True. Reading about Fraser (couple more chapters since my previous post) reminds me that the blessings of walking paths he's chosen so outweigh the loss of what we might have had. That's another theme of the recent months. So much gratitude for the results of unfulfilled wishes. Gives me courage to persevere in the areas where I don't see reasons why...

xox

So I haven't finished any more books yet, but I have spent the last couple of weeks holed up in the British Library reading lots and lots and lots and lots of stuff for my course.

LOL I know the feeling :) Bon courage !

*cough* So, I finished a book. A whole one. From cover to cover. 270 pages. I took notes, and everything. *looks proud and scuffs toe bashfully on the ground*

The English Sermon Revised: Religion, Literature and History 1600-1750.

(Aren't you so glad I shared that book with you? Actually, I'm also somewhere in the middle of several other books. Some - like this one - are for my course, but there's also some Harry Potter and Maus. I don't think I dare scroll back up to check what number this was.)

Yay! It's always good to see you. And the book looks mildly interesting (bit of a history geek so that helps). I could helpfully point out what number this one is, but I won't. :)

Hope you're doing well!! xox

#84 Thanks. :)

#85 Yes, thanks, Susan. How are you? I was sorry to read about Greenwich.

Okay. Update from the rest of July.

18. The Word, Church and Sacraments in Protestantism and Catholicism - Louis Bouyer
19. Restoration England - Robert Bliss
20. If Protestantism is True - Devin Rose
21. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling
22. What is the Point of Being a Christian? - Timothy Radcliffe

18 was excellent, 22 was pretty good, 21 was passable, 2019 was a very basic textbook that did what it said on the tin, and the less said about 20 the better.

Not a fan of the Deathly Hallows? Sad face. But I know not everyone is a big fan of that one.

#88 It wasn't bad, but it didn't grip me the way Goblet of Fire did. I thought the first half was rather slow and tedious; the second half was better, but I wasn't really caught up in it.

A lot of people have that complaint about the first half and while I find it enjoyable, I totally understand others finding it boring. :)

#87 No comment on 19?

Well 18 has been added to my theology wishlist for the far off day when I feel like reading serious books. I've had Timothy Radcliffe's Why Go To Church? on my wishlist for a while and will hopefully get to it one day...

#90 I'm glad it's not just me; so many people rave about it that a tiny bit of me was wondering if I was missing something.

#91 Apparently, I cannot count. Or maybe type. One or t'other, anyway. 19 was the basic textbook. *dashes away to correct the list*

Before I picked up 18, I asked a friend who I knew owned a copy whether it was any good; his verdict was, "Yes. And it's short." He was right on both counts: it's excellent, and under a hundred pages. :)

I want to get to Why Go To Church? at some point, but I found the volume of anecdotes in this one rather irritating, so I think I shall wait a while before moving on to more of his: I suspect that reading two in close proximity might be counter-productive.

Wondering why Bouyer sounds familiar, I've had a look at his other publications, and I realise I have his volume on The Spirituality of the Middle Ages which I've only dipped into. You remind me of all the theology books I've bought and not read!!

#93 I'm not sure whether to feel pleased or guilty about that!

So, to bring this up to date:

23. The Mass of the Early Christians - Mike Aquilina
24. An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine - John Henry Newman
25. (Re-read of something from earlier this year)
26. Called to Communion - Pope Benedict XVI
27. Glimpses of the Moon - Edmund Crispin
28. The Great Partnership: God, science and the search for meaning - Jonathan Sacks

Newman's Essay is fascinating stuff, but somewhat hefty, and dense, and (obviously) very Victorian in linguistic style. In addition, I was reading an ebook on the computer, which I don't really like doing. Those factors combined meant it took me about six months to work through the whole thing.

The whole essay is superb, but probably only for those who are seriously interested in the subject he's addressing. On the other hand, the introduction (setting out his basic case, which he goes on systematically to expand and expound) is probably worth a read for anyone who's even casually interested in the subject. It also has the merit of being available free on Project Gutenberg.

I loved Sacks' The Great Partnership, and found the whole thing fascinating, challenging, illuminating and beautifully written. It even seems to be inspiring me to actually review it. When I get that finished, I'll post it.

And reviewed:

Jonathan Sacks' The Great Partnership, while not short and very far from simplistic, is very readable. His basic premise is that "Science takes things apart to see how they work. Religion puts things together to see what they mean." He argues lucidly and persuasively that the two are complementary, rather than conflicting, and that it is when people use one in the place of the other that things go horribly wrong.

"Both are necessary, but they are very different. … Whole civilisations made mistakes because they could not keep these two apart and applied to one the logic of the other.

"When you treat things as if they were people, the result is myth … Science was born when people stopped telling stories about nature and instead observed it; when, in short, they relinquished myth.

"When you treat people as things, the result is dehumanisation: people categorised by colour, class or creed and treated differently as a result. The religion of Abraham was born when people stopped seeing people as objects and began to see each individual as unique, sacrosanct, the image of God.

"One of the most difficult tasks of any civilisation - of any individual life for that matter - is to keep the two separate, but integrated and in balance. … Things are things and people are people. Realising the difference is sometimes harder than we think."

After setting out his basic case, he systematically explores a number of themes including: finding God, human dignity, political power, freedom, morality, relationships, Darwin, the problem of evil and when religion goes wrong.

Sacks argues - rightly - that his argument related primarily to the monotheistic, Abrahamic faiths as a group, but also to each of them individually. While he obviously draws predominantly from the Jewish scriptures and traditions, he does a good job of considering Christianity. However, he doesn't really cover Islam sufficiently well to prevent that becoming an afterthought, which is a pity. Sacks focuses heavily on relationship and covenant at times, and therefore probably needed to consider the Islamic conception of man's relationship with God in contrast to those of Judaism and Christianity.

It is, despite Sacks' efforts to the contrary, a book very much centred on Judaism. There's a helpful summary of rabbinic thought included for those who are unfamiliar with historical Jewish teaching on creation, evolution and the age of the universe. As someone whose understanding of Genesis comes very much from the Christian interpretation, and predominantly the Protestant evangelical tradition, I found Sacks’ analysis of the Jewish perspective on what the book is trying to say enormously helpful. And not merely of the creation stories: Sacks’s analysis of the stories of Abraham and Joseph, as well as of the book of Esther, are both a useful contribution to the book and an interesting insight into the Jewish scriptures.

Where Sacks really shines is his ability to set out his argument clearly, in small blocks, and put those blocks together to create a larger narrative which says something important about the world, science and religion. To do, in other words, precisely what he is claiming that religion does and ought to do. But his argument is as deeply grounded in philosophy as it is in the Jewish scriptures - as is to be expected from a philosopher rabbi.

This is, above all, a thought-provoking book. It is a book—and an argument, and a narrative—which needs to be pondered and wrestled with, rather than assessed on a simple, binary true/false basis. In that, it both embodies its own argument, and repays the effort.

(Also, for further examination of the problem of confusing people and things from a slightly different perspective, see Terry Pratchett's Carpe Jugulum.)

#96 sounds fascinating - unfortunately, our local library doesn't have that particular title of Sacks' and neither of the two they do have sound nearly as interesting. Perhaps I'll just go with the Pratchett instead! (But adding The Great Partnership to the wishlist all the same so I won't forget about it - hopefully I'll run across it someday.)

#97 Well, the Pratchett is excellent, and not just for the people-as-things bit. :) Also, this is a pretty recent publication - 2011, and 2012 in paperback - so it might well turn up in a year or two.

#98 it might well turn up in a year or two -- That's what I'm hoping for - especially if it was published in UK, it may take some time to get to the US.

Thanks for that review, Caty - it does sound good. I like the very concise version of his argument, the difference between these two ways of looking at and understanding life/the world. I've always believed that science and religion are complementary kinds of discourse rather than in competition with each other, but that's a particularly useful way of putting it and does make me interested to read more (though wary of adding to my pile of interesting sounding theology books I've not got round to reading!).

At Greenbelt this year one of the most interesting talks I heard was by an Orthodox rabbi giving a flavour of midrashic exploration of the scriptures by looking at how they approach the Genesis story, in particular the question of what kind of fruit Adam and Eve eat in the garden. (Definitely not an apple!). It was fascinating, and as you say, comes at it from a very different angle from the Christian interpretation of Genesis (particularly from the recent more literal understandings).

#96: Adding The Great Partnership to the BlackHole. It sounds like a book I would really enjoy reading. Thanks for the review and recommendation!

#100 That sounds like a fascinating subject for a talk. Did you see Jonathan Sacks' Rosh Hashanah broadcast on BBC2 when he talked about these same themes with Richard Dawkins, Susan Greenfield and Jim Al-Khalili? I thought it was a good introduction to the thinking he sets out in the book. Probably gone from iplayer by now, alas.

#101 Hope you enjoy it, Stasia.

A few more completed reads.

29. Why me? - Diane Komp
30. Guards, Guards - Terry Pratchett (re-read)
31. Good Omens - Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman (re-read)
32. Fundamentals of the Faith - Peter Kreeft
33. Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch

#102 I missed that broadcast sadly.

#103 some good comforting re-reads there (if one can think of a book about the apocalypse as comforting!)

Sorry I've been so absent. Hope school's going well. I know I have some Peter Kreeft around... all I remember is the name. LOL

Thanks for the review -- interesting. I just read Wouk's Inside, Outside which made me hunger to study Talmud. Goes nicely with my OT degree, nu? :)

*waves belatedly at Genny and Susan*

Some more completed reads:
34. Sin: A History - Gary A Anderson
35. Moon over Soho - Ben Aaronovitch
36. Take the Plunge: Living Baptism and Confirmation - Timothy Radcliffe

were any of them good? Hope so.

#107 All of them were, Susan. :)

So, November's reads.

There were a couple of re-reads of books form earlier in the year, and also:

39. The Napoleon of Notting Hill - GK Chesterton
40. The Last Superstition - Edward Feser
41. Why go to Church? The drama of the Eucharist - Timothy Radcliffe

The Chesterton and the Radcliffe were excellent, and the Feser is good - well argued - but it's very sarcastic and snide at times, and I disliked that a lot.

Stopping by to belatedly say that I've also added the Jonathan Sacks book to my wishlist. Glad to see you've been enjoying your recent few months' reading.

Hi Caty, nice to hear an update from you.

#109 I read quite a bit of G K Chesterton back in my 20s, but didn't ever get to The Napoleon of Notting Hill - I must do so one of these days. I've liked the small bits of Radcliffe I've read, and heard him speak at Greenbelt a few years back too. I've had very positive encounters with Dominicans in this country over the years, through the chaplains on an ecumenical (but mainly RC) student pilgrimage I used to take part in regularly - Timothy Radcliffe is a great favourite among those friends too.

#110 Thanks, Heather. And I hope you enjoy it.

#112 Well, The Napoleon of Notting Hill is nice and short, so it shouldn't be too much of job fitting it in. And I'm greatly impressed with the Dominicans, too: a friend of mine is a lay member of the Order. I heard Timothy Radcliffe speak in St Paul's Cathedral a few weeks ago (almost by accident: I was in London, and discovered on the Monday that he was speaking on the Tuesday) and he was excellent. I picked up the most recently finished book at that event.

Glad you've had some good reads. I need to put my hands on some more Chesterton.

#113 Pleasingly vast amounts of his stuff are available free online now that he's out of copyright.

If I have finished any books in December, I've also forgotten about them, so that's me done for the year. A rather pathetic 41 in total.

Still, if all goes to plan (not that it ever does) my dissertation should be finished in a few months. After that, I can read stuff that I can count, rather than odd chapters of books and what is beginning to feel like the entire contents of JSTOR.

ETA: And I might manage to visit the threads sometimes, too.

ETA2: 2013 thread started here http://www.librarything.com/topic/147067#

ETA3: Belatedly remembered finishing George Weigel's Letters to a Young Catholic in December. So that's 42.

Saying farewell on this thread, Caty, and wishing you good luck for the timely completion of the dissertation, and I'll be following the link to star your new thread.

Happy New Year!